ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with studies of those cities which existed in the region of what is today Iran and Afghanistan between the 11th and 19th centuries. Iran and Afghanistan, however, though the centre of the so-called Iran-Islamic culture, represent a far more limited area than that which the culture historically influenced, and certainly there was a period when the greater whole comprised a single cultural area. This means that Western Turkestan, part of the former Soviet Union, should in particular be included in any study of Iranian cities and their history; its exclusion prevents any correct understanding of the true nature of those cities. Conversely, the study of the cities of Central Asia must take into consideration the cities of Iran. Much the same could be said about East Anatolia and Iraq. Since this volume has separate chapters for Turkey, Mashriq, and Central Asia, I will refrain, strictly for the sake of convenience, from referring to studies concerning those regions, with some particular exceptions. In addition, since H. Komatsu treats all the studies of Iranian cities made by scholars of the former Soviet Union collectively in his chapter on Central Asia, I will only touch briefly upon them here. It must also be remembered that the borders of the Iranian world were subject to dramatic changes during the period under consideration, unlike those of the Arab world which remained relatively unchanged.
