محمدحسن زال

The history of Tabaristän, from the late Sassanid era through the middle Islamic age, underwent significant social and political changes the result of which were independence seeking movements leading to some semi-independent local governments. Each of these governments claimed political and social governance over a particular region. Castles, as important and influential military bases, were means at the disposal of the commanders and governors to maintain their sociopolitical power. Among the known castles in the mountains of Mazandaran province, Pouläd Castle in Nour, the capital of Nour County, is one of the symbols of territorial defense. It is located on a tall mount off the city of Baladeh in Nour County. Being built on an elevated location and overlooking the important surrounding regions and strategic ways has made Pouläd Castle one of the important centers in the sociopolitical changes. The present study follows a field work method as well as a library research method to investigate the defense structure of Pouläd castle and its geopolitical and geostrategic role in the power distribution pattern over the region of Rouyän in Tabaristän during the Islamic middle ages. The results show that the builders had tried their best to enhance the stability of the castle by building several layers of walls, utilizing the slope of the mountain, building several defense towers, and using rocky and impervious points as natural forts. Architectural analysis shows that Pouläd Castle, with both its military and political functions, has had a prominent role in the political changes of western Tabaristän.

Amlash is one of the most important parts of Guilan Province in northern Iran. It has endured unending political and military turmoil due to its special geopolitical and geostrategic position, during the early and middle Islamic eras. The establishment of numerous castles in the area is one of the manifestations of this state of affairs during that period. This study, based on library and field study, is aimed at analyzing the factors that might have led to the formation of the castles. The library studies included a review of literature on military castles and fortresses for an analysis of the factors that might have contributed to the castles in the Amlash region. The field studies included direct observation of the locating, photographic imaging, and numerical measurement and topographical features of those castles.

The current study aims and issues to investigate and interpret the relationship between cultural heritage tourism and intergenerational social mobility in the Hawraman region of Iran. Due to the conditions and requirements of the research, a mixed-method design has been selected to conduct the study. In the first phase of the research, a survey on the impact of heritage tourism on intergenerational mobility in the Hawraman region was conducted among 354 local community members. Using SPSS software, the data from this section were analyzed. Then, a grounded theory approach was employed to fulfill the aims of the research's second phase. Here, the required data was obtained from 17 "in-depth and free interviews" with native participants whose businesses were related to heritage tourism. The findings in the first part of the research show a significant correlation between heritage tourism as the independent variable and social mobility as the dependent variable. In the second part, 33 sub-categories and 12 major categories related to the impact of heritage tourism on social mobility were identified. The results indicate that heritage tourism has transformed the local economy in a way that has led to the social mobility of the current generation. This study has some useful implications both for policymakers and researchers to have a better image of heritage tourism establishments, their requirements, and impacts in the Hawraman region of Kurdistan province of Iran.