Research on the city of Kathah based on writing documents and archaeological data

Kathah is one of the settlement centers that together with Meybod, Naein and Fahraj formed the four important cities of Yazd region. According to the local texts, its creation is considered to be related to the pre-Islamic period, which was built by Alexander and did not exist in the Islamic period; Nevertheless, geographical texts mention it as one of the cities of the Islamic period. This article aims to study the name of the city of Kathah and with an analytical-historical-descriptive method seeks to answer the following questions: 1. What is the position of the city of Kathah in the sources? 2. Considering the geographical features of Yazd-Ardakan plain and its adaptation to the descriptions of the texts, which of the settlement centers in this plain can be matched with Kathah? Local texts consider Kathah to be one of Alexander's compositions, where he imprisoned some of the captives taken during the battle with Darius III. After the construction of Yazd, this city was abandoned and the residents migrated to this city. However, geographers consider it as one of the settlement centers of the Yazd region in the Islamic period, which shows the contradiction between their statements and the local texts of Yazd. The results of this study show that Muslim geographers have used the word Kathah to refer to one of its settlement centers according to the geographical features of Yazd region. By matching their descriptions with the geographical features of Yazd-Ardakan plain, Rustaq Dehestan can be suggested; Because this Dehestan was composed of several villages from the very beginning, and this process continues to this day. This Dehestan has long been considered one of the agricultural hubs of Yazd province. Also, due to the existence of the Rey-Kerman road, it is very important and due to its existence, it has been connected with the settlements in the south and southeast of Iran. This can be proven by archaeological data.