1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Yezd (city)

YEZD, the capital of the province of the same name in Persia, situated 192 m. N.W. of Kerman, 162 m. S.E. of Isfahan, in 31° 54′ N. and 54° 22′ E., at an elevation of 4240 ft. Its population, 100,000 in 1810, is now estimated at 50,000, including 2000 Jews and 1300 Zoroastrians.^[1] The city is divided into the Shahr i nau (new town) and Shahr i kohneh (old town), separated by a wall with two gates. The ark, or citadel, in the E. of the town, is fortified with walls, bastions and dry ditch, and contains the governor's residence. The bazaar is in good repair and well stocked, other parts of the town are irregularly planned, with dark, narrow streets. There are eighteen mosques, one, the Masjed i Jama, also called Masjed i Mir Chakhmak, is an old and decayed structure originally built in 1119, with a lofty and imposing frontage dating from 1472. There are seven colleges. The caravanserais number thirty-three. There are telegraph (English staff since 1903) and post offices. The Englishman in charge of the telegraph office acts as British vice-consul.

1. In 1879 the Zoroastrian community of Yezd numbered 6483, 1242 residing in the city, 5241 in the villages, in 1892 the community numbered 6908, and as many have emigrated, it is computed that it now numbers not more than 7000.