Sharifabad () is a neighborhood of the city of

Ardakan Ardakan () is a city in the Central District of Ardakan County, Yazd province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Demographics Population At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 51,34 ...

in the Central District of

Ardakan County Ardakan County () is in Yazd province, Yazd province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Ardakan. Demographics Population At the time of the 2006 National Census, the county's population was 66,900 in 18,140 households. The following census i ...

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, the historical city of Yazd is rec ...

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 ...

. Sharifabad is one of the

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

centres of

, home to numerous Zoroastrian holy sites. Every summer, thousands of Zoroastrians from around the world gather here on

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

. Sharifabad is also notable for the 1,000-year-old Qutbabad aqueduct that runs through the village. The village is home to both

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and Zoroastrians who worship separately and respect each other's beliefs.Alizadeh, Mohammad. ''Evaluating Maneckji Hataria's reforming performance in the political-social condition of Iranian Zoroastrian in Qajar era'' American-Eurasian Network for Scientific Information 2013.Oloonabadi, Seyyed Saeed Ahmadi, and Maryam Keramati Ardakani. ''The Role of Collective Memory in Linking the Old Parts of a City: a Case of Ardakan'' Proceedings of Heritage 2011 Conference Amman, Jordan. The Center for the Study of Architecture in Arab Region, 2011 Sharifabad is present in the historical book of Rostam Biliwani, which recorded that the village was formerly called "Shahriabad" and later renamed "Sharafabad" before receiving its current name.

Zoroastrianism and Sharifabad

In Zoroastrianism's long history, Sharifabad has been of substantial importance as "the most important center for preserving traditional Zoroastrian beliefs in Iran, and the residence of many great priests for centuries." This led English writer

Mary Boyce Nora Elisabeth Mary Boyce (2 August 1920 – 4 April 2006) was a British scholar of Iranian languages and an authority on Zoroastrianism. She was Professor of Iranian Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of the Un ...

to describe the village as "A Persian Stronghold of Zoroastrianism''"''. Her research on the life of Zoroastrian Sharifabad residents has been useful in research into contemporary Zoroastrian beliefs.

Hiromba

A festival of fire called Hiromba, (translation: "making bonfires", also known as

Sadeh Sadeh ( also transliterated as ''Sade''), is an Iranian festival that dates back to the Achaemenid Empire. ''Sadeh'' is celebrated 50 days before Nowruz. Sadeh in Persian means "hundred" and refers to the one hundred days and nights remaining t ...

), is celebrated in Sharifabad.

Zoroastrian relations with Mumbai

To review the beliefs, scriptures, rituals and ceremonies and other rules and regulations of the Zoroastrian religion, these

Parsis The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...

of India sought help from their counterparts in

. Behram Nariman Houshang arrived with questions about the beliefs of the

Zoroastrian religion Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wor ...

, which were used to elicit information from the priests of Sharifabad and Torkabad villages. This was the first interaction between the Zoroastrians of

and the

. These relations continued for 300 years. The trading relationship between the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

and the Parsis also encouraged the Sharifabad Zoroastrians (and other Zoroastrian villages of Yazd) to emigrate to India. Mankeji Limji Houshangpour Hatria (whose ancestors were Iranian immigrants to India during the

Safavid era The Safavid dynasty (; , ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history, as well as one of the gunpowder empires. The Safavid Shah Ismai ...

) traveled to Iran and helped improve the Zoroastrians' lives in Yazd.

Architecture

Parsi immigrants built small Zoroastrian schools in the early 19th century.

shrines, millennial aqueducts, brick and mud houses, narrow alleys, and large water reservoirs are found in the village. Sharifabad is also home to a famous Zoroastrian

fire temple A fire temple (; ) is a place of worship for Zoroastrians. In Zoroastrian doctrine, ''atar'' and '' aban'' (fire and water) are agents of ritual purity. Clean, white "ash for the purification ceremonies sregarded as the basis of ritual lif ...

Economy

The economy of Sharifabad historically revolved around agriculture,BOYCE, MARY. ''A PERSIAN''_STRONGHOLD OF ZOROASTRIANISM '' Oxford University Press 1977. '' with residents farming the deserts of Esmatabad and

Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

. However, with the decline of the aqueduct and reduced groundwater, many have gradually turned to industrial production and service jobs. A considerable portion of the

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

population has transitioned to craftsmanship, contributing to the tile, ceramic, and glass industries of the

province. A growing number of residents have immigrated to Canada and the United States.Foltz, Richard. ''Zoroastrians in Iran: what future in the homeland?.'' The Middle East Journal 65.1 (2011): 73–84

Notes

References

{{Ardakan County, state=collapsed Ardakan County Populated places in Ardakan County Zoroastrianism