Courtyard Evolution in Houses of Yazd from the Muzaffarid to the Safavid Era

Yazd is a historical city that has the oldest residential buildings. It was a large government center exhibiting glory and prosperity in the 77-year period of Muzaffarid rule. In the Safavid era as well, Yazd saw an increase in residential construction due to the governing sense of security and peace in the city. One of the integral parts of houses built then was the courtyard, many diverse types of which remain from that period. The evolution of the courtyard represents the practical and theoretical transformations of architectural thought. The diversity of house forms during that period and the chronology and evolution of the courtyard from the Muzaffarid to the Safavid era are the inquiries of this research. This research uses historical documents as well as field studies. The analytical-historical method is employed and the main historical sources include Tarikh-e Yazd and Tarikh-e jadid-e Yazd (for the Muzaffarid era) as well as Jame‘e Mofidi and Jame‘e Ja‘fari (for the Safavid era). First, the characteristics of the houses in the historical texts are explained and then, the architecture of existing houses is briefly introduced. Then, a comparative study of the physical aspects of the courtyards is completed in the form of quantitative reports. The findings show that during the Muzaffarid era, three types of courtyards were used: inner courtyard, khalf-e-bagh, and sarabostan (a small garden that was built next to old houses and had a great impact on the microclimate). In the Safavid era, the inner courtyard and sarabostan continued to exist but the khalf-e-bagh courtyards were not built anymore. Finally, it can be said that the design of courtyards in the Safavid garden houses is a continuation and upgrade of the model of Muzaffarid sarabostan and harmonious with the design of the Muzaffarid garden houses.