The Effect of Trading Lapis Lazulion the Settlements in the Third and Fourth Millenniums inthe East of lran Plateau

Abstract

One of the most important stones extensively traded over third and fourth millenniums in the near east was Lapis. This semi valuable stone was explored in most areas between Badakhsan in north of Afghanistan and even farther in Egypt. However the main mines of the stone were explored in Badakhshan.One of the areas in which Lapis is abundantly available is burnet city which is deemed as one of the biggest areas in the east of Iran. The city existed between 3200 and 1800 B.C. from the discovered objects it can be inferred that the city was the main center of settlement and it was the social, political, economic and cultural center of the whole area over the3rd millennium. Located on the route of commercial exchanges between west and east cultures over the past millenniums, this area gained a prominent status and consequently obtained much profit.Regarding what mentioned,it’s clear that ancient areas in the east of Iran were on the trade road from east to west and had mineral resources which Mesopotamia areas lacked them and needed them. So,eastern parts of Iran played a significant role in the inter-regional trade and provided their requirements which were mainly agricultural goods from Mesopotamia.