Alexander Prison

The unknown is always mesmerizing. The darkness that surrounds Alexander Prison in Yazd has always drawn the attention of visitors. “Ziaiyeh School” or “Iskandar/Alexander Prison” is definitely one of the most historically remarkable tourist spots in Yazd. The very importance partially lies in its uncertain story behind it. Structurally speaking, entering the building is through a very small, narrow door, but when you step into the yard, you will shockingly see the majesty of a construction that is really striking and unique in its own Ilkhanid style. There are many interesting wonders about Ziaiyeh School, but the one that sounds significant is the way its dome is highly similar in shape to the dome of the Twelve Imam Shrine that is situated in its neighborhood.

 

Alexander Prison was registered in Iran’s National Heritage list in 1967. Many shops selling handicrafts are located there, where the tourists can buy Persian souvenirs and, more importantly, witness the artistic process of their production. Historically speaking, Alexander Prison has been with us for eight centuries, and is still solidly safe like a strong rock in the middle of the desert area of Iran. As inferred by the stories and some sayings, Alexander Prison was built by Alexander the Great when he was invading Rey in the north of Iran, in an area that was called “ Khteh ”, the place that we know as Yazd city presently. Following that time, Yazdgerd I, the king of the Sassanid dynasty, ordered the foundation of a city in that area, which he named “ Yazdan Gerd”.

 

It is worth mentioning that there is no reliable historical or scientific document authenticating the relationship of Alexander the Great to this monument, but as mentioned earlier, it is only based on the stories and oral folktales of the Yazd people. However, strategically, Yazd city was a very suitable place for the formation and distribution of the Greek military forces, leading to the capture of Media and Great Persia by Alexander the Great. Geographically, the pathway was very important, which made this presupposition very likely. The old road and the station of the traditional mailmen who were passing to Kerman and Khorasan willy-nilly had to pass through Yazd city. So, reasonably speaking, it was not unlikely that an area existed for the adversaries of Alexander the Great in the place that is currently Yazd city.

 

From oral evidence, we can infer that the relationship to the monument to Alexander makes sense. There are many quotations from Alexander that people from Yazd mention regarding his invasion of Persia. His exile to Yazd city is also referred to by the Yazd citizens. We can even refer to the way people of that period were scared of Alexander and how they deeply hated him. Based on these historical and anthropological signs, we can conclude that the very labeling of Ziaiyeh School as Alexander Prison is not irrelevant. The anthropologist and the researchers of Yazd city during the 9th century AH, figures like the great historians Kateb and Jafari, related the source of the word “ Katheh” to the written evidence of Alexander Prison. Originally, they considered Katheh as the beginning shape of Yazd city, constructed by the direct decree of Alexander.

 

They considered this monument to be a place that is referred to in literary documents as “ Zulqarnain Prison”. This is exactly what Hafiz, the Persian poet of the fourteenth century, has referred to: “My heart is filled with the horror of Alexander’s Prison/ I pack my bag and leave for Suleiman’s land”. Following the decay of the building, a ditch appeared in one of its sections where an underground prison was found. That is why the likelihood of the presence of Alexander’s Prison became even stronger and more reliable following that discovery. However, when the archeologists reexamined the site, they found that this underground cell might have belonged to a water supply plan. Following that discovery onward, one can find out how genius Persian people were to design underground systems for water supply in a dry land like Yazd. Within this context, the majority of archaeologists do not approve of the likelihood of a prison in that spot.

 

Anyhow, what matters regarding the very building is the unique structure of Ziaiyeh School or Alexander Prison. Although the form of the building seems very simple, the detailed beauty of its structure reveals the wisdom and unique artistic taste of that epoch. Amazingly, there is nowhere in this building that the architect used any kind of tile work as an embellishment. It simply consists of raw clay. According to the engineering findings, this method was quite intentional in order to make the building quite endurable and long-lasting. The style appears in the Azari architectural form, which is very specific to the style of Architecture after the invasion of the Arabs and the beginning of the Islamic era and the Ilkhanid period in Iran. The experts also call this style “Mongol” or “Iranian/Mongol” school of art. The process for building this monument was bipartite, meaning that the construction had two stages. The first stage dealt with constructing the antique tomb’s dome, which took place during the Mongol invasion of Iran. At that time, it was not in the shape of the building designed for a school.

 

Following the next 200 years, the second phase of the building continued, which was at the beginning of the eighth century AH, when the grandson of the architect who constructed the building in its first phase, built a school close to the dome area. Now that you have experienced roaming in the historical stories of the so-called Alexander Prison, it is time to get refreshed by the restaurants where fragrances of Persian foods and the local cuisines of Yazd can be tasted, this time with no similarity or not even a small trace to the Greek commander Alexander. It is one hundred percent Iranian. The restaurants are so cozy and worth sitting and enjoying your very Persian meal. Tahmoures Historical Restaurant is, without doubt, the first choice that suits the ancient ambience of the site. Karisma, Fooka, Emarat, Dragon, Marco Polo, Termeh, and Tanoorak are among the best restaurants in the neighborhood of Ziaiyeh School. Koohan, Firoozeh, Hooman, Fahadan, Laleh, and Sharbaaf are the great hotels where you can stay and enjoy the lovely traditional atmosphere of the nearby site.