Monday, August 20, 2012

یزد - Yazd City ( In Centre of Iran )

Yazd



The city has a history of over 3,000 years, dating back to the time of the Median empire, when it was known as Ysatis (or Issatis). The present city name has however been derived from Yazdegerd I, a Sassanid ruler. The city was definitely a Zoroastrian centre during Sassanid times. After the Arab Islamic conquest of Persia, many Zoroastrians fled to Yazd from neighbouring provinces. By payin...g a levy, Yazd remained Zoroastrian even after its conquest, and Islam only gradually became the dominant religion in the city.

Because of its remote desert location and the difficulty of approach, Yazd had remained largely immune to large battles and the destruction and ravages of war. For instance, it was a haven for those fleeing from destruction in other parts of Persia during the invasion of Genghis Khan. It was visited by Marco Polo in 1272, who remarked on the city's fine silk-weaving industry. It briefly served as the capital of the Muzaffarid Dynasty in the fourteenth century, and was unsuccessfully besieged in 1350–1351 by the Injuids under Shaikh Abu Ishaq. The Friday (or Congregation) Mosque, arguably the city's greatest architectural landmark, as well as other important buildings, date to this period. During the Qajar dynasty (18th Century AD) it was ruled by the Bakhtiari Khans.

Under the rule of the Safavis (16th century), some people migrated from Yazd and settled in an area which is today on the Iran-Afghanistan border. The settlement, which was named Yazdi, was located in what is now Farah city in the province of the same name in Afghanistan. Even today, people from the area speak with an accent very similar to that of the people of Yazd.



کوچه های سنتی یزد



یزد اولین شهر خشتی و دومین شهر تاریخی جهان بعد از شهر ونیز ایتالیاست استان یزد از سرزمینهای کهن و تاریخی ایران زمین است. در بعضی از منابع بنای اولیه برخی از شهرهای این استان چون (میبد) را به سلیمان پیغمبر، (یزد) را به ضحاک و اسکندر مقدونی و (ابر کوه) را به ابراهیم پیغمبر نسبت داده‌اند. این بیانگر قدمت و دیرینگی پیشینیه تاریخی و فرهنگی سرزمین و مردم این دیار است. مجموعه آثار باستانی پراکنده موجود در این استان نیز به سهم خود گویای این پیشینه تاریخی است. آثاری چون دست افزار‌های سنگی بدست آمده از دره‌های شیر کوه، نگاره‌های روی تخت سنگ کوه ارنان، تکه سفالهای منقوش نارین قلعه میبد – متعلق به دوره ایلامی، غارهای استان و آثار معماری و شهر سازی باستانی و... نشان می‌دهد مدنیت یزد، در چهار کانون باستانی (مهریز و فهرج)، (یزد)، (رستاق و میبد) و (اردکان) متمرکز بود. پژوهشگران این منطقه را که در مسیر شاهراه‌های باستانی (ری – کرمان) و (پارس – خراسان) قرار داشت، جزء سرزمینهای دوردست مادها شمرده‌اند



عکاس :خانم فریبا کاظمیان

photo by :Fariba Kazemian