A Brief History of Persian Gardens

Gardens have been part of human civilization for a very long time. The first known references are to the paradise garden of the gods in the first writings known to man in the form of tablets, dating from around 4000 BCE in Mesopotamia (current day Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey) and in the Epic of Gilgamesh in 2700 BCE telling the Sumerian story of the deluge, which has many parallels with the story of Noah’s ark.  These stories, and later the bible, tell us about the Garden of Eden. British archaeologist, David Rohl, claims to have found the site described in Genesis as Eden in a beautiful valley near the city of Tabriz in northern Iran, and while there are skeptics, several leading experts agree with Rohl.

Persians are the first nation to have built extensive paradise gardens; in fact the word “Paradise” is derived from the Old Persian pairidaeza (enclosed garden– Modern Persian Ferdows.)  The oldest documented garden was built by the Iranian king, Cyrus the Great, in his capital Pasargade in 550 BCE.  The garden was designed to fully integrate with and complement the palace buildings and their architecture.  There is great attention to geometric design and to incorporating the garden within the surrounding buildings.  This integration of the garden with architecture has continued in Iran and is a basic premise in the Iranian view of garden design. Gardens are seen as the most impermanent of man’s architectural creations.

Unlike European gardens, Persian gardens are not designed to be harmonious with the landscape that surrounds them but in defiance of that landscape, which is desolate, arid and harsh. The gardens are built to provide a sanctuary. As in all eastern traditions, Iranian tradition emphasizes the importance of intention over accomplishment. In the garden this means that the goal of the designer is not the visible decorations, but delving into a deep understanding of nature. Gardens are not designed to be “original and different”, but to capture a glimpse of the eternal.  These gardens are designed not for strolling through, but to sit, be contemplative, entertain friends, listen to conversation and music, read poetry, watch the splashing of the spring rains, inhale the fragrance of the flowers, and feel secure and peaceful. Even on a scale as large as the gardens of Pasargade, they are meant to be a private place, hidden away from the world and from people, a place for contemplation and a clearly defined space within the layout of the architecture; dust and noise are kept out. Shade and cool are kept within. Simplicity, purity and harmony between geometry (architecture) and nature are the hallmarks of the design.

Russell Page, the eminent British garden designer, writes in his famous book, The Education of a Gardener, “One may choose to design a garden as a demonstration of technical skill… or a symbol and set up, as best one can, a scaffolding or framework which nature will clothe with life.” The scaffolding and framework of the Persian garden is a concept called chahar-bagh (four gardens). The number four contains a universal symbolism reflecting the order of the universe: the four cardinal directions and the four elements.  The concept of the chahar-bagh is dominant even in these early gardens. The basic chahar-bagh plan is to subdivide the garden into four plots and then into four further plots in a modular arrangement. Light, shade and water are major elements. Gardens are designed to satisfy the tastes and needs of its occupants: reverence for water, the mystical feeling of trees and flowers, significance of mountains and the division of the world into quarters.  Water not flowers is the essential element of the garden.

Gardens are usually terraced with strong axial symmetry dominated by a waterway, with channels spreading out from the central fountain or pool.  The central pool is always overflowing. Often the channels are lined with dark blue, turquoise or green tiles set at angles to the water flowing over them to cause ripples on the surface which catch the sunlight, seeming to display an array of sparkling diamonds.

Even before the conquest of Iran by the Muslims in 651 CE, the influence of the Persian garden and its chahar-bagh are seen in the descriptions of the garden of Paradise in the Quran. Four gardens are described, divided into two pairs. The lowest pair is the Garden of the Soul and the Garden of the Heart (reserved for the Righteous) and the higher pair is the Garden of the Spirit and the Garden of the Essence (reserved for the “Foremost”).

Thus, in the Islamic garden, chahar-bagh is not just a harmonious and beautiful design but it incorporates complex and profound spiritual meaning. One is meant to sit in the garden and let the sound of the water drown all preoccupations, the breeze bring the fragrance of the flowers to fill the senses, the shade of the trees cool and refresh body and soul, and the fruits of the trees enhance the sense of prosperity. In the Persian/Islamic garden an overwhelming sense of tranquility pervades.

After the Arab invasion of Iran, the Persian garden became the foundation for the Islamic garden. The chahar-bagh became the principal symbol of the Quranic paradise on earth. It was taken up and developed in most parts of the Islamic world, from Moorish Spain and North Africa to Syria and India. Islam invested the ancient Persian prototype with a whole new spiritual vision. The Islamic gardens on earth aim to mirror the Garden of Eden and to draw the visitor closer to God.

The Persian or Islamic garden usually consists of the Golestan (flower garden) and the Bustan (Orchard).  The Bustan is more outwardly focused and functional and includes the vegetable garden.  It is large, open, contains fruit trees and is intended as a place to play.  The Golestan is more inwardly focused, small, enclosed courtyards with fountains and pools.  The Golestan is a paradise inside the Bustan.  Both are laid out within the frame of the chahar-bagh.

The plants in the garden soften the ordered and geometric patterns. In Iran usually there is a grove of “chenar trees” (the oriental plane tree) with their large, shade-giving leaves; cypress trees which represent eternity and the male element in nature; palm and olive trees, as well as the different kinds of fruit trees: fig, cherry, peach, citrus, pomegranate, pear, apple and almond, with their abundant blossoms and fruit, representing spring and the female element.  Flower-beds are filled with fragrant plants such as jasmine, roses, narcissi, violets, geraniums and lilies. Other trees to be found in Islamic gardens are willow, bay, juniper, myrtle and laurel.  Some of the varieties are different, but most are familiar even in an American garden.

The chahar-bagh and the other design principles of the Persian garden can be a great inspiration for the American gardener. It is true that the Persian/Islamic garden is designed for a climate that is different than that of most parts of the US, however, the design principles and goals of a Persian garden are transferable in creating sanctuaries that help us escape the overcrowded and polluted urban areas that we live in and seek peace, tranquility and serenity in the garden.