Zahra Alizadeh Birjandi - Associate professor University of Birjand

In the 19th and 20th centuries, in the time political and diplomatic confrontation that existed between the British and Russian empires which is known as geopolitics game; some eastern regions of Iran were noticed by colonial explorers and governmental agents. Despite abundant dangers and security threats of the Lut Desert which is called the most frightening location on the earth or the scariest desert in the world by foreign explorers, this important question comes to mind that why did colonial government s agents visit this desert repeatedly and what was their purpose This article based on foreign explorer´s narration and confidential reports by British consulate tries to analyze the role of Lut Desert in competitions of great powers and it´s importance in The Great Game. The findings of recent research indicate that Lut Desert was located under British sphere of influence and Lut´s geostrategic importance because of Indian neighbor underlie colonial elites payed more attention to this desert and the same time presence of their explorers and experts in the Lut Desert.

Lut Desert, The Great Game, Russia, Britain