باغ ایرانی

The pressures of modern life have created significant psychological and physical challenges for humans. Recent studies on nature’s therapeutic effects have introduced healing landscapes, yet the restorative qualities of Iran’s historical gardens have been recognized for centuries. The Persian garden, a masterpiece of Iranian civilization, underwent a major transformation with the advent of Islam, a shift in worldview, and the rise of Islamic mysticism. This study explores the origins of healing concepts in Persian garden design and how Islamic mysticism shaped their restorative qualities. Through logical reasoning and analysis of historical and literary sources, the research provides a comprehensive understanding of the garden’s formation and spiritual dimensions. It also examines the influence of Islamic mysticism on Iranian art and architecture. The findings reveal that Iranian Muslim architects, inspired by mystical principles, designed gardens that transcend physical functionality to offer healing properties. These gardens foster mental clarity and emotional balance, promoting physical well-being and holistic health. The study highlights Islamic mysticism as the intellectual and spiritual foundation behind these healing environments. As both a cultural heritage and a timeless design paradigm, the Persian garden offers valuable insights for contemporary landscape architecture, providing a sustainable model for creating spaces that nurture human well-being in today’s fast-paced world.

The Persian Garden is one of the oldest and most well-known landscape patterns in the world, which has interacted with nature as one of the most distinguished human creations. Various factors have participated in the creation of this historical phenomenon, the investigation of each of which requires a separate study, and among them, the cultural, ritual and climatic parameters are considered to be the most significant factors in the formation of the Persian garden. In such a way that many researchers, while accepting one factor, have rejected or considered very weak the possibility of the influence of other factors in the creation of the Persian garden. Considering the wide range of arid climates in Iran, which requires finding suitable models for landscaping in this land. In addition, facing the climatic conditions and confronting the phenomenon of desertification, this paper aims to, regardless of other views, identify the climate of the first Persian gardens and determine the position of the climate in the design of Persian gardens by analyzing and criticizing different opinions in this field. The research method of the present paper is interpretative-historical in the form of content analysis in the context of library studies. By analyzing different theories and perspectives on Persian garden creation, the climatic background of the first Persian gardens and the architectural features of Pasargadae Garden as an archetype. Persian gardens, location and influence of climate in the formation of Persian gardens are shown in the context of history. The results indicate that the emergence of the Persian garden was based on climatic goals in arid regions and climate is one of the main factors in its formation.

Knowing historical gardens in a city as an architectural element will lead to a better understanding of the history and identity of that city.   During the time of Nāṣer al-Din Shah Qajar, many construction works were done in the Shah ʿAbd al-ʿAẓim's borough, including the construction of a number of gardens there. This research first sought to find the names of these gardens and in the next step to find them in the contemporary city of Rayy, so that by introducing them, the first step to protect the remains of these important historical documents can be taken. The main method of this research is to study historical texts and find clues about the subject, and then by examining historical air photographs, an attempt was made to find the location of the garden if possible. In the following, by placing the location of the gardens on the aerial map of the city of Rayy (Map of the year 1968 of Topography Organization), the relationship between the gardens and this city and their spatial relationship with each other is shown. This research shows that at least thirteen gardens were built around this borough. Out of this number, only parts of the five gardens of Ṭoġroliye, Ṭūṭi, Malek Al-Tojjār, Ḥussain Ābād and Daulat Ābād are currently left. The rest of them are either only identified by name and their location has not been found, or they have been completely destroyed despite their location being found.

