The Physical Evolution of Nushabad From the First Settlement to the Contemporary

Today's city of Nushabad is a historical settlement that dates back to pre-Islamic and Sassanid eras. The most important remnant of pre-Islamic Nushabad is the underground city known as Ovi. The history of Nushabad in the Islamic era has been mentioned in few historical sources, but architectural evidence remains such as historical castles, religious buildings such as the minarets of ancient mosques from the Seljuk period and the plastered altar of Ali Mosque from the patriarchal period, as well as religious and public buildings. Safavid shows its importance throughout history. Nushabad also grew and expanded during the Qajar and Pahlavi eras and several neighborhoods were built there. In addition, neighborhood centers, public architectural works and valuable houses have been formed in it. In recent decades, especially after the urbanization of Nushabad in the early eighties, the development process of Nushabad has continued with the construction of new neighborhoods and street construction. This indicates the gradual and sustainable development of Nushabad throughout history. However, some destructions have taken place in the old context, which necessitates the knowledge of the historical city and the documentation of its architectural works. Because there is a fear that neglect of the historical values of the city and the surviving monuments will cause more destruction so that the process of physical development of the old city will be confused. In the present article, the physical evolution of Nushabad from the original settlement to the current city has been studied. With the hypothesis that Nushabad has always been alive from the time of its formation until today and has undergone sustainable development. The purpose of this study is to visually show the physical development of Nushabad in relation to historical monuments and residential areas in different periods. Recent research has been done in a descriptive and analytical manner. In this way, historical sources and scientific researchers have been adapted to field studies, aerial images and urban maps of the current situation.