The tradition and style ofgarden design represented byPersian gardens orIranian gardens (Persian:باغ ایرانی) is a style of "landscape"garden which emerged in theAchaemenid Empire.Humayun's Tomb and theTaj Mahal have some of the largest Persian gardens in the world, from the era of theMughal Empire in India.
From the time of theAchaemenid Empire, the idea of an earthly paradise spread throughPersian literature and example to other cultures, both theHellenistic gardens of theSeleucid Empire and thePtolemies inAlexandria.
TheAvestan wordpairidaēza-,Old Persian *paridaida-,[note 1] orMedian *paridaiza- "walled-around", (i.e., awalled garden), were borrowed intoElamite (partetaš) andAkkadian, and later asAncient Greek:παράδεισος,romanized: parádeisos. It was rendered asLatinparadīsus, and from there entered into European languages, e.g.,Frenchparadis,GermanParadies, andEnglishparadise.[1] In the Achaemenid Empire, the term is used for functional worksites as well, and it translated as "plantations"; these sites contained not only orchards andtree plantations, but also sometimesbitumen harvesting and mining. The same word was used to describe the Elamite custom of creating asacred grove orhusa surrounding a royal grave that was the site ofworship of the deceased king.[2]
As the word expresses, suchgardens would have been enclosed. Gardens provided a place for protected relaxation, bothspiritual andleisurely, and represented a paradise on earth. TheCommon Iranian word for "enclosed space" was *pari-daiza- (Avestanpairi-daēza-). This term was adopted to describe thegarden of Eden aParadise on earth.[3]
The garden's construction may beformal (with an emphasis on structure) or casual (with a focus on nature), following several simple design rules. This allows the maximum possible use of the garden in terms of function and emotion.
Persian gardens may originate as early as 4000 BC, but it is clear that this tradition began with the Achaemenid dynasty around the 6th century BCE.[4][dubious –discuss][verification needed] Decorated pottery of that time displays the typical cross plan of the Persian garden. The outline ofPasargadae, built around 500 BC, is still viewable today. Classical Iranians were seen by the Greeks as the 'great gardeners' of antiquity; Cyrus II (known also as Cyrus the Younger) is alleged to have told the Spartan commanderLysander that he gardened daily when not campaigning, and had himself laid out the park at Sardis, which he called his 'paradise' (a Greek corruption of the Old Persian word for garden).[5]
During the suzerainty of theSasanian Empire, under the influence ofZoroastrianism,water inart grew increasingly important. This trend manifested itself in garden design, with greater emphasis onfountains andponds in gardens.
During the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, the aesthetic aspect of the garden increased in importance, overtaking utility. During this time, aesthetic rules that govern the garden grew in importance. An example of this is thechahār bāgh (چهارباغ), a form of garden that attempts to emulate the Abrahamicnotion of a Garden of Eden, with four rivers and four quadrants that represent the world. The design sometimes extends one axis longer than the cross-axis and may feature water channels that run through each of the four gardens and connect to a central pool.
Under the Abbasid dynasty (8th century AD), this type of garden became an integral part of representational architecture.
The Persian garden is a landscape garden, designed individually and created intentionally as a space embedded in the aesthetic and spiritual context of its past and contemporary cultural, political, and social environment. Hallmarks of these formal gardens are a geometric layout following geometric and visual principles, implemented to nature by water channels and basins which divide the enclosed space into clearly defined quarters, a principle that has become known as Chahar Bagh (four gardens), waterworks with channels, basins, fountains and cascades, pavilions, prominent central axes with a vista, and a plantation with a variety of carefully chosen trees, herbs. and flowers. The old-Iranian word for such gardens "pari-daizi' expresses the notion of an earthly paradise that is inherent to them. As such, they are a metaphor for the divine order and the unification and protection of the ones who do good. Their counterparts on earth fulfill a similar function. These principles are brought to perfection in the gardens of the emperor as the "good gardener".
Notwithstanding a formal standardization, the landscape gardens also reflect diversity and development, bound to function, regional and chronological characteristics, as well as technological, know how personal preferences, ambitions, and demands. Persian gardens are multi-functional: they not only serve contemplation and relaxation, but are also a representation and manifestation of power. Designing and implementing a garden demonstrates the occupation of land, holding audiences and celebrating victories or marriages in these gardens signal superiority, or social and political bonds. Starting from the 12th to 13th century, tombs for members of the royal family or important personalities were placed into such formal gardens, providing believers a chance to benefit from the spirituality of a venerated person and the particular aura of the garden.[6]
The invasion of Persia by theMongols in the thirteenth century led to a new emphasis on highly ornatestructure in the garden. Examples of this includetree peonies andchrysanthemums.[clarification needed] The Mongols then carried a Persian garden tradition to other parts of their empire (notablyIndia).
