Another word used to describe Ancient Urban Gardens of Persia: Concept, pleasant spaces planted with trees and History, and Influence on Other World shrubs is bagh. For example, the word Baghdad (the capital city of Iraq) is Gardens rooted from the words bagh and daad (meaning ‘‘the garden of justice’’), 1 2 1 as the ancient Persian city of Ctesi- Esmaeil Fallahi , Pontia Fallahi , and Shahla Mahdavi phon and Supreme Court of Ivan-e Madayen during the Sasanian dynasty ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS. art of gardening, bagh, Iran horticulture, landscape of Persia were located near Baghdad. design In the past, Persian elite ensconced themselves in these lavish private gar- SUMMARY. The history of Persian gardens goes back to a few millennia before the dens, nine of which have been named emergence of Islam in Iran (Persia). Designs of Persian gardens have influenced and are used extensively in the gardens of Al-Andalus in Spain, Humayun’s Tomb and collectively as the Persian gardens and the Taj Mahal in India, and many gardens in the United States and other countries count among Iran’s United Nations around the globe. Bagh in the Persian language (Farsi) means garden and the word Educational, Scientific and Cultural Baghdad (the capital city of Iraq) is rooted from the words bagh and daad (meaning Organization World Heritage Sites. ‘‘the garden of justice’’). Pasargadae, the ancient Persian capital city, is the earliest They include the Ancient Garden of example of Persian garden design known in human civilization as chahar bagh or 4- Pasargadae near the tomb place of fold garden design. Bagh-e-Eram, or Garden of Eden or Eram Garden, is one the Cyrus the Great, Eram Garden, Che- most attractive Persian gardens and is located in Shiraz, Iran. There are numerous hel Sotun Garden, Fin Garden, Abbas other urban ancient gardens in Iran, including Bagh-e-Shahzadeh (Shazdeh), Abad Garden, Shahzadeh Garden, meaning ‘‘The Prince’s Garden’’ in Mahan, Golestan National Park near the Cas- pian Sea; Bagh-e-Fin in Kashan; Bagh-e-El-Goli in Tabriz; and Bagh-e-Golshan in Dowlat Abad Garden, Pahlavanpour Tabas. The design of each Persian garden is influenced by climate, art, beliefs, po- Garden, and Akbariyeh Garden. In etry, literature, and romance of the country and the region where the garden is addition to their aesthetic beauty, it is located. In addition, each garden may have a gene bank of fruits, flowers, herbs, and arguably the ability of these gardens vegetables. Although countless gardens were destroyed in the hands of invaders to adapt to and flourish in extreme throughout the centuries, Persians have attempted either to rebuild or build new climates that render them remarkable. gardens generation after generation, each of which has become a favorite destina- The Iranian plateau is not a conducive tion to tourists from around the world. environment for gardens to thrive. Little rainfall, extreme hot and dry Introduction, history, and Pasargadae from 3000 years ago and temperatures in the summer, and cold the garden of Cyrus the Great, the temperatures in the winter, as well as concept of Persian gardens outline of which remains visible today gusty winds provide less than oppor- Gardens and green spaces have (Mahmoudi Farahani et al., 2016). In tune conditions (Fallahi, 2017b; always played a significant role in Ira- the Persian language, these gardens Tajaddini, 2011). These human-made nian history and culture, as evidenced were called pardis,fromwhichthe havens therefore relied on proper use by the gardens of the ancient city of Englishwordparadise—inthesenseof of space and a subterranean irrigation heaven—derives (Fallahi, 2017a). From system (SIS). Received for publication 20 May 2019. Accepted for the era of the Achaemenian and Sasanian Throughout time, these gardens publication 28 Aug. 2019. dynasties, Iran itself was conceptualized have shifted in terms of layout, aes- Published online 8 October 2019. by its rulers and citizens as a huge garden thetics, and use. During the Sasanian 1University of Idaho, Department of Plant Sciences, with surrounding walls that encom- Empire, between the third and sev- 29603 U of I Lane, Parma, ID 83660 passed different tribes and beliefs, with enth century, a time in which the 21421 Narrow Lane Parkway Montgomery, AL 36111 everyrewardpromisedtobeinheaven. Zoroastrian religion was dominant, This vision was evident from a speech flowing water and fruit trees played We express our gratitude to Professor Morteza Khosh-Khui, University of Shiraz, Department of about Iran and its walls by Persian King a vital role, as illustrated in the garden Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Shiraz, Iran, Anushirvan of the Sasanian dynasty. designs replete with fountains and for providing some information for this article. However, the fantasized walls came ponds (Fallahi et al., 2018). After This paper was presented during the 2018 American Society for Horticultural Science Annual Conference down and Arabs, Turks, Mongols, and the Arab conquest, the ancient Per- in Washington, DC, as part of a workshop titled others went into Iran. Still, the concept sian concept of chahar bagh (four ‘‘Urban Horticulture: From Local Initiatives to of the Persian garden remained in Iran, gardens) was used in Persian land- Global Success Stories.’’ and all these conquerors continued to scaping, placing a greater emphasis on E.F. is a Professor and Director of Pomology and Viticulture Program. build gardens (Daryaee, 2014). aesthetics, mirroring the Garden of P.F. is an expert in international tourism and culture. S.M. is a Postdoctoral Fellow of Pomology and Viticulture Program. Units E.F. is the corresponding author. E-mail: efallahi@ To convert U.S. to SI, To convert SI to U.S., uidaho.edu. multiply by U.S. unit SI unit multiply by This is an open access article distributed under the CC 0.4047 acre(s) ha 2.4711 BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/ 0.3048 ft m 3.2808 licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). 0.0929 ft2 m2 10.7639 https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTTECH04415-19 1.6093 mile(s) km 0.6214 6 • February 2020 30(1) Eden described in verses of the Koran (Ghavidel, 2008; United Nations Ed- attractive feature. Without water, the as a place where two rivers intersect, ucational, Scientific and Cultural Or- Persian garden cannot exist; there- thereby dividing the garden into four ganization, 2018). fore, flowing water is central to the quadrants. The Mongolian invasion In past decades, the influence of concept because its presence is con- during the 13th century brought with the Persian garden can be seen in ceptual, functional, and aesthetic. it ornamental and decorative floral numerous parks and landscaping Because these gardens are in regions species. Finally, during the 17th and landmarks around the world. Long- where water sources are scarce, irri- 18th centuries (the Safavid dynasty), wood Gardens (Kennett Square, PA) gating the land is a major con- a palace became an extension of the is one of the world’s great horticul- cern. Water from underground SISs, garden. In other words, residential tural displays, encompassing more springs, or rivers functions to irrigate quarters or a pavilion were con- than 450 ha of dazzling gardens and the land by waterways (Mahdi Nejad structed on the garden grounds and woodlands. In our opinion, several et al., 2017). became an integral element of the aspects of Persian gardens, such as the Vegetation is a vital part of the Persian garden. concept of chahar bagh or charbagh Persian garden and includes diverse and waterways, are merged with trees, shrubs, and flowers. The types Influence of Persian gardens on other garden designs at Longwood of plants in these gardens vary accord- Gardens. The Walled Gardens in ing to location, but serve different gardens in other countries Untermyer Park, also known as functions, including providing shade Over millennia, the Persian gar- Untermyer Garden, in Yonkers, NY, and ornamentation. Evergreens, such den had a major influence on and is an excellent example of a garden as iranian cedar (Cupressus sempervi- served as inspiration for other gardens mimicking the design of ancient Per- rens) and turkish pine (Pinus brutia), around the world—from the Alham- sian gardens of antiquity in the mod- and deciduous trees, such as orna- bra in Spain to the Taj Mahal and ern western world. This garden was mental plane tree (Platanus orienta- Mongolian Garden in India to the developed by Samuel Untermyer dur- lis), are the main types of trees used in paved and tiled Andalusian court- ing the early 20th century and is Persian gardens. Fruit-bearing and yards with arcades, pools, and foun- considered ‘‘America’s greatest for- shade-providing trees are also fea- tains testifying to their Persian roots gotten garden today’’ (Gannon, tured prominently in Persian gardens. (Ghavidel, 2008). When Alexander 2017; Untermyer Gardens Conser- Pasargadae Garden is believed to have the Great conquered parts of the vancy, 2019). been used as both a hunting ground Persian Empire in 334 BCE, he In modern days, attention has and a garden of fruit trees for con- brought back with him new varieties been given to the influence and inte- sumption (Ghavidel, 2008). of fruit and other plants, and these gration of Persian garden concepts with The last element of the Per- materials were later grown in Gardens park designs of the new world where sian garden is the architectural space. of Lucullus (Horti Lucullani) on the Iranian immigrants reside (Ghavidel, Persian gardens are enclosed by sur- Pincian Hill at the edge of Rome 2008; Yazdani, 2018; Yazdani and Loz- rounding adobe walls, offering seclu- (Bowe, 2004). The concept of the anovska, 2016, 2017). Yazdani (2018) sion and solitude. These walls are Persian garden prompted an interest revealed that historical icons and cultural borders of the gardens themselves in horticulture that was renewed in landscapes play prominent roles in in- and serve as a boundary between the Europe around 60 BCE (Bowe, spiring Iran’s park environments, arid, uncultivated land outside and 2004).