Abbas Abad Historic Garden of Natanz

At the beginning of reign of Shah Abbas I In the late tenth century AH when Isfahan was chosen as the capital of Iran, the historic gardens appeared in the up-country areas adjacent to this city. Abbas Abad historic garden is one of these gardens. It could be argued that these gardens had been created for the purpose of providing a summer recreation place and temporary residence for the King and his companions on journeys from Isfahan to destinations such as the north of the country. The present study has been carried out on the basis of sources such as historical and pictorial written documents, books, manuscripts as well as field studies. From among the basic sources used by the authors, one might refer to Kleiss’s field studies and the travel account written by Don García de Silva Figueroa. This paper aimed at studying the garden bed in order to enhance our understanding of this work. Accordingly, the results of the study have added substantially to our understanding of Abbas Abad historic garden. According to the current findings, the structure of the garden bed has specified a village consisting of garden, farms, mines, cemetery and castle. The castle had been served as the primary residence for the residents of Abbas Abad, and thereafter, the residents’ migration to Saleh Abad caused the castle to be abandoned. This paper focuses on the importance of up-country areas and agricultural heritage of Natanz regarding their manifestation in this garden, thereby indicating a kind of Iranian garden with garden-farm design. This design consists of formal garden and farmlands with separate fences which their purpose of creation has been reviewed. Since Abbas Abad garden has been rarely referred to in historical texts, this paper focuses on the ways to this garden in Safavid and Qajar dynasties. Moreover, reviewing the corresponding documents between the garden owners and the Endowments organization, the study has reviewed the manner of water supply as well as understanding of plant species of this garden.