Mehrpadin Castle (
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
: قلعه مهرپادین) is a 14th-century castle in
Mehriz County
Mehriz County () is in Yazd
Yazd (; ) is a city in the Central District of Yazd County, Yazd province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. At the 2016 census, its population was 529,673. Since 2017 ...
,
Yazd province,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
.
History
There is a disagreement on when this castle was constructed. According to some, it was built during
Mozaffarid era,
others claim it is a
Safavid
The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...
structure,
while another group attribute it to
Afsharid era.
The local story, however, states that during the
Mongol invasion
The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire, the Mongol Empire (1206–1368), which by 1260 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...
, the Mongols slaughtered the entire population of the city of Mehrijerd, but spared one infant boy and gave him to the inhabitants of the nearby village of
Saryazd. When the boy grew up, in order to prevent this from happening ever again, he returned to his homeland and created the castle, so that people would be safe in times of raids and wars.
The castle was never used as a permanent residence, but as a place for temporary residence in event of raids, in which case they often used smoke to signal other castles and ask for help.
It was listed in
the national heritage sites of Iran with the number 6,143 on 29 September 2002.
Description
The castle consists of two layers of walls and nine round towers, and the entire castle is surrounded by a large moat. The walls are approximately in height, and the towers of the inner layer are tall. Interior of the castle includes structures like houses, governor's seat, religious buildings, stables and storehouses.
Gallery
File:Mehr padin castle2.jpg
File:Mehr padin castle.jpg
File:HG79894.jpg
File:HG79831-2 2.jpg
File:Wiki Loves Monuments 2018 IranYazd - Mehriz - Picture 01.jpg
File:Inside1 of Mehrpadin.jpg
References
{{coord, 31.5837, 54.4579, type:landmark_region:IR, display=title
Castles in Iran
Tourist attractions in Yazd province
Buildings and structures in Yazd province
National works of Iran