The Zoroastrian Fire Temple of Yazd is the place where the holy Zoroastrian fire is kept in Yazd and the Zoroastrian shrine of this city.
The main building of the fire temple is located at a height of about one meter and forty centimeters above the ground and in the middle of a large courtyard covered with evergreen cypress and pine trees. The role of Forouhar and its stone capitals have given a special beauty to this building and in front of this building there is a water pond. The fact that the fire temples are next to the water has been one of the characteristics of the fire temples. The stone capitals in front of the main building hall and the flowery stones at the foot of the walls are the work of Isfahani artists. These artists carved the stones in Isfahan and then took them to Yazd. The role of Forouhar tiles on the top of the entrance is the work of Yazdi tile artists and the whole architecture of this building has been influenced by the architecture of Parsian fire temples.
In the distant years, there was no match, no other means to light a fire, so in one place, a fire was always lit so that people could take a flower from it and light their stoves on a daily basis. This place was called the fire temple. (“Code” in Persian Dari means house and “Fire Temple” means house of fire. The children of the family were responsible for bringing fire from the fire temple. Where does the Persian proverb “Someone’s stove is blind” come from, so one of the sweetest wishes for any family was: “Stove is green.”, Heat and light are available to people on earth Fire, which is why fire is one of the most important and sacred elements in human life, it was after the discovery of fire that culture and civilization were formed.
The essence of the fire is to sit and over time the fire temple became a place for gathering and holding Zoroastrian religious celebrations and rituals. Before that, it was used as a court where the priest tried the people. Entering this shrine has always been associated with etiquette for worshipers. Including the cleanliness of men and women. Men must enter in white hats and women in white scarves and light-colored clothing without shoes. The sacred fire is inside a large bronze chamber, and a person named “Hirbod” is responsible for keeping it lit. Visitors to the fire temple can see the ever-blazing fire from behind a glass wall.
The fire that burns inside this fire temple has been lit for more than 1500 years. This fire is a fire from the fire of Karian fire temple in Larestan, which was brought to Aqda in Yazd and kept there for nearly 700 years, and then in 522 AH (1174 AD) it was taken from Aqda to Ardakan (Turkabad village) He was in Turkabad for 300 years and was taken from Turkabad to Yazd in 852 AH (1474 AD) and kept. First, it was kept in a neighborhood called “Khalaf Khan Ali” in the house of one of the great clerics named “Azargashsab shooter cleric” and in 1313, after the construction of this fire temple, it was taken inside.
There are three mythical fires in Persian mythology reflected in the Avestan Yashts. Farnbagh fire, Gashnesb fire and Barzin Mehr fire. Legend has it that all three of these fires were kept on the backs of the mythical cow of Sirishuk during the Tahmurt period. At night, due to the storm, these fires fall into the sea and from there, while burning, they give light to the people. Farnbagh was associated with clerics, Gashnesb with warriors and rulers, and Barzin Mehr with farmers.
Azargashnesb fire is a mythical fire that is attributed to Kaykhosrow according to traditional traditions. This fire was located in a fire temple of the same name in Ganzak or Shiz, Azerbaijan, and was considered the fire of the Sassanid imperial family. Scholars believe that the remains of Takht-e Soleiman next to the lake are the same fire temple of Azargashnesb in the Sassanid period. Kings usually offered vows and vows there. For example, Bahram Gour gave the gems he had taken from Khaqan Turk and his wife. Khosro Parviz also came and vowed to send gold and silver ornaments there if he overcame Bahram Choobin, and it is narrated that he did so.
The other fire was Azarfarnbagh, which belonged to the priests and clerics and was apparently in the works of Larestan. It is stated that this fire was first in Khorazm and then was taken to Persia. Some consider its transfer to Persia to be related to the Goshtasb period and some to the time of Khosrow I Anushirvan. The fire temple of Karian was located in the south of Iran on the way from Lar to Siraf, and today there are the remains of huge fire temples there. In the inscription in which there is a fire temple, it is written that thirty thousand dinars have been spent for it. Sasan, the ancestor of the Sassanids, was in charge of the fire temple.
Azarbarzin Mehr fire is another mythical fire of Zoroastrian religion which seems to have been its main place in Neishabour. This fire was reserved for farmers and artisans and its construction has been attributed to Goshtasb. According to some Mazdisani sources, Zarathustra had Mehr Mehr in his hand when he descended to the court of Goshtasb Azar, and it was he who restored that fire temple. Orientalists have mentioned the location of Davarzan and Rivand villages as the possible center of this fire temple. In the Islamic period, there are reports of a huge fire temple in Neishabour.
