Horse Rugs are among the most functional hand-woven materials used by nomads in north-west regions of Iran particularly by Shahsavan tribes. In addition to meeting the urgent daily needs such as carrying persons and utensils, horse rugs have been a vehicle in which the aesthetic aspects of the nomad weavers’,imagination have been reflected. Motifs originated from communal beliefs, individual tastes as well as imaginative fantasies depicted by vivacious colors have given Shahsavan Horse Rugs, aesthetically, a unique character. In this study, 30 cases of Shahsavan horse rugs were analyzed, described and introduced in terms of weaving techniques and aesthetic considerations (colors and motifs). The study mainly focused on discovering the most dominant designs, motifs and colors in Shahsavan horse rugs. The findings implied that the Shahsavan horse rugs, often in rectangular shape, had a larger size than that of the other similar nomadic horse rugs. Meanwhile, the designs and motifs in Shahsavan horse rugs generally outnumbered those of other nomadic ones. The ground of each Shahsavan horse rug is divided into frames defined by almost narrow stripes. In each frame, different motifs, particularly animal ones, have been designed. Also, some Shahsavan horse rugs have all-over grounds with no frames or stripes,motifs are scattered across the length of the ground. The most commonly applied motifs include peacock and goat ones represented in a wide range of designs,plant motifs including trees, flowers as well as abstractly-designed shrubs have been used much less than the former ones. In terms of weaving technique, Shahsavan horse rugs, have a twisted-woven texture. The colors applied are limited in number mainly including natural and herbal dyes. Red, blue (in different hues such as dark blue), golden yellow and mustard, black, white, brown (dark and bright), green (dark and bright) are among the most commonly applied colors in Shahsavan horse rugs. This study is qualitative in nature with a descriptive-analytic methodology. The data were mainly collected based from library sources, reliable databased and museums.

The majority of the Shasavan tribe lives in northwest Iran near the city of Ardabil and Dasht-e Moghan. Small groups of Shahsavan, however, moved to central Iran near Saveh, Garmsar, and Varamin. In Farsi (official language of Iran) Shahsavan means "those who love the Shah (king) "; Most of their weavings consist of practical pieces such as saddle bags, traveling bags and animal trappings. Their textiles frequently use the Soumak and Kilim weaves. It is likely that traditionally each clan of the Shahsavan confederation had its own designs and carpet presents its idea — the idea of a reality that simultaneously unfolds the Turkish-speaking Shahsavan people weave bags in the sumak technique. A series of large diamond latch hook medallions repeats down the field, each enclosed in a compartment of different color. Shahsavan weavings have a strongly tribal flavor with highly abstract, geometrical designs and rich colors. They are sometimes distinguished by certain shades of lavender or deep pink and salmon tones, in conjunction with soft blues. Shahsavan carpets are very similar to Caucasian carpets. The Shahsevan tribes were originally transported and resettled in the Northwest from Central Asia by the Persian kings in the seventeenth century. This helps to explain the ties between these rugs and those of the Turkmans and other Central Asian tribes. This paper discusses the ancient roots of tribal weaving, the interrelatedness of common designs and tribal motifs in Shahsavan and Caucasusian Kilims. Larger Shahsavan rugs are uncommon, and often they are mistaken for rugs from the nearby Caucasus region.

Tourism is regarded as a complementary activity that contributes to the sustainability of nomads' livelihoods and raises welfare and living standards, as well as the economic growth of nomadic areas, through the capabilities and attractions of the Shahsavan nomads. The present study tries to identify the scenarios of nomadic tourism in Shahsavan, Ardabil province. The research strategy is a case study through a qualitative study using a multi-faceted method and a cross-sectional time horizon. In data collection, in the first step, key experts were used to collect data to extract the factors affecting nomadic tourism development (NTD) and to examine the impact of these variables on each other. The influential factors were divided into 12, seven promoting and five inhibiting factors. The mutual influence matrix was used to determine the effect of variables on one another, and scenarios were created using propulsions extracted from the influencing factors. After collecting the questionnaires, the scenario was conducted using Scenario Wizard software. The scenarios in the current research were divided into three groups: favourable, intermediate, and unfavourable. According to experts, access to favourable scenarios is accompanied by many limitations and obstacles. Its occurrence requires coherent planning, commitment, and participation from all stakeholders, and the occurrence of unfavourable and catastrophic scenarios also looks pretty pessimistic. According to current trends, the vast majority of experts believe that a slight improvement in the current situation is possible in the future of this type of tourism.

Understanding the degradation factors of natural resources and its impact on people's life provides an opportunity for managers to plan an overall strategy for sustainable economic, social and environmental development. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between range condition and number of livestock of Shahsavan tribe in the Sabalan Mountain range. In this regard, four range allotments including Daly Qasem, Laleh Lu, Nabi Chamani and Arkh Bandi was selected and the statistical population was 70 beneficiaries having license grazing, of which 58 samples (people) were selected by Cochran's formula. The research tool was a questionnaire completed through direct interviews with the beneficiaries in the study region. Range condition, calculated by the six-factor method, was the dependent variable in this study. The correlation between range condition and number of livestock was analyzed using Pearson's test in SPSS software. The livestock rate was compared by the Duncan test. The results obtained in this study indicated that there was a significant negative correlation between the range condition and number of livestock in the region. In other words, as the number of livestock increases to achieve higher annual income, range condition decreases. It seems that monitoring programs and proper management as well as implementation of rehabilitation and improvement projects could improve the balance between livestock and rangeland and increase the forage production. It directly and indirectly affects the annual income of beneficiaries and guarantees the ecological balance and social stability of range allotments through prevention of rangeland degradation and sustainable employment.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of beneficiaries' social condition on ecological sustainability of allotments, utilized by Shahsavan nomads in summer rangelands of Sabalan Mountain, Ardabil province. Random sampling method was used to collect data from 58 beneficiaries based on Cochran’s formula. The collected social data were age, utilization history, educational status and the number of persons that their expenditures are covered by one beneficiary. Ten indicators were selected to evaluate the ecological sustainability in the study area. According to the results, there was no significant relationship between educational status and sustainability index because the majority of the people (82%) had low or no education background. According to the results, there were significant relationships between family members and experience of herd management with sustainability index (p˂0.01). ANOVA test showed that there were significant differences between the sustainability of range allotments and the utilization history (F=13.27 and p£0.001). This study revealed that more range sustainability can be achieved in range allotments with longer utilization history.

