Charbagh
A charbagh or chaharbagh (
Concept
The traditional chaharbagh has a four-part garden layout with axial waterways joining at a small square basin in the garden's centre.
History
The chaharbagh layout originated in the paradise gardens of the Achaemenid Empire, as suggested by excavations at Pasargadae and Susa.[3] The highly structured geometrical scheme of the chaharbagh became a powerful method for the organization and domestication of the landscape, itself a symbol of political territory.[4]
After the Muslim conquest of Persia, the chaharbagh was considered to represent the four gardens of Paradise mentioned in the Quran's 55th Chapter (Surah), Ar-Rahman ('The Beneficient'):
And for him, who fears to stand before his Lord, are two gardens. (Chapter 55: Verse 46)
And beside them are two other gardens. (Chapter 55: Verse 62)
The waterways were considered to represent the four rivers mentioned in a hadith: Sayhan, Jayhan, the Euphrates and the Nile.
In the 16th century, the chaharbagh layout was brought from Iran to the Indian subcontinent by the
Notable examples
Several of the first Mughal charbagh gardens of monumental scale belonged to imperial
The charbagh of the Taj Mahal is also the charbagh of a mausoleum, built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (great-great-grandson of Babur) for his favourite Indian wife Mumtaz Mahal. Unlike the other tombs, the mausoleum is not in the centre of the garden, however archaeological excavations have revealed another garden opposite indicating that historically the mausoleum was centered as in tomb garden tradition.[6] In the charbagh of the Taj Mahal, each of the four parts contains sixteen flower beds.
Other Mughal charbagh gardens were built for leisure, without any mausoleum, such as the
Contemporary
A charbagh is located on the roof top of the Ismaili Centre in South Kensington, London.[7]
See also
Notes
- ^ The idea of the world divided into four parts is also present in the Book of Genesis (2:10).
References
- ISBN 978-0-275-98735-0
- ^ Begde, Prabhakar V. (1978). Ancient and Mediaeval Town-planning in India. Sagar Publications. p. 173.
- ^ "Čahārbāḡ". Encyclopædia Iranica.
- ^ D. Fairchild Ruggles, Islamic Gardens and Landscapes, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008, p. 39.
- ISBN 0-262-63153-9
- BBC.
- ^ A Place in Paradise - radio coverage from the BBC about the charbagh garden on top of the Ismaili Centre in South Kensington
Further reading
- Lehrman, Jonas Benzion (1980). Earthly paradise: garden and courtyard in Islam. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-04363-4.
- ISBN 0-8122-4025-1.
External links
- https://villanews.ir/en/editorial/when-everything-starts-with-chahar-bagh
- Babur's Garden - video from the Asia Society, US