About Towers and ramparts of Yazd
Towers, castles, gates, and moats were measures taken by the ancients to protect the privacy of cities and settlements. In the past, many cities in Iran had such towers and guards, but Yazd is one of the few cities that still retains the remains of these fences.
The tower and ramparts of Yazd were built in 1040 under the supervision of four colonels from the government of Amir Azad al-Din Ala al-Dawlah. In this historical fence, there are four gates with the names of Qatmian, Kushkno, Mehrijard and Kia Gate, of which Kia Gate is one of its famous gates. In 1274, a huge flood destroyed parts of this historical fence, which were later restored and rebuilt during the reign of Atabak Yusuf Shah bin Taghan. This work, which is one of the famous places of Yazd, was registered as one of the national works of Iran on December 5, 1973, with registration number 956.
Address : To see some of these towers and ramparts, you can go to Fahadan, Labkhandagh and Malmir neighborhoods. Some of them are still left near Seyed Golesorkh Tomb, Bagh Gend and Farmandari Street. In Seyed Golesorkh neighborhood, in addition to the tower and rampart, you can also visit the reservoir, Hosseinieh, prayer house, bazaar, cemetery, mausoleum, and Khaneh Agha. Shahzade Fazel’s tower and rampart and Shahi’s gate are also worth seeing.
History of Yazd tower and ramparts
The tower and ramparts of Yazd date back to the Dilmian and Atabakan eras. In 1040, that is, about ten centuries ago, four colonels built the circular fence of Yazd with four gates named Darwaza Qatriyan (Royal Gate), Kushk No, Mehrizard (Mehriz) and Darwaza Kia (Hazirah). This two-century urban protection remained intact, but it was slightly destroyed in 1346. It wasn’t long before Taghi Shah, one of the kings of the Atabak regime, realized the importance of the city wall and restored it.
After that, an interesting thing happened. Due to the increase in population and the need to expand the city, Amir Mobarzuddin added a number of neighborhoods outside the city limits to the city of Yazd in 1346. To protect the expanded city, a new fence was built from the Shahi Gate to the Madaramir Gate, which had seven gates, and to protect the city of Yazd from the invasion of foreigners, a huge moat was also dug around the city. During the rule of Amir Mubarzuddin, Yazd doubled in size and the life of its people prospered. In order to protect the great Yazd, 90 towers were erected around the city for observation and care.
Of course, not much remains today of the 90 towers and 20 defenses that Amir Mobarzuddin built to protect the city. The last date that these towers and ramparts saw the color of care and restoration was about two hundred years ago during the reign of Prince Mohammadwali Mirza, and after that they were gradually forgotten because the way of urbanization and land management changed and there was no longer a need for such a tower and There were no ramparts.