TheMughal emperorBabur introduced the Persian garden toIndia, attempting to replicate the cool, refreshing aura of his homeland in the Ferghana Valley through the construction of Persian-style gardens, like those at other Timurid cities like Samarkand and Herat. Babur was a zealous gardener and personally designed and supervised at least ten gardens in his capital ofKabul in modern Afghanistan, such as theBagh-e Babur, where he recorded the allure of the pomegranate, cherry and orange trees he had planted.[7] Though his empire soon expanded as far as north-central India, he abhorred the stagnant heat and drab environment of the hot, dusty plains of India; he was thus interred at Bagh-e Babur in Kabul by his widow in 1544.[6]
TheAram Bagh of Agra was the first of many Persian gardens he created in India itself.Mughal gardens have four basic requirements, symbolizing four allegorical essentials for the afterlife: shade, fruit, fragrance, and running water. This pattern was used to build many Persian gardens throughout the Indian subcontinent, such as theShalimar Gardens of Lahore, theShalimar Bagh andNishat Bagh of Kashmir, and theTaj Mahal gardens. The Taj Mahal gardens embody the Persian concept of an idealparadise garden, and were built with irrigation channels and canals from theYamuna River. These gardens have recently been restored to their former beauty after decades of pollution by the Indian authorities, who cut down the fruit- and shade-bearing vegetation of the garden.[8][9][10]
TheSafavid dynasty (seventeenth to eighteenth century) built and developed grand and epic layouts that went beyond a simple extension to a palace and became an integral aesthetic and functional part of it. In the following centuries, Europeangarden design began to influence Persia, particularly the designs ofFrance, and secondarily that ofRussia and theUnited Kingdom. Western influences led to changes in the use of water and the species used in bedding.
Traditional forms and style are still applied in modern Iranian gardens. They also appear in historic sites, museums, and affixed to the houses of the rich.
Sunlight and its effects were an important factor of structural design in Persian gardens. Textures and shapes were specifically chosen byarchitects to harness the light.[11]
Iran's dry heat makes shade important in gardens, which would be nearly unusable without it. Trees andtrellises largely feature asbiotic shade;pavilions andwalls are also structurally prominent in blocking the sun.
The heat also makes water important, both in the design and maintenance of the garden. Irrigation may be required, and may be provided via a form of tunnel called aqanat, that transports water from a localaquifer.Well-like structures then connect to the qanat, enabling the drawing of water. Alternatively, an animal-drivenPersian well would draw water to the surface. Such wheel systems also moved water around surface water systems, such as those in thechahar bāgh style. Trees were often planted in a ditch called ajuy, which prevented waterevaporation and allowed the water quick access to the treeroots.
The Persian style often attempts to integrate indoors with outdoors through the connection of a surrounding garden with an innercourtyard. Designers often place architectural elements such asvaulted arches between the outer and interior areas to open up the divide between them.
An early description (from the first half of the fourth century BCE) of a Persian garden is found inXenophon'sOeconomicus in which he hasSocrates relate the story of the Spartan generalLysander's visit to the Persian princeCyrus the Younger, who shows the Greek his "paradise at Sardis". In this story Lysander is "astonished at the beauty of the trees within, all planted at equal intervals, the long straight rows of waving branches, the perfect regularity, the rectangular symmetry of the whole, and the many sweet scents which hung about them as they paced the park"[12]
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The oldest representational descriptions and illustrations of Persian gardens come from travelers who reached Iran from the west. These accounts includeIbn Battuta in the fourteenth century,Ruy González de Clavijo in the fifteenth century andEngelbert Kaempfer in the seventeenth century. Battuta and Clavijo made only passing references to gardens and did not describe their design, but Kaempfer made careful drawings and converted them into detailed engravings after his return to Europe. They showcharbagh-type gardens that featured an enclosing wall, rectangular pools, an internal network of canals, garden pavilions and lush planting. There are surviving examples of this garden type atYazd (Dowlatabad) and atKashan (Fin Garden). The location of the gardens Kaempfer illustrated inIsfahan can be identified.
The six primary styles of the Persian garden may be seen in the following table, which puts them in the context of their function and style. Gardens are not limited to a particular style, but often integrate different styles, or have areas with different functions and styles.
| Classical | Formal | Casual | |
| Public | Hayāt | Meidān | Park |
| Private | Hayāt | Chahār Bāgh | Bāgh |
Publicly, it is a classical Persian layout with heavy emphasis onaesthetics over function. Man-made structures in the garden are particularly important, witharches andpools (which may be used to bathe). The ground is often covered ingravel flagged with stone. Plantings are typically very simple - such as a line of trees, which also provide shade.
Privately, these gardens are often pool-centred and, again, structural. The pool serves as a focus and source of humidity for the surrounding atmosphere. There are few plants, often due to the limited water available inurban areas.
This is a public,formal garden that puts more emphasis on thebiotic element than thehayāt and that minimises structure. Plants range fromtrees, toshrubs, tobedding plants, tograsses. Again, there are elements such as a pool and gravel pathways which divide thelawn. When structures are used, they are often built, as in the case of pavilions, to provide shade.
These gardens are private and formal. The basic structure consists of four quadrants divided by waterways or pathways. Traditionally, the rich used such gardens in work-related functions (such as entertainingambassadors). These gardens balance structure with greenery, with the plants often around the periphery of a pool and path based structure.
Much like many otherparks, the Persian park serves a casual public function with emphasis on plant life. They provide pathways and seating, but are otherwise usually limited in terms of structural elements. The purpose of such places is relaxation and socialisation.
Like the other casual garden, the park,bāgh emphasizes the natural and green aspect of the garden. Unlike the park it is a private area often affixed to houses and often consisting oflawns, trees, and ground plants. The waterways and pathways stand out less than in the more formal counterparts and are largely functional. The primary function of such areas is familial relaxation.
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
| Location | Iran |
| Includes | |
| Criteria | Cultural: (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (vi) |
| Reference | 1372 |
| Inscription | 2011 (35thSession) |
| Area | 716.35 ha (2.7658 sq mi) |
| Buffer zone | 9,740.02 ha (37.6064 sq mi) |
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