Zoroastrian Fire Temple

The Fire Temple of Yazd, also known as Yazd Atash Behram, is a Zoroastrian fire temple in Yazd, Yazd province, Iran. It enshrines the Atash Bahram, meaning “Victorious Fire”, dated to 470 AD. It is one of the nine Atash Bahrams, the only one of the highest-grade fires in Iran, where Zoroastrians have practiced their religion since 400 BC; the other eight Atash Bahrams are in India. According to Aga Rustam Noshiravan Belivani, of Sharifabad, the Anjuman-i Nasiri opened the Yazd Atash Behram in the 1960s to non-Zoroastrian visitors.

Veneration of fire has its roots in the older practice of keeping a hearth fire burning continually - especially during the bitterly cold winters so characteristic of the steppes of Central Asia, when the early Indo-European-speaking peoples led a nomadic life in which fire was a source of warmth, light and comfort. As time passed, the Iranians began to address fire as Atas Yazata, while rewarding it with offerings in return for its constant help.