ABSTRACT
From seashores to upland plains, from high mountains to alluvial flats, and from jungle-clad hillslopes to bleak salt deserts, the spectacular variety afforded by Iran’s geography is matched by few countries in the world. A truly global perspective demonstrates the strategic significance of Iran’s location as a fulcrum of Eurasia, forming a critical land bridge connecting major components of the Eurasian continent. Major land routes into and across Iran naturally have to take account of such massive features as the Zagros mountains and the central deserts. Extensive complexes of sand dunes and salt lakes are dominant features in a forbidding, harsh landscape. In view of Iran’s highly variable physical geography and biogeography, as the people have seen, they need to consider the nature of interactions between human communities and the climate and environment of ancient Iran, from the Palaeolithic onwards.
