Safavid Garden Design Reconsidered: Beyromabad Garden in Kerman

It is a common perception that the Persian garden, if is located in a flat space, is based on the fixed pattern of four gardens, and if it is built next to a mountain and its topography allowed, it has a platform and stepped shape. But sometimes, as historical evidence shows, there are other patterns. In this context, a question rises as what had gardening been like in the Safavid period? Had it always followed the pattern known as the Persian garden? This article challenges the hypothesis of a set pattern for the garden, focusing on the Beyromabad garden in Kerman. Beyromabad Garden is the only surviving garden from the Safavid era in Kerman. Beyram Beyg Afshar first built it during the reign of Shah Ismail. Ganjali Khan, the ruler of Kerman, in the late 16th century (During the reign of Shah Abbas), at the same time as creating civil changes in the structure of Kerman city, restored and developed the garden. Two mansions both belonging to the Safavid, two main axes and locating a part of the main building outside the garden wall, are of the different examples of the well-known pattern of the Persian garden. In this research, the main question is for what reason the different form of Beyromabad garden is? The hypotheses are as follows: 1- Safavid gardening did not pursue a specific pattern and one of the influential points has been the different condition and facilities of the garden land. 2- Political and social concepts have influenced Beyromabad Garden’s development plan and this influence has become so powerful that the concept has prevailed over garden’s design based on the earth’s morphology. In this article, after collecting information through library and field research, the structure of Beyromabad garden is reviewed and studied by descriptive-analytical method and an attempt is made to show the correctness of these hypotheses.