Nomadic migration has been a way of living in Iran from ancient times. Although this way of life has changed in different periods, the intensity of these changes has an origin in social, political and security issues in addition to livestock and rangelands. The population of the study area is 70 and a number of 58 people were selected using Cochran formula. In the present study, questionnaires were used and data collection was performed using interview. To measure social integration, five factors were used which were included in the questionnaire including customary rights, within group-trust, tribal and local trust, confidence and awareness of the projects provided by the government, and legal protection. Cronbach's Alpha coefficient for the social integration was calculated to be 0.88 and the correlation between social integration and the factors including beneficiaries’ literacy, the history of exploitation, annual income from animal husbandry and the number of livestock was analyzed through Pearson test using SPSS software. It was revealed that there was a direct and significant relationship between social integration and annual revenue of animal husbandry and the history of exploitation while social integration had a significant inverse relationship with the number of livestock, indicating a close relationship between the nomadic community and their social integration. Nomadic community needs should be provided in the form of nomad's social integration. Finally, the tribal system of the country should be viewed as a cultural heritage and it should not be measured by modern development indicators.

Degradation of ecosystem is one of the crises of the twenty-first century, occurring as a result of human intervention. Each ecosystem is characterized by its economic, social and ecological structures. Consequently, the ecosystem's ecological potential is characterized based on the ecological analysis of ecosystems. The purpose of this study was to investigate the ecological sustainability of allotments, utilized by Shahsavan nomads in summer rangelands of the Sabalan Mountain in south of Meshginshahr County, Ardabil province. Ten indicators were chosen to measure and evaluate the ecological sustainability. To determine the relationship between sustainability and conventional systems, analysis of variance and for comparing the means, Duncan test were used. The results showed that the ecological sustainability in 33 percent of the allotments was lower and in 50 percent of them was higher than an average of 26-34; in addition, the factors such as numerous livestock and operators had impacts on the sustainability of the pastures. These results were confirmed by comparing the average scores with the Duncan test.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of beneficiaries' social condition on ecological sustainability of allotments, utilized by Shahsavan nomads in summer rangelands of Sabalan Mountain, Ardabil province. Random sampling method was used to collect data from 58 beneficiaries based on Cochran' s formula. The collected social data were age, utilization history, educational status and the number of persons that their expenditures are covered by one beneficiary. Ten indicators were selected to evaluate the ecological sustainability in the study area. According to the results, there was no significant relationship between educational status and sustainability index because the majority of the people (82%) had low or no education background. According to the results, there were significant relationships between family members and experience of herd management with sustainability index (p˂0.01). ANOVA test showed that there were significant differences between the sustainability of range allotments and the utilization history (F=13.27 and p≤0.001). This study revealed that more range sustainability can be achieved in range allotments with longer utilization history.

Political borders cover the facts and represent geographical and human unity as controversial pluralism. Individuals and human groups and populations are like ancient trees that, although they appear to be individual, are actually rooted in connectedness and unity. Nomadic populations have such a situation; they are unique but scattered. Searching for the origin of one of the Shahsavan Baghdadi clans named Küseler (Küseler, Köseler) was the aim of this article, and the author, relying on an interdisciplinary historical and anthropological method, intended to investigate the identity and the first settlement of this clan and its subsequent migrations. The result of the research shows that in order to search for the origin and formation process of this tribe and to find its identity, the geographical range of Turkestan to the Balkans and the time span of several centuries should be taken into consideration.

In their arts and handicrafts, Shahsavans of Moghan who are the inheritors of Central Asia culture and art have been influenced by their ancestral originalities as well as neighboring civilizations. In step with immigration and the expansion of their summer lands they have used vastly the ideas and thoughts of the artists whom they met in the creation, processing and distribution of motifs and decorations so that the share of each land’s artists is vividly seen in their works. In the late Qajar time, their cultural transactions entered a new phase. Such changes can be observed in the motifs of hand-woven objects, especially kilims, better than other cultural and artistic domains. Comparing the pattern of Kurgani stripes in Shahsavan kilims with the works of sedentary people woven in the late Qajar time in the province of Ardebil, this study aims to find an answer for these questions: what are the visual features of each of them and which similarities and differences do they have? Thus, the aim of this research is the identification and analysis of features triggering the similarities and differences in such works. The type of this study is qualitative and, regarding its comparative nature, it uses descriptive-analytic method. The date has been gathered via library and field work. The visual analyses have been carried out by referring to 8 indicative and 16 comparative samples of motif details. Comparative findings of motifs imply that Shahsavans are under the influence of sedentary people regarding the composition of patterns and simplification of motifs. On the other hand, they have influenced such people considering decorations and elaborate ornaments. Economic, environmental and social factors as well as tribal immigrations play very significant role in such exchanges.