Typology of caravanserais on the Tehran -Anzali route in the Qajar period (based on archeological documents and research)

During the Qajar period, relations between Iran and European countries expanded. Since the commercial and political highway, from the capital of the Qajar state in Tehran to Bandar Anzali on the northern border, was considered a strategic passage in the communication network of Iran with Russia and Europe, fundamental changes in the implementation of road construction operations, including the repair, development, establishment and equipping of inter-road places was necessary. Among them, the oldest and most important service places for travelers have been caravanserais. The main purpose of this research is the typology of architecture, the influence of the role of climatic conditions and geographical location in the process of architectural formation of caravanserais on the Tehran Anzali route.The findings have been researched based on library sources and field archaeology. The method of data analysis is qualitative. The results of the data show that the largest number of caravanserais were out-of-town in terms of typology. The variety of climatic conditions of the route has not been adapted to the form and architectural features of caravanserais. Although the different geographical location has caused minor differences in the architectural elements of some of them, all these types of caravanserais were built following the same architectural pattern as the four-porch caravanserais with courtyards of the Safavid period.A small number of other caravanserais were of the inner-city type. Their architectural structure and form was in accordance with the geography and climate of the regions where they were located.