Acharbagh orchaharbagh (Persian:چهارباغ,romanized: chahārbāgh,lit. 'four gardens';Hindi:चारबाग़chārbāgh,Urdu:چار باغchār bāgh,Bengali:চারবাগ) is aPersian andIndo-Persian quadrilateral garden with a layout of four gardens traditionally separated by waterways, together representing the four gardens andfour rivers ofParadise mentioned in theQuran.[a] The chaharbagh may also be divided by walkways instead of flowing water.[1] Such gardens are found in countries throughoutWest Asia (which includes Iran),South Asia (which includes Pakistan and India),North Africa and the formeral-Andalus.[2] A famous example of a charbagh is that of theTaj Mahal in India.
The traditional chaharbagh has a four-part garden layout with axial waterways joining at a small square basin in the garden's centre.
The chaharbagh layout originated in theparadise gardens of theAchaemenid Empire, as suggested by excavations atPasargadae andSusa.[3] The highly structured geometrical scheme of the chaharbagh became a powerful method for the organization and domestication of the landscape, itself a symbol of political territory.[4]
After theMuslim conquest of Persia, the chaharbagh was considered to represent the four gardens of Paradise mentioned in theQuran's 55th Chapter (Surah),Ar-Rahman ('The Beneficient'):
And for him, who fears to stand before his Lord, are two gardens. (Chapter 55: Verse 46)
And beside them are two other gardens. (Chapter 55: Verse 62)
The waterways were considered to represent thefour rivers mentioned in ahadith: Sayhan, Jayhan, theEuphrates and theNile.
In the 16th century, the chaharbagh layout was brought from Iran to the Indian subcontinent by theMughal dynasty founded byBabur, who was originally from Central Asia. This tradition gave birth to theMughal gardens, which perhaps displayed its highest form in theTaj Mahal (see below).
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Several of the first Mughal charbagh gardens of monumental scale belonged to imperialmausoleums, such as theBagh-e Babur at Babur's Tomb, inKabul, Afghanistan (honoring the first Mughal emperor,Babur);[5] the charbagh atHumayun's Tomb inDelhi, India (honoringHumayun, son of Babur); and the charbagh at theTomb of Jahangir (honoring the fourth Mughal emperorJahangir, son ofAkbar) inLahore, Pakistan.
The charbagh of theTaj Mahal is also the charbagh of a mausoleum, built by Mughal emperorShah Jahan (great-great-grandson of Babur) for his favourite Indian wifeMumtaz Mahal. Unlike the other tombs, themausoleum is not in the centre of the garden, however archaeological excavations have revealedanother garden opposite indicating that historically the mausoleum was centered as in tomb garden tradition.[6] In the charbagh of the Taj Mahal, each of the four parts contains sixteen flower beds.
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Other Mughal charbagh gardens were built for leisure, without any mausoleum, such as theShalamar Gardens (also known as the "Shahla Bagh"), inLahore, Pakistan, which were also laid out by Shah Jahan. The Shalamar Gardens comprise two charbagh gardens separated by a gigantic pool.
A charbagh is located on the roof top of theIsmaili Centre inSouth Kensington,London.[7]
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