A Research in Architecture of Yazd City in the early Islamic Period

The arrival of Islam in Iranian territories led to the changes in architecture of Iranian cities of Sassanid period. The general feature of such cities was the expansion of its external part (Rabaz). The reports of Muslim geographers indicate that the structure of these cities, however, the information about the architecture of Iran's historical cities are incomplete and imprecise. Yazd city could be a good example of these cities. This study aims to indicate the structure of Yazd city based on the historical, architectural and archeological documents with analytical- descriptive approach. The outcome of this research demonstrates that the part of Sharestan, which was small, had a stable rampart with two gates. One of these gates, known as Darb Masjed (The door of mosque), was located in the south of Sharestan. The second gate, known as Darb Izad or Andaru, was situated in the north of this part. The market and one of the central mosques were located in Rabaz and another mosque was situated in Sharestan. The important issue about this city was the expansion of this city in south, south _ west and south _ east. It is assumed that the market had influence on this expansion of this part in the next period.