Persian Garden has been formed as a result of interaction between humans, nature and also physical space. Morever, Persian Garden is a reflection of social and cultural dimensions of a territory. Geographic location, climate, historicity, integration of natural and artificial environments has been led to mystical and cosmological order in develop of Persian garden. Therefore, the study of different insights and viewpoints is necessary in investigation of Persian gardens. Hence, some particular approaches are open to interpretation of Persian garden. The goals of this study are: First, identifying the mentioned approaches and their charecteristics; second, hypothesize a comprehensive model based on existing approaches and third, applying the constructed this model in this case study. In First step, the related literature review has been done in order to recognition the mentioned approaches and their characteristics. The results led to identify three main approaches through the literature review, includes: 1- The philosophical approach; 2- Historical approach and 3- Physio-natural approach. The garden is the witness of the initial ideas and manifestation mystical concepts in the mystical-philosophical approach which considered a figurative aspect, the transcendental and cosmological order of the garden elements. Historical approach is expressions the garden as an objective phenomenon and rely on historical documents. The focal point of historical approach is concentrating on historical features in the gardens. Therefore, the reliable historical evidence and documents are the major source of knowledge to identify and explore the past of the garden. The Physio-natural approach emphasizes on garden establishment pattern in the context, physical order, configuration of plants, water and architecture and its connection with environmental factors in the context. Also, the climate conditions are considered as one of the serious factor. In the second step, the comprehensive model was configurated based on combination of identified approaches. Normally, scholars have conducted the researches on Persian garden based on different approaches which embraces its own methodology. Restoration, regeneration and protection methods could be achieved through the review of such inquiries from the past up to present. The aforementioned methodology embraces information gathering, analysis method which it will be lead to identify suitable strategies for garden protection, restoration or regeneration. Historic gardens intertwined organization of natural and cultural values which has created a unique entity. Consequently, the recognition of gardens requires considering four main Physio-structural, social, cultural and natural dimensions. Thus, identifying historic gardens and documentation requires a comprehensive model which is repetitive of four dimensions and theirs subsidiary. The suggested model should be able to enlighten the relationship of garden with its context. It means that the model should integrate all physical, structural, cultural and historical aspects and the surrounding area in whole. Preventing serious damage to valuable historical heritage in the process of restructuring is another important consideration in this model. Therefore, suggested model is formulated based on a combination of historical and Physio-natural approaches. According the new model, historical inventory and documentation is the first step, the second step is focus on Physio-natural dimensions. The result will be integrated to determine the proper strategy for restoration of historical garden. In third step, the suggested model applied in the Historical garden of Neshat in Firouzeh city nearby ancient city of Neishabour. The historical garden of Neshat is one of the traditional gardens of Iran and dated back to the late Qajar and early Pahlavi epoch, is located three kilometers far from the Firouzeh city and 20 kilometers far from the Neishabour in the northeast of Iran. This method is performed by historical inventory through documents and historical books, old pictures survey and memories of survivors and field observations. In the following, Physio-natural survey performed. The result of historical and Physio-natural investigation is integrated. The result led create the restoration plan in order to revive and protect degraded landscape according to historical documents. Finally, the detail of restoration of garden is presented.

Persian garden is the richest man-made landscape in Iran. Despite its long history, it has many unknown aspects and requires a deeper investigation; identifying the land patterns in different regions of the country will have a prominent contribution to the investigation of the Iranian gardens. The present study attempts to identify the land pattern of the garden and considers the impact of the natural environment on its layout, and reviews and introduces one of the gardens in Mazandaran belonging to the Safavid era called Jahan-Nama Garden of Farahabad. It also seeks to answer this question centering on how the presence of a river as a natural element on the edge of the garden can have impact on the geometry, layout and placement of its different elements. The central research questions are: How was the structure pattern of Jahan-Nama Garden? How did the landscape elements affect the layout of Jahan-Nama Garden? The present study hypothesizes that Jahan-Nama Garden can be categorized as kind of Persian garden called the riparian garden. Due to being close to the river, its main building was constructed close to the garden wall and river bank to have the best view toward the surrounding natural environment. Thus, this study introduces an unknown pattern of Persian garden called the riparian garden. The present study uses a cross-sectional/descriptive-analytical method. In the description phase, the written documents including texts and travelogues and visual evidence including photos and paintings are investigated. These descriptions that provide some information about the gardens situation during its survival and afterwards show that the garden has changed a lot due to continuous erosion caused by natural factors or human aggressions. The garden area and its major buildings were utterly destructed or buried except for some walls. In the next stage, the garden features are identified through analyzing and evaluating the historical data and the maps of the current situation, aerial photos and the latest findings from the archeological excavations; then, the findings are compared to other samples of the Iranian gardens. In order to prove this hypothesis, the internal garden features have been studied and compared to the principles of the Iranian garden in terms of the structure, vision and landscape, vegetation and water supply. The rectangular area surrounded by the river was private garden with a four-part geometry and perpendicular axes. The river was considered as the natural litter of the garden. The findings obtained from the architectural elements show that the main building was built with a complete four-direction view of the river and sketched through it by a columned porch to maintain its close relationship with the nature. The analysis and drawing of the investigated parts of the garden along with the historical documents and principles of the Iranian gardens show that the internal garden has a four-part pattern structure and the main palace was expected to be at the intersection of the main axes. However, given the importance of the river and its impact on the view of the palace, the main building was moved along with the East-west side of the river to take benefit from the relevant axis and the river and sea perspectives. This model in which the main building was constructed tangent to the river in order to have the best view and the whole garden was formed along with the river can be called the riparian pattern of the Persian Garden. In Jahan-Nama Garden, the optimal use of the river view created a new variant form of garden that changed the position of the palace in the garden so that the palace was located neither at the intersection of the two axes, nor at the end of the entrance road to the palace garden which usually leads to a palace.