WAR HAS ALWAYS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS IN ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND DESTRUCTION, AND WATER RESOURCES, DUE TO THEIR FUNDAMENTAL ROLE IN THE CONTINUITY OF LIFE, FOOD SECURITY, AND LOGISTICAL CAPACITY, HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AT THE CENTER OF MILITARY STRATEGIES. DESPITE THE EXPANSION OF ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY STUDIES, THE IMPACT OF PRE-MODERN WARS ON IRAN'S WATER RESOURCES, ESPECIALLY DURING THE SAFAVID PERIOD, HAS BEEN LESS STUDIED INDEPENDENTLY. THE PRESENT STUDY AIMS TO ANALYZE THE IMPACT OF WAR ON WATER RESOURCES IN THE SAFAVID PERIOD AND EXPLAIN ITS ENVIRONMENTAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL DIMENSIONS, BASED ON THE HISTORICAL RESEARCH METHOD AND WITH A DESCRIPTIVE-ANALYTICAL APPROACH. THE RESEARCH DATA WERE COLLECTED FROM PRIMARY HISTORICAL SOURCES, OFFICIAL CHRONICLES, TRAVELOGUES, AND RESEARCH STUDIES AND ANALYZED WITH AN ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY APPROACH.

THE RESEARCH FINDINGS SHOW THAT WATER RESOURCES IN THE SAFAVID WARS WERE NOT SIMPLY VICTIMS OF THE UNWANTED CONSEQUENCES OF CONFLICTS, BUT WERE ALSO EXPLOITED AS A STRATEGIC TOOL IN MILITARY POLICIES. INTENTIONAL POLLUTION OF RIVERS AND WELLS, DUMPING HUMAN AND ANIMAL CORPSES IN WATER RESOURCES, POISONING SPRINGS, DIVERTING RIVERS, DESTROYING CANALS AND WATER SUPPLY NETWORKS, AND IMPLEMENTING A SCORCHED EARTH POLICY WERE AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT METHODS USED TO WEAKEN THE ENEMY'S COMBAT AND LOGISTICAL CAPABILITIES. ALTHOUGH THESE MEASURES CONTRIBUTED TO THE MILITARY SUCCESSES AND TERRITORIAL SECURITY OF THE SAFAVID STATE IN THE SHORT TERM, IN THE LONG TERM THEY HAD WIDESPREAD CONSEQUENCES SUCH AS A DECREASE IN THE QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF WATER RESOURCES, DISRUPTION OF IRRIGATION SYSTEMS, A DROP IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, THE DESTRUCTION OF PART OF LOCAL ECOSYSTEMS, THE SPREAD OF DISEASES CAUSED BY WATER POLLUTION, POPULATION MIGRATION, AND ECONOMIC STAGNATION IN THE WAR-TORN REGIONS.

THIS RESEARCH SHOWS THAT IN THE WATER-SCARCE GEOGRAPHY OF IRAN, WATER WAS NOT ONLY A VITAL RESOURCE BUT ALSO A KEY COMPONENT OF POLITICAL AND MILITARY POWER, AND ITS CONTROL OR DESTRUCTION HAD BECOME PART OF THE DEFENSIVE AND OFFENSIVE STRATEGIES OF THE SAFAVID STATE. THEREFORE, UNDERSTANDING SAFAVID MILITARY HISTORY WITHOUT CONSIDERING THE ROLE OF NATURAL RESOURCES, ESPECIALLY WATER RESOURCES, WOULD BE INCOMPLETE. THE INNOVATION OF THIS RESEARCH IS THAT BY COMBINING MILITARY HISTORY AND ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY, IT PROVIDES A COMPREHENSIVE PICTURE OF THE INTERACTION BETWEEN WAR, WATER RESOURCES, AND ITS ECOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES, AND EMPHASIZES THE NEED TO DEVELOP INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES IN THE FIELD OF IRANIAN ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY.