Persian Paradises at Peril: Landscape Planning and Management in Contemporary Iran (The Urban Book Series) 3030625494, 9783030625498

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The Urban Book Series

Farzin Fardanesh Fatemeh Farnaz Arefian Editors

Persian Paradises at Peril Landscape Planning and Management in Contemporary Iran

The Urban Book Series Editorial Board Fatemeh Farnaz Arefian, Silk Cities, The Bartlett Development Planning Unit, UCL, London, UK Michael Batty, Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, UCL, London, UK Simin Davoudi, Planning & Landscape Department GURU, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK Geoffrey DeVerteuil, School of Planning and Geography, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK Andrew Kirby, New College, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA Karl Kropf, Department of Planning, Headington Campus, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK Karen Lucas, Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK Marco Maretto, DICATeA, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Parma, Parma, Italy Fabian Neuhaus, Faculty of Environmental Design, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada Steffen Nijhuis, Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands Vitor Manuel Aráujo de Oliveira , Porto University, Porto, Portugal Christopher Silver, College of Design, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA Giuseppe Strappa, Facoltà di Architettura, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Roma, Italy Igor Vojnovic, Department of Geography, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA Jeremy W. R. Whitehand, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK Claudia Yamu, Department of Spatial Planning and Environment, University of Groningen, Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

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Farzin Fardanesh · Fatemeh Farnaz Arefian Editors

Persian Paradises at Peril Landscape Planning and Management in Contemporary Iran

Editors Farzin Fardanesh Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning Shahid Beheshti (National) University Tehran, Iran

Fatemeh Farnaz Arefian Silk Cities The Bartlett Development Planning Unit, UCL, London, UK

ISSN 2365-757X ISSN 2365-7588 (electronic) The Urban Book Series ISBN 978-3-030-62549-8 ISBN 978-3-030-62550-4 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62550-4 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

In Memoriam In memoriam Farzin Fardanesh (April 1965– January 2021), an exceptional mind, who left us during final stages of the publication of this book…

Foreword

Persia or ancient Iran has indubitably been one of primordial cradles of civilisation. The people of this vast territory have discovered, developed and created astute methods for responding to their diverse needs by ingenious interaction with their environment. The results of their astounding creativity in forming their cities, architecture and artefacts have spread throughout Europe, Central and East Asia due to their strategic location on the Silk Road. This has left their mark on history as protagonist contributors to human civilisation. In the Medieval Europe, the travelogue written by Marco Polo (1254–c.1324) was influential in raising interest in Middle and Far East. In 1271, he travelled with his father Niccolò and uncle Maffeo through Acre, to Tabriz on the northeast Iran and all the way to Hormuz Island in the Persian Gulf. He then took the southern Silk Road to Pamir and Kashgar to go to China. This thirteenth-century travelogue was followed by that of the Venetian envoys Josafa Barbaro and Ambrogio Contarini who travelled to Iran in 1474.1 In the seventeenth century, several European diplomats travelled to Iran. For example, in 1628, the Englishman Sir Thomas Herbert (1606–1682), a historian educated in Oxford and Cambridge, visited Iran as a member of an English delegation.2 Later in 1637, Adam Olearius (1599–1671) travelled to the Safavid court in Isfahan as a member of the Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf Embassy in northern Germany.3 In addition to diplomats, many merchants undertook frequent travels to Iran, as well. Between 1631 and 1668, French jewel merchants Jean Baptist Tavernier (1605– 1689) and Jean Chardin (1643–1713) visited Iran and India. Chardin’s travelogue,

1 For

an English translation of their travelogue see: Barbaro, J. and A. Contarini; Travels to Tana and Persia. Translated by W. Thomas and S. A. Roy, New York, 1967. 2 Herbert, T., Travels in Persia 1627–1629. London, 1928. 3 Olearius, A. Vermehrte Newe Beschreibung Der Muscowiitschen und Persischen Reyse, Schleswig 1656. vii

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Voyage en Perse et autres lieux de l’Orient, is one of the most informative works on seventeenth-century Persia.4 The eighteenth-century travelogues are yet more frequent and explanatory. Noteworthy among these travelogues are those written by the German Engelbert Kaempfer5 (1651–1716), the Dutch Cornelius Le Bruyn6 (1652–1726/7), and the Scotsman John Bell of Antermony7 (1691–1780). Travellers of the nineteenth century, however, pursued a variety of interests other than diplomacy and commerce. For example, George Nathaniel Curzon (1859–1925) is the author of a valuable synthesis of the state of affairs in Persia of this period.8 James Justinian Morier (1780–1849) authored two valuable travelogues,9 as well as a series of ‘Orientalist’ novels, such as his famous oeuvre The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan. Robert Blair Munro Binning (1814–1891) was an enthusiastic linguist who studied Arabic, Persian, and Hindi. He was also an avid collector of manuscripts and miniature paintings, and a keen traveller who travelled to Persia, Ceylon, and a variety of other places.10 Another author of note is Arthur de Gobineau (1816–1882) whose book Trois ans en Asie, first published in 1872, describes his first voyage from France to Persia in 1855. In nineteenth century, another reason for travelling to Persia was archaeological exploration, which had become a fashionable pastime for the European elite. A renowned example is the work of Jane Dieulafoy (1851–1916) who together with her husband Marcel conducted extensive archaeological excavations in Iran and Iraq. Their first of three visits to the region was in 1881.11 Nevertheless, although nineteenth-century archaeological expeditions produced valuable information, their primary motive was ‘treasure hunting’ rather than a quest for knowledge. This was a common trend until 1930 when the Iranian Parliament adopted a law on heritage conservation and archaeological excavations. Commonly called the Law for Antiques, it strived to regularise archaeological expeditions. Furthermore, the Iranian Government recruited European archaeologists such as Ernst Emil Herzfeld (1879–1948) as well as architects such as André Goddard (1881–1965) and Maxime 4 See

also Tavernier, J. B., The Six Voyages. London 1678 and Chardin, Jean, Journal du voiage du Chevalier Chardin en Perse et aux Indes orientales, Amsterdam 1686. 5 In 1712 CE, an excerpt of his notes was published by Kaempfer in Lemgo as Amoenitatum Exoticarum, Politico-Physico-Medicarum Variae Relationes, Observationes & Discriptiones Rerum Persicarum & Ulterioris Asieain. See also Kaempfer, Engelbert, Die Reisetagebücher Engelbert Kaempfers, Wiesbaden: Bearbeitet von Karl Meier-Lemgo, 1968. 6 Le Bruyn, C. Voyages de Corneille Le Bruyn par la Moscvie, en Perse et aux Indes Orientales, Paris, 1725. 7 Bell, J. Travels from St. Petersburg in Russia to Diverse Parts of Asia, Glasgow, 1763. 8 Curzon, G. N. Persia and the Persian Question, London, 1892. 9 For example see his second travelogue published as: Morier, J. A Second Journey through Persia, Armenia, and Asia Minor, to Constantinople, between the Years 1810 and 1816, London 1818. 10 Binning, R. B. M., A Journal of Two Years’ Travels in Persia, Ceylon, etc. London, 1857. 11 Their most important works include La Perse, la Chaldéeet la Susiane 1881–1882, Paris 1887; À Suse 1884–1886. Journal des fouilles, Paris 1888; and L’Orient sous le voile. De Chiraz à Bagdad 1881–1882, Paris 1889.

Foreword

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Siroux (1907–1975). This initiated a series of studies resulting in systematic cataloguing of archaeological discoveries and methodical surveys of architectural monuments.12 Noteworthy among these studies are the prolific writings of the Ukrainianborn French Archaeologist Roman Mikhalilovich Girshman (1895–1979) who, in addition to his archaeological studies in Persepolis and Susa, conducted the first excavation of Sialk near Kashan.13 Another extensive survey was initiated in 1930s by Arthur Upham Pope (1881– 1969) and continued under the supervision of him and his wife Phyllis Ackerman (1893–1977) as part of the Survey of Persian Art. 14 Pope’s student, Jay Gluck and his wife Sumi Hiramoto posthumously followed his colossal work in the 1970s.15 For almost a decade until 1990s, these studies were in abeyance due to the Islamic Revolution and Iran–Iraq war. They were fortunately resumed receiving funding from a variety of Iranian organisations, Iranian universities,16 as well as European donors.17 As can be noted, European scholars conducted most of the research in this area until 1970s when notable contributions were made by Iranian scholars. These studies shed new light on hitherto neglected aspects of art and architecture, such as the relation of Persian architecture to Islamic mysticism,18 or landscape design principles of historic Persian gardens.19 The information provided by these studies has clearly demonstrated the long forgotten—or usually neglected—role of dialogue

12 For example, see Godard A. L’Art de l’Iran. Paris 1962; Maxime Siroux, Caravanserails d’Iran, Paris: Institut Française, 1949. 13 Ghirshman R., Fouilles de Sialk, prés de Kashan, 1933, 1934, 1937, Paris 1938. 14 See for example Pope A. U. A Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric Times to the Present, Oxford: 1938–1939, as well as abridged studies such as Pope, A. U. Persian Architecture, New York 1965 and Pope, A. U. Introducing Persian Architecture, Tehran: Soroush 1976. 15 For one of the last publications of this series see: Gluck, J. & S. H. Gluck, A Survey of Persian Handicraft, Tehran: the Bank Melli Iran, 1977. 16 Haj Qassemi, Kambiz. (ed), Ganjnameh: Encyclopaedia of Iranian Islamic Architecture, Tehran: Shahid Beheshti University 1998–2010. 17 An example of a recent study of the same nature is the Design studio on Kashan, conducted by the Faculty of Architecture, Polytechnic University of Bari, in the academic year 2006–2007. Coordinated by Attilio Petruccioli, under the tutors D. Catania, L. Guastamacchia, A. Neglia and C. Rubini, this study resulted in a complete catalogue of monuments in Kashan surveyed by students V. Camorcia, A. Galli, G., Genchi, M. P. Lastella, E. Maglio, S. Petralla. Some of the findings of this study has been quoted in Gaube, Heinz, et al, Kashan: An Iranian City in Change, Berlin: EB-Verlag, 2018. 18 See for example the seminal work of Ardalan, N. & L. Bakhtiar, Sense of Unity. The Sufi Tradition in Persian Architecture, Chicago-London 1973. 19 Noteworthy among these studies are those conducted by Mahvash Alemi. See for example: Alemi, M., ‘I giardini realy di Ashraf e Farahabad’and ‘Il giardino persiano: tipi e modelli’ in: Petruccioli, A. (ed.) Il giardino islamico. Architettura, natura, paesaggio. Milano 1994, and Alemi, M. ‘The Royal Gardens of the Safawid Period: Types and Models’ in: Petruccioli. A. (ed.) Gardens in the Time of the Great Muslim Empires: Theory and Design. Leiden-New York 1997.

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between oriental and occidental civilisations, and interactions between their cultural expressions, art and architecture.20 Familiarity of Iranian scholars with the Persian language and their access to the wealth of information produced through Iranian research conducted in Persian give them an obvious advantage. However, there is another advantage latent in much of their contributions, as well. While the Iranian scholars use the same analytical techniques employed by their European counterparts, their use of academic methodology is subconsciously affected by their tacit knowing. In a typological study of architecture, for example, the classifying conception of the type according to the similarities of the physical characters in a preliminary phase should be extended to the dynamic concept of process in order to explain the reasons of the similarities. The accuse of determinism made by some to the typological process does not hold. Since in the processual dialectics the human being has an active role, and is able to modify the same item of the process, phase after phase. The a priori type, therefore, is seen as the kit of integrated notions in the mind of the one doing this operation. It derives to the operator from the experience of education in the cultural area and is used spontaneously. In a period of crisis and thus of abatement of spontaneous awareness, this process can be reconstructed a posteriori. To find again the conceptual connection of the components means repeating a typical process of the planning, thus replanning.21 Similarly, in a study involving Persian literature related to architecture, Persian is not merely a millennia-old language learnt in the academy for an Iranian researcher. It is at the same time, the researcher’s mother tongue, and the medium for everyday conversation. An investigation of Persian landscapes, likewise, becomes a study of researcher’s immediate living environment—in other words, a process of ‘indwelling’ in the phenomenological sense of the term. By the same token, the perils Iranian scholars write about are not just subjects of abstract analysis, but rather objective phenomena directly affecting their lives. This is the implicit benefit of a book like Persian Paradises at Peril whose main contributors are Iranian scholars. I sincerely hope that their work will be interpreted not only as a mere contribution to the body of knowledge accumulated on Persian architecture, landscape architecture and urban planning, but it will also be instrumental in stimulating cultural dialogue as the quintessential factor in the evolution of global human civilisation. Bibliotheca Orientalis, Italy

20 This

Prof. Attilio Petruccioli

point has been occasionally raised by various European researchers of architectural history. For a very recent study on this subject, see: Darke, Diana, Stealing from Saracens: How Islamic Architecture Shaped Europe, Hurst, 2020. 21 For a more general explanation of this point, see Attilio Petruccioli, After Amnesia. Learning from the Mediterranean Islamic Urban Fabric, Bari, 2007.

Acknowledgments

The preparation of this document took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed all to a demanding test of stress, stamina and strength. The editors are thus indebted to all authors for their patience and commitment to the project to pursue it as it was initially envisioned. Appreciations are also due to all organisations who generously shared information and pictorial material with the authors. Special thanks for the diligent dedicated efforts of Springer colleagues at Urban Book Series who made this book possible in a challenging period of ‘workfrom-home’, especially Bhagyalakkshme Sreenivasan, Sanjievkumar Mathiyazhagn, Carmen Spelbos and Juliana Pitanguy. Thank you all! Farzin Fardanesh Fatemeh Farnaz Arefian

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Contents

Part I

Paradise in Persian

1

Introduction: Persian Paradises and Peril . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Farzin Fardanesh and Fatemeh Farnaz Arefian

3

2

Paradises of the Pen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mehrdad Qayyoomi Bidhendi

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3

The Knowledge of Landscape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Farzin Fardanesh and Mahdieh Sadeghipur Rudsari

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Part II

Paradises Perceived

4

The Layered Life of Historic Urban Landscape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Roshanak Gholipour Shayan and Niloofar Razavi

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5

The Lost Proportions of Qajarid Vistas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ali Alai and Niloofar Razavi

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6

Paradisiacal Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Elnaz Chitsazzadeh and Zahra Farahani

7

Perpetual Points in a Rural Paradise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Fahimeh Mofrad and Niloofar Razavi

8

Applying Landscape Assessment Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 Masoud Dehghanpour Hanzaei and Vahideh Pourahmadi Laleh

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Azerbaijan, Khoy and Salamas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Farhad Tehrani and Sara Mehralizadeh

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Contents

Part III Paradise Perils and Protection 10 Participatory Conservation of Persian Qanats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 Ameneh Karimian, Narjes Zivdar, and Bruno Ricard 11 Management of a Historic Oasis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 Farzin Fardanesh and Fatemeh Farnaz Arefian 12 Assessing Resilience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 Narjes Zivdar 13 Tourism and Natural Heritage Conservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245 Mahsa Habibi 14 Koomeh and Kooman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269 Mahdi Raeisi Nafchi Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Editors and Contributors

About the Editors Dr. Farzin Fardanesh received his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in architecture from the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shahid Beheshti University, Iran, where he also taught as an assistant professor. He has conducted applied research in rural planning, low-cost housing, and post-disaster reconstruction. He also worked on several World Bank projects and was the Project Director of the World Bank Urban Upgrading and Housing Reform Project in 2004. As a UNESCO senior consultant for culture, he coordinated jointly with Dr. Mike Corfield, the elaboration of a Comprehensive Management Plan for Bam and its Cultural Landscape World Heritage Property in 2006. For UNESCO, he wrote, edited, and translated several publications in particular The Basic Terms of World Heritage Convention in four languages. He also co-authored, with Dr. Pooya Alaedini, the book From Shelter to Regeneration presented at the fifth Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development held in Seoul, 2014. More recently, he authored the first edition of Iranian Road Landscape Design Regulations, adopted in December 2017. Another publication for which he has been the lead author is the Post-Disaster Recovery Plans: Guide to Rehabilitation, Recovery, and Reconstruction, developed in May 2020 for UN-Habitat. Dr. Fatemeh Farnaz Arefian is an interdisciplinary expert in development planning, urban design, and architecture. She combines academic research and education with extensive practice-based experience in the Middle East, UK, Southeast Asia, and Australia. As a private sector consultancy director, her first-hand encounter with disasters in Bam motivated her to return to academia and pursue her multidisciplinary Ph.D. and further academic activities at the Bartlett Development Planning Unit (DPU), University College London (UCL), where she is also associated with. She is the founding director of Silk Cities initiative on contextual contemporary challenges cities in countries along the historic Silk Roads face within the process of urban transformations. She is an invited speaker for international conferences and workshops. Her industry experience in post-disaster reconstruction has xv

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been featured in a guidance for humanitarian organisations. Farnaz has published academic and professional books and papers, such as Urban Heritage Along the Silk Roads (Springer 2020), Organising Post-Disaster Reconstruction Processes (Springer 2018), and Urban Change in Iran (Springer 2016). The latest publication Farnaz currently leads on is Historic Cities in the Face of Disasters. Her past knowledge exchange activities received special attention from UNESCO Director General.

Contributors Ali Alai Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran Fatemeh Farnaz Arefian Silk Cities, The Bartlett Development Planning Unit, UCL, London, UK Elnaz Chitsazzadeh Independent (National) University, Tehran, Iran

Landscape

Architect,

Shahid

Beheshti

Masoud Dehghanpour Hanzaei Independent Landscape Architect, Tehran, Iran Zahra Farahani Independent Landscape Architect, Shahid Beheshti (National) University, Tehran, Iran Farzin Fardanesh Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran Roshanak Gholipour Shayan Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran Mahsa Habibi Independent Landscape Architect, Tehran, Iran Ameneh Karimian Independent Risk Management and Heritage Consultant, Tehran, Iran Sara Mehralizadeh Shahid Beheshti (National) University, Tehran, Iran Fahimeh Mofrad Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Education, School of Design, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia Vahideh Pourahmadi Laleh Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran Mehrdad Qayyoomi Bidhendi Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran Mahdi Raeisi Nafchi Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran Niloofar Razavi Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

Editors and Contributors

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Bruno Ricard Urban Hydrology Professor at École de la Nature et du Paysage, Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA), Blois, France Mahdieh Sadeghipur Rudsari PhD candidate in landscape architecture, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran Farhad Tehrani Shahid Beheshti (National) University, Tehran, Iran Narjes Zivdar Landscape Conservationist at Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), Tehran, Iran; Bartlett Development Planning Unit, University College London (UCL), London, United Kingdom

Part I

Paradise in Persian

Chapter 1

Introduction: Persian Paradises and Peril Questioning Connotations and Concepts Farzin Fardanesh and Fatemeh Farnaz Arefian

Abstract As implied by its name, this book is about Persian Paradises and Perils they are facing in the contemporary world. It is necessary to explain what notions these terms could possibly convey, so that the reader has a better understanding of why the chapters of this book are so varied in scope and content, and how these varied concepts relate to each other. Keywords Persian language · Paradise · Peril · Historic territorial landscape

1.1 Persian: A Cultural Expression and an Artistic Style The word Persian can be used as a noun or adjective referring to a language, an ethnicity, a style in art or architecture or, very broadly, a certain cultural expression. As a language, Persian may refer to a language within Indo-European language family, called Farsi, Dari and Tajiki as the official language of Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, respectively. The Persian language is classified as a continuation of Middle Persian, the official religious and literary language of the Sasanian Empire, itself a continuation of Old Persian, the language of the Achaemenid Empire [1]. For centuries, Persian has been a prestigious cultural language in other regions of Western Asia, Central Asia and South Asia used by various courtiers in these regions. It is also spoken in Uzbekistan and some other regions, which were historically Persianate societies. As a language, Persian has had a significant lexical influence on languages, particularly the Turkic languages in Central Asia, Caucasus and Anatolia, as well as Armenian, Georgian and other Indo-Aryan languages, especially Urdu. Modern Persian has also exchanged a lot of words with Arabic.

F. Fardanesh (B) Shahid Beheshti (National) University, Tehran, Iran F. F. Arefian Silk Cities, The Bartlett Development Planning Unit, UCL, London, UK e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 F. Fardanesh et al. (eds.), Persian Paradises at Peril, The Urban Book Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62550-4_1

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When used as an adjective describing an artistic style, Persian refers to the works of art and architecture produced over a long period dating form prehistoric times to this day. This artistic style flourished under the Achaemenid rule between 550 and 330 BCE in the area sometimes called Greater Iran. After the fall of Achaemenid Empire, the courts of successive dynasties—especially the Sassanians—continued with and complemented the Persian style [4]. After the Islamic conquest, Persian art continued to be the source of inspiration for all Islamic art and architecture [5]. The general Islamic style of dense decoration thus developed to supremely elegant and harmonious style combining motifs derived from plants based on layers of underlying geometrical patterns. As such, one characteristic of Islamic art was its association with the reproduction of paradise [6]. As a cultural expression, however, Persian may denote a much broader meaning. It may refer to certain cultural expressions shared among the people who live in a vast area ranging from Transcaucasia and Caspian Sea in the north, Mesopotamia on the west, the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman on the south, and Indus River on the east. A notable example of such cultural expression is the celebrationof Nowruz,1 that is, the celebration of 21 March as the beginning of New Year. Nowruz is shared among countries such as Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Turkey.2 Although Islam is the prevailing religion in most of these countries, the tradition of Nowruz dates back to several centuries before the advent of Islam. As implied by the name of months3 in the Gregorian calendar and the zodiac signs of Western astrology,4 Nowruz may have been the starting date of the year in the West, as well [7]. During Nowruz, a variety of ceremonies and cultural events take place between 21 March and 2 April. An important tradition practised during this time is the gathering around ‘the tablecloth’, decorated with objects that symbolise purity, brightness, livelihood and wealth. New clothes are worn; visits are made to relatives, particularly the elderly and neighbours; gifts are exchanged, especially for children. The public rituals include street performances including music, dance, traditional sports and the making of handicrafts. They are transmitted from older to younger generations through observation and participation [7]. Just as the celebration of Nowruz by diverse communities supports cultural diversity and tolerance and contributes to building solidarity and peace, in the context of this book, Persian refers to a legacy shared and a form of cultural expression, which has. 1 Nawrouz,

Novruz, Nowrouz, Nowrouz, Nawrouz, Nauryz, Nooruz, Nowruz, Navruz, Nevruz, Nowruz, Navruz. 2 Nowruz was inscribed in 2016 (11.COM) on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by all these countries. It is also celebrated in other countries of the region, such as Armenia. 3 September, October, November and December literally mean the 7, 8, 9 and 10 months, respectively. 4 The zodiac starts at the First Point of Aries or 21 March. Moreover, the months of the modern Persian calendar used in Iran and Afghanistan correspond to zodiac months.

1 Introduction: Persian Paradises and Peril

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• Sustained since time immemorial; • Superseded religions, ideologies and belief systems and • Surpassed political borders.

1.2 Paradise: A Continuum of Connotation The word paradise has entered English from the French paradis, itself inherited from Latin and Greek.5 It has also been adopted in Semitic languages such as Hebrew and Arabic.6 To the best of our current linguistic knowledge, the origins of this word could be traced to Avestan, Old Persian and Proto-Iranian languages7 [2]. These words were used to signify an interrelated set of meanings ranging from an enclosed planted area, an orchard, a park for animals, a royal park and walled gardens of the Achaemenid Empire. In English, it has taken other meanings such as a courtyard in front of a church, a cloister or a parvis [3]. In addition to these meanings, which refer to a physical entity, paradise also boasts another set of meanings such as heavens, purgatory and heavenly gardens. In Judaism, paradise has been used as synonymous to the Garden of Eden.8 In Islamic beliefs, however, paradise (firdaws) is at a higher level compared to Eden; it is, in fact, the uppermost central part of heavens (Jannah9 ).

1.2.1 A Tale of Two Realms Paradise thus simultaneously conveys both tangible as well as intangible notions. These two aspects also resemble the conflicting, yet complementary, dimensions intrinsic in human nature: the physical and the spiritual. They also represent the driving force for all human interventions in nature. Whatever human beings, individually or collectively, design, build or make is an effort towards creating a reincarnation of their coveted paradise in an earthly medium. Despite being vague, this aspiration

Latin, the word paradisus is derived from Greek Parádeisos (παραδεισoς). ´ ) in Song of Songs (4:13), Ecclesiastes (2:5) and Hebrew, it takes the form of pardes ( Nehemiah (2:8). In Arabic, it has become firdaws ). 7 The Proto-Iranian par¯ adaiˆjah is seen in Old Persian as paridaidam, and in Avestan as pairi-daêza. Around sixth century BCE, the Old Iranian word was borrowed into Assyrian as pardesu. 8 In the Septuagint (third to first centuries BCE), the Greek parádeisos was used to translate both Hebrew pardes and gan (Genesis 2:8, Ezekiel 28:13). From this usage, ‘paradise’ came to refer to the Garden of Eden. 9 The eight doors or grades of Jannah include (1) Jannat-ul Mava, (2) Dar-ul-Maqaam, (3) Dar-ulSalaam, (4) Dar-ul-Khuld, (5) Jannat-ul-Adan, (6) Jannat-ul-Naeem, (7) Jannat-ul-Kasif and (8) Jannat-ul-Firdaus. 5 In 6 In

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instigates human mind and stimulates all efforts for its realisation. Although materialised at the end, this admired image exists from the beginning as the primary intention [8]. In Rumi’s words10 : Gaze at the buildings’ glamorous grace; Walls, windows, doors we admire; Says one: “What a fantastic place!”. It’s not but an architect’s desire. What’s the essence in every guild? The essential reason, the blazing fire? An aim, an idea, a design, then build; Response to a need extremely dire; First an idea, subject of attention; All deeds it does indeed inspire; Fruit’s the one and only intention; Yet a tree one should first mire; Fruit grows on branches and roots; This seems true in the world entire; The tree but exists for the sake of fruit; Such is the design in divine empire!

As with the art and architecture of all civilizations, there is a close relationship between diverse fields of artistic expression and architecture in the universal sense of the term. Examples of such associations can be seen between Japanese landscape paintings, Haiku poetry and Zen gardens [9]. The relation between landscape architecture and landscape paintings in the Western culture has likewise been pointed out. Similarly, in Persian architecture, the ornamental faience cladding on a ‘sky blue’ background on the dome of a mosque or its ceiling beneath can be interpreted as a symbolic depiction of the creation of the universe. At the apex, fine floral patterns surround the shamseh or the sun, where light enters from the oculus. From this ‘light’ all other motifs emanate. Surrounding the oculus, at central uppermost part of the dome is the ‘paradise’. The motifs become increasingly varied in colour and shape, resembling the heavenly grades and finally lead to the tholobate on the outside and the squinches on the inside. The patterns continue on the walls and all the way to the plinth—as if they are diverse phenomena created by the radii of the ‘divine light’. The same structure could be interpreted as patterns being ‘led’ from the earth on the ground level all the way to the ‘heavenly light’.11 All these intricate patterns are 10 Jal¯ al

ad-D¯ın Muhammad R¯um¯ı, also known as Jal¯al ad-D¯ın Muhammad Balkh¯ı, Mawl¯an¯a, Mevlânâ, Mevlevî, and more popularly simply as R¯um¯ı (1207 ~ 1273) was a Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic. His Mathnaw¯ı, composed in Konya, Sultanate of Rum, remains one of the literary glories of the Persian language. Verses 965 ~ 972 of Mathnaw¯ı, mentioned here, are translated by Farzin Fardanesh for the purpose of this chapter. 11 According to the Holy Quran (24:35): ‘God is the Light of heavens and earth; His light is like a lamp within a glass—as a shining star, lit by a blessed olive tree—neither eastern nor western; its

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governed by an underlying geometry, following a predetermined geometrical ‘order’ [10]. This platonic symbolism is frequently referred to in the Persian mystical poetry, such as those of Rumi, Saadi12 and Hafiz13 : I saw a pattern of shining shapes: What a darling dazzling dream! Lines of light and tinted tapes; Garnering a glamorous gleam; Is it the Lord’s light at which one gapes? The light is His; this but a meagre beam.

1.2.2 A Hierarchy of Scale The physical meaning of paradise conveys a range of meanings indicating diverse degrees of human interaction with nature at different scales. These include the following: • Natural landscapes where minimal human interventions are the first recognisable category. These paradises are places revered by virtue of their powerful religious, artistic or cultural associations of the natural element rather than material cultural evidence, which may be insignificant or even absent. A wellknown example is sacred mountains. Such paradises are usually called associative cultural landscapes in technical terminology [11]. • A second category of paradise meanings is distinguished as a clearly defined designed landscape, including gardens and parkland landscapes constructed for aesthetic reasons. This category is duly recognised in the ICOMOS Florence Charter [12]: As the expression of the direct affinity between civilisation and nature, and as a place of enjoyment suited to meditation or repose, the garden thus acquires the cosmic significance of an idealised image of the world, a ‘paradise’ in the etymological sense of the term, and yet a testimony to a culture, a style, an age and often to the originality of a creative artist.

• The third category of paradises comprise historic settlements formed over centuries due to an initial social, economic, administrative or religious imperative and developed to their present form by association with and in response to their natural environment. Such paradises are technically called organically evolved landscape. These villages or towns may be places where their evolutionary process has terminated or continued. The former type is called a relict or oil illuminating with no fire even touching it. Light upon light; to which God guides whomever he wishes. Thus, God gives examples for the people. He is the all knowledgeable’. 12 Ab¯ u-Muhammad Muslih al-D¯ın bin Abdall¯ah Sh¯ır¯az¯ı more commonly known as Saadi or Sad¯ı is a major Persian poet and prose writer of early thirteenth century, famous for his eloquent style of writing in prose and poetry and the depth of his social and moral thoughts. 13 Khw¯ aja Shams-ud-D¯ın Muh.ammad H.a¯ fez.-e Sh¯ır¯az¯ı (1315–1390) theosophist Persian poet.

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fossil landscape, while the latter is usually referred to as a continuing landscape [11]. Indeed, some scholars have called historic Persian cities images of paradise [13]. • A paradise may also be a valuable urban area identified for its recognisable historic layering of cultural and natural values and attributes. In this case, the paradise is called a historic urban landscape [14]. At an even larger scale, a paradise could refer to a Historic Territorial Landscape that is introduced in this book. A Historic Territorial Landscape (HTL) is coined by Farzin Fardanesh here and can be described as a juxtaposition of historic urban landscapes and/or cultural landscapes encompassing: • Diverse natural features such as topography, geomorphology, hydrology and other natural phenomena of a clime; • Human-built elements including: – historic and contemporary settlements; – roads, bridges and transportation infrastructure linking these settlements; – gardens, fields, horticultural ensembles and pastures surrounding the set tlements and – other infrastructure above and below ground, such as water reservoirs, dams and subterranean hydraulic structures such as kâriz or qanât; • A variety of intangible dimensions of heritage giving a historic territory its unique identity, such as – – – –

social and cultural practices and values; economic processes; traditional land use patterns and spatial organisation; perceptions and visual relationships.

An example of a HTL is the territory ruled by the Sassanid Dynasty in seventh century AD. The Sassanid kings ruled a vast area from Indian Ocean to Mediterranean Sea for a period of about four centuries. This vast territory was threatened on the west by the expansionist Roman Empire and on the northeast by aggressive tribal warlords. As the main source of revenues, the empire relied on taxes from trade and transit through the Silk Roads [16]. To provide the internal security essential for commerce and build its crucial defence capacity, Sassanid kings developed an invincible army of infantry, cavaliers and elephant riders. The Sassanid planners positioned certain parts of this army in strategic geopolitical locations taking full account of natural resources and potentials and in response to external and internal threats. Elephants were bred and trained in India. Horses for the heavy cavalry were bred in Susa and Kermanshah studs to supply the steeds necessary for the armoured cavalry—called Asvârân— strategically positioned in Kufa.14 Nomadic tribes with partisan riders were located on the northeast border to form a light cavalry called Azâdân. The internal security was 14 In

Arabic, the words aswâr meaning a rider or a leader, and asâwira meaning the heavy cavalry in the Islamic conquest, or a Persian quarters in Kufa, are witness to this hypothesis.

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mainly provided by a network of landlords who also bred horses for a semi-heavy cavalry called Dehgânân. Remnants of this historic territorial landscape planning could still be seen today in form of ethnographic traditions, different Persian horse breeds, traditional local equestrian games, even in the game of chess15 [17]. Therefore, the term paradise refers to how human beings interact with nature. This interaction could be objective involving human interventions at various degrees. It can also be subjective, i.e. how humans interpret natural phenomena or how they desire their environment to be. Objectively, paradise could refer to how courtyards are designed within a residence; how gardens are planted; how natural elements such as water are treated in a house, garden or in public spaces of historic urban fabrics; how cultural landscapes are formed around subterranean water aqueducts or how pedestrian paths are turned into garden-alleys. Subjectively, paradise can mean a mental yearning for a desired space involving nature; a spiritual valorisation of a natural phenomenon or an image of an adored abode imbedded deep inside the human soul. Paradise is therefore a concept broader than a landscape, a cultural landscape, a historic urban landscape or a historic territorial landscape, although in many cases it may be taken synonymous with one or the other.

1.3 Peril Addressing intangible assets as a non-abstract and inseparable consideration is important because at present a direct official reference to intangible assets is a missing element within the working terminology of risk employed by international or national agencies. For example, concepts and definitions around risk and disasters by United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) focus on only tangible human assets. The third millennium has witnessed a rise in global initiatives in risk and disaster research and response. One such effort has been the adoption of the UN-backed Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015–2030), and its predecessor the Hyogo Framework. In 2015, in parallel to advancing the existing framework, the United Nations General Assembly decided that an open-ended intergovernmental expert working group should consider an update of the ‘2009 UNISDR Terminology on Disaster Risk Reduction’. The resulting document is currently (2019) the international reference on disaster terminology. According to this document [18]:

15 The names of chessmen pieces in Persian are reminiscent of the Sassanid army composition. For example, the bishop is called the elephant (f¯el or p¯el); the knight is called the horse (asb or asp) and the queen is called the royal knight (frazin or farzin) or the vizier (vazir). Interestingly, in this arrangement, the ‘horse’ moves as the light cavalry of Azâdân, i.e. moving not in a straight line and leaping over the enemy. The royal knight or farzin is the most valuable and powerful of all pieces, as the Asvârân army was in the Sassanian warfare. This actually makes more sense than the roles assigned to pieces such as bishop and queen in the European version of chess.

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F. Fardanesh and F. F. Arefian Disaster is defined as a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society at any scale due to hazardous events interacting with conditions of exposure, vulnerability, and capacity, leading to one or more of the following: human, material, economic and environmental losses and impacts. Disasters can be of a geotechnical, hydro-meteorological or anthropogenic nature.

It is clear what this document is referring to as a disaster is what threatens tangible human assets. The question remains, however, that what happens to those assets, which are intangible—either completely or partially? These concepts and definitions are related to hazards, they do not address those gradual shortfalls of urban projects and programmes; yet they demonstrate the current perception and bias that devalues intangible assets. There are cases where an urban renewal initiative has been implemented with the intention of reducing the vulnerability of a historic fabric against a possible hazard. What has been lost in such an intervention is the loss of identity, heritage values or socio-economic coherence—with no guarantee that the interventions have reduced the overall vulnerability of the historic fabric, however. In these examples, the threatening factor is more the loss of collective memory—in other words, a cultural amnesia—rather than a natural phenomenon. An example of completely intangible assets is local dialects, which are disappearing at an alarming rate [18]. Another example consisting of both tangible and intangible elements is a historic fabric. There are cases where an urban renewal initiative has been implemented with the intention of reducing the vulnerability of a historic fabric against a possible hazard. What has been lost in such an intervention is the loss of identity and heritage values—with no guarantee that the interventions have improved the overall resilience of the historic fabric, however. In these examples, the threatening factor is more the loss of collective memory—in other words, a cultural amnesia—rather than a natural phenomenon. The term peril, therefore, is used in a broader sense to refer to what threatens a tangible and/or intangible asset, either completely or partially. It includes hazard and risk, but it can also mean risks arising from lack of knowledge—or worse, partial knowledge—which can be the source of devastating interventions albeit with good intentions.

1.4 This Book: Stories of Paradises and Perils Recalling the story of blind men and the elephant,16 this book is a compendium of stories as told by diverse authors who have dealt with one aspect of Persian, Paradise and Peril as recounted here. The first part, Part I: Paradises in Persian, looks at Persian language as a valuable source for understanding the paradise concept. The papers in this part demonstrate this value through a survey of contemporary and ancient literature on landscape architecture. 16 Verses

965 ~ 972 of Mathnaw¯ı. For Rumi cf. 10.

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In Chap. 1, Mehrdad Qayyoomi Bidhendi takes the reader to a recognisable period in Persian culture, which is the period between late fourth and early fifth century AH corresponding to eleventh century AD. During this time, the vast Persian territory witnessed a period of political turmoil, rise and fall of diverse dynasties, and at the same time, an enrichment of all cultural aspects, including literature and architecture. Symbolic references to gardens in Persian poetry of this period demonstrate the impact of gardens in Persian life. Likewise, a review of the literature of this period demonstrates that gardens were one of main architectural settings for both physical and mental lives of Persians. The author surveys important literary sources of this period to trace diverse functions of gardens, garden layout, architectural elements in gardens, as well as the flora and fauna used in gardens. The survey also sheds light on terminology used for specific architectural elements. While the first chapter surveyed texts written about a millennium ago, the second chapter presents a descriptive profile of contemporary. In this chapter, Farzin Fardanesh and Mahdieh Sadeghipur Rudsari attempt to illustrate both prominent and neglected concerns in contemporary Iranian academic landscape architecture context after about 20 years during which a freestanding landscape architecture educational programme was implemented in Iran. The authors portray priorities in recent Iranian landscape architecture academic education and research. Their research indicates there is a propensity towards interpretation and social dimensions versus ecological and technical dimensions. The second part, Part II: Paradises Perceived, looks at how a paradise is understood in the modern context. It tells us stories of applying new methodologies and tools for better understanding paradises at different scales and of a variety of natures. One of the most ancient and highly sophisticated and yet one of the successful cases for historic transformations is Tabriz City in Azerbaijan Province, northwest Iran. In Chap. 4, Roshanak Gholipour and Niloofar Razavi examine the historic evolution of the city’s historic Bazaar—a UNESCO World Heritage property and an exceptional example in demonstrating everlasting struggles, balance and the integration of change. Having experienced sequences of significant neglect as well as damages caused by earthquakes, floods, fire and looting, the development of the Bazaar has never ceased, while the pace of changes have varied during its history. They look for possible answers to two crucial questions concerning the Bazaar of Tabriz: (i) the acceptable changes for this urban heritage; and perhaps more importantly, (ii) what types of change can be allowed without the risk of losing the integrity of its layered life. This analysis presents an alternative view into understanding change in the Bazaar’s long and continuing life, as authors consider human factors, not only in terms of layers of social life, but also the system of governance with its multiple stakeholders. In Chap. 5, Ali Alai and Niloofar Razavi bring the case to the capital Tehran and Lalezar Street as a pleasurable public urban space that still exists in the citizens’ memories—although its role and glorious characteristics have drastically changed long time ago. As one of the many suburban gardens, Lalezar attests to a continuous commitment by Qajarid kings to maintain a rural as well as an urban lifestyle. Many of those gardens were established in the Capital City. Dating back to the Safavid

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period, Lalezar was reused as a royal garden close to the city under the Qajarid rule. However, by the end of the nineteenth century CE, it had gone through several change of functions from a royal pleasure garden, a royal guest house for the reception of foreign envoys, to a menagerie. Authors review available data in different forms. They provide a geometric analysis of its proportion and trace the arrangement of its landscape elements, exclusive to this era that is long vanished with the disappearance of these gardens. A well-known example of the paradise concept in urban design is the Isfahan School. First coined by Professor Seyyed Moshen Habibi in 1996, this expression refers to introduction of new approaches to urban design introduced in the Safavid Period in sixteenth ~ nineteenth century CE [19–21]. This notion was further expanded by Professor Habibi and Dr. Zahra Ahari to explain the underlying design structures employed in the urban design language of Isfahan School [22]. In line with the same thinking, in Chap. 6, Elnaz Chitsazzadeh and Zahra Farahani try to show how the urban extension of Isfahan was planned when the city was designated as the new capital of the Safavid Dynasty at the end of sixteenth century. They highlight the role of two major axes: a north–south axis in form of the designed Châhâr-bâgh Boulevard and an organic east–west axis developed around Zâyanderud River and its branching water canals. They demonstrate that water channels played three main roles: as a critical component of the urban infrastructure, as generators of urban form and as the main urban landscape elements in public spaces. At present, rural settings are under pressure to accommodate specific demands of rapid urbanisation and a high demand for ‘change’ to meet the needs of a global economy. Although change is inevitable to satisfy the needs of inhabitants, there is now a growing concern about the preservation of the venerated rural landscape, especially that there are significant evidences of cultural continuity throughout historic changes in these authentic landscapes. Aqda in Yazd Province, located in Central Iran, exemplifies a historic rural settlement that has struggled through many centuries of change and development to save its distinctive characters. In Chap. 7, Fahimeh Mofrad and Niloofar Razavi use landscape classification as the preliminary step for identifying ‘perpetual points in a rural paradise’ that are not only paramount to preserving the distinctive rural identity but are also acknowledged and cherished by the local community and visitors. Points which can safely anchor a historic rural landscape, plus the capacity of a landscape to accommodate change. One of the important features of historic cities in Iran is the harmonious coexistence of urban life with nature. The presence of gardens in living areas enhances life qualities such as freshness and vitality. This fact has led to the formation of garden-alleys inside urban and rural areas. The garden-alleys of Yazd are one of the most noticeable landscape features of this city in its xeric desert climate. In Chap. 8, Masoud Dehghanpour and Vahideh Pourahmadi try to provide an analytical report of the current situation of garden-alleys in Yazd City. Identification and analysis of the selected cases relies on both literature review and field surveys leading to an analytical classification. Chapter 9 deals with the notion of paradise at an even greater scale, i.e. the Historic Territorial Landscape (HTL). By focusing on the land of Azerbaijan, a

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province with an ancient history in northwest Iran, Sara Mehralizadeh and Farhad Fakhar Tehrani demonstrate how these areas were historically planned as a historic territorial landscape fitting a jigsaw of cultural landscapes. They demonstrate how diverse natural features have become a setting for human-built elements such as fortresses, settlements and green areas surrounding them in the cultural landscape of Khoy-Salmas in South Azerbaijan. The intangible characteristics of such HTL included the supposed birthplace of Zarathustra, the mythical landing place of Noah’s Ark, and the indomitable residence of the legendary hero, Koroghlu. The third part, Paradise Perils and Protection, includes stories of how a paradise is threatened or what can be done to protect it against a threat. It includes stories of success—no matter how modest—and failure—no matter how great. In Chap. 10, Ameneh Karimian, Narjes Zivdar and Bruno Ricard recount their experience of two revitalisation projects implemented in two underground aqueducts (qanats) inscribed on the World Heritage in Yazd City where its already xeric environment has been seriously affected by a decade-long drought. They emphasise that to be sustainable, conservation needs to consider social aspects and community involvement, as well as traditional management system in addition to physical restoration and maintenance. In Chap. 11, Farzin Fardanesh and Farnaz Arefian explain how the post-disaster inscription of cultural landscape as the World Heritage and its broad definition of cultural landscape acted as a driving force in shaping recovery and reconstruction after the destructive Bam earthquake in 2003. They examine how a cultural landscape was practically treated at different operational levels and identify such interventions in monuments, public sector and post-disaster special heritage projects, as well as privately owned individual properties. In Chap. 12, Narjes Zivdar describes a methodology for assessing a process to enhance the resilience of historic quarters of Tehran under an all-inclusive landscape approach. The resulting decision framework she proposes could be used for determining the level of conservation, rethinking current interventions and rehabilitation of rich socio-economic and cultural spots along with the historic pathways and the underground water supply network. Rather than referring to an occurred disaster, she demonstrates that urban development pressures and the vast uncontrolled renovations under the pretext of improving urban resilience can potentially have the same disastrous impacts on the historic fabrics as an actual disaster such as an earthquake. The same premise is presented in Chap. 13, by Mahsa Habibi in a natural context. By referring to the example of the Surt Mineral Springs with a unique terraced geomorphology, she explains that pursuant to their registration on the National Heritage List, they have experienced an increase in surge of tourists, with accompanying disastrous impacts in face of lack of an adequate tourist management plan. She proposes a methodology to distribute activities and visitation opportunities according to visitors’ specific needs, expenditure patterns and existing site potentials without compromising the need for natural preservation. Finally, in Chap. 14, Mahdi Raeisi Nafchi demonstrates how vernacular landscape patterns were effectively utilised in addressing the dire post-disaster shelter needs after the 2017 earthquake in Kermanshah where the advent of cold season and

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freezing temperatures inevitably led to the use of expensive prefabricated units as temporary shelter. He explains how a volunteer team of university students and professors designed and constructed cheap post-earthquake recovery shelters by improving an already existing vernacular construction pattern.

References 1. Parv¯ız N¯atil Kh¯anlar¯ı (1979) A history of the Persian language. Sterling Publishers 2. Skeat WW (2000) The concise dictionary of english etymology. Diane Publishing Company. ISBN 0788191616, 9780788191619 3. (2000) Webster’s third new international unabridged dictionary. Merriam Webster. ISBN 0877794685, 9780877794684 4. Arthur Upham Pope & Phyllis Ackerman (1996) A survey of Persian art: from prehistoric times to the present. SoPA. ISBN 4893600230, 9784893600233 5. Blair S, Bloom JM (1995) The art and architecture of Islam, 1250–1800. Yale University Press Pelican History of Art. ISBN 0300064659 6. Piotrovsky MB, Rogers JM (2004) Heaven on earth: art from Islamic Lands. Prestel. ISBN 3791330551 7. UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Website (2019) https://ich.unesco.org/en/. Accessed 21 March 2019 8. Navaee and Haj Qassemi (2015) Khesht va Khial: Sharh-e-Me’mari Eslami-e-Iran (Adobe and Imagination: An Interpretation of Iranian Islamic Architecture). SBU and Soroosh, Tehran. ISBN 978-964-376-898-0 9. Kuitert W (1988) Themes, scenes, and taste in the history of Japanese garden art. Gieben Amsterdam. ISBN 978-90-5063-021-4 10. Critchlow K (1983) Islamic patterns: an analytical and cosmological approach. Thames and Hudson 11. UNESCO World Heritage Committee (2017) Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention, https://whc.unesco.org/en/guidelines, Accessed 21 March 2019 12. ICOMOS Florence Charter (1981) Article 5 13. Stierlin H (1978) Ispahan: image du paradis. Préface de Henry Corbin. Bibliothèque des arts, Genève & Paris 14. UNESCO World Heritage Committee (2011) Recommendation on the historic urban landscape. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002150/215084e.pdf#page=52. Accessed 21 March 2019 15. Farrokh K, Karamian G, Maksymiuk K (2018) A synopsis of sasanian military organization and combat units. Publishing House of Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities, Siedlce-Tehran 16. Pourshariati P (2009) Decline and fall of the Sasanian Empire: the sasanian-parthian confederacy and the Arab conquest of Iran. I. B. Taurus, London and New York 17. United Nations (2016) Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction. General Assembly Seventy-first Session on Sustainable Development: Disaster Risk Reduction, New York, 1 December 2016 18. UNESCO (2009) Investigating in cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue. UNESCO, Luxemburg 19. Habibi SM (1996) Maktab-e-Isfahan: E’tela va Erteqa Mafhoon Dowlat (Isfahan School: the Exaltation of the Government Concept). In: Soffeh: journal of the faculty of architecture & urban development, Shahid Beheshti (National) University, no 3 and 4 20. Habibi SM (1998) Maktab-e-Isfahan dar Shahrsazi (Isfahan School in Urbanism). In: Honarhaye-Ziba, Journal of the faculty of fine arts, University of Tehran, no 3

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21. Habibi SM (2003) L’Ecole d’Ispahan en Urbanisme: Une Approache Contemporaine du Passe. In : Iran: questions et connaissances, vol III: cultures et societes contemporaines, textes reunis par bernard hourcade, Peeters, Paris 22. Ahari Z (2005) ‘Deep structures in urban design: a study of the language of Isfahan School of urban design (16th–19th century). In: Firouzeh: journal of the centre for research in Iranian arts, architecture & urbanism school of architecture, Birmingham Institute of Art & Design, vol 1

Dr. Farzin Fardanesh received his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in architecture from the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shahid Beheshti University, Iran, where he also taught as an assistant professor. He has conducted applied research in rural planning, low-cost housing, and post-disaster reconstruction. He also worked on several World Bank projects and was the Project Director of the World Bank Urban Upgrading and Housing Reform Project in 2004. As a UNESCO senior consultant for culture, he coordinated jointly with Dr Mike Corfield, the elaboration of a Comprehensive Management Plan for Bam and its Cultural Landscape World Heritage Property in 2006. For UNESCO, he wrote, edited, and translated several publications in particular The Basic Terms of World Heritage Convention in four languages. He also co-authored, with Dr Pooya Alaedini, the book From Shelter to Regeneration presented at the fifth Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development held in Seoul, 2014. More recently, he authored the first edition of Iranian Road Landscape Design Regulations, adopted in December 2017. Another publication for which he has been the lead author is the Post-Disaster Recovery Plans: Guide to Rehabilitation, Recovery, and Reconstruction, developed in May 2020 for UNHabitat. Dr. Fatemeh Farnaz Arefian is an interdisciplinary expert in development planning, urban design, and architecture. She combines academic research and education with extensive practicebased experience in the Middle East, UK, Southeast Asia, and Australia. As a private sector consultancy director, her first-hand encounter with disasters in Bam motivated her to return to academia and pursue her multidisciplinary Ph.D. and further academic activities at the Bartlett Development Planning Unit (DPU), University College London (UCL), where she is also associated with. She is the founding director of Silk Cities initiative on contextual contemporary challenges cities in countries along the historic Silk Roads face within the process of urban transformations. She is an invited speaker for international conferences and workshops. Her industry experience in post-disaster reconstruction has been featured in a guidance for humanitarian organisations. Farnaz has published academic and professional books and papers, such as Urban Heritage Along the Silk Roads (Springer 2020), Organising Post-Disaster Reconstruction Processes (Springer 2018), and Urban Change in Iran (Springer 2016). The latest publication Farnaz currently leads on is Historic Cities in the Face of Disasters. Her past knowledge exchange activities received special attention from UNESCO Director General.

Chapter 2

Paradises of the Pen A Survey of Persian Gardens in the Eleventh Century Persian Literature Mehrdad Qayyoomi Bidhendi Abstract A recognizable period in Persian culture is the period between late fourth century and early fifth century AH corresponding to the eleventh century AD, when Persia witnessed a period of political turmoil, rise and fall of diverse dynasties, and at the same time, an enrichment of all cultural aspects, including literature and architecture. Symbolic references to gardens in Persian literature of this period demonstrate the impact of gardens in Persian mental life. Likewise, a review the literature of this period, demonstrates that gardens were one of main architectural settings for both physical and mental lives of Iranians. This chapter surveys important literary sources of this period to trace diverse functions of garden, garden layout, architectural elements in gardens, flora and fauna used in gardens. The survey also sheds light on terminology used for specific architectural elements. Keywords Persian literature · Persian gardens · Iranian architecture · Islamic golden age

2.1 Introduction History is a continuum and its division to historic periods and other segments is only a means for its recognition and description. These divisions and segments, which could be recognised due to the similarities between their respective events, do not fit in the inflexible timeframe of centuries. To study cultural expressions, an efficient method could be to revert to subdivisions based on cultural personalities. Cultural manifestation are closely interrelated to the extent that culture could be merely defined as the relations between such manifestations. Changes in diverse cultural manifestations do not happen simultaneously. Sometimes changes in one cultural manifestation, such as prose or poetry, gradually finds its way to another more solid manifetation such as architecture after a considerable delay. Nonetheless, M. Qayyoomi Bidhendi (B) Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran e-mail: [email protected]

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 F. Fardanesh et al. (eds.), Persian Paradises at Peril, The Urban Book Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62550-4_2

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by assuming bigger segments, such changes could be presumed as belonging to a single period. One can therefore speak of the ‘Age of Rumi and Sa’adi’, like the ‘Age of Voltaire’ in civilisation of the West. One such recognizable period in Persian culture is the period between the late fourth century and early fifth century AH, corresponding to the eleventh century AD, and may be called the ‘Age of Firdaws¯ı and Bayhaq¯ı’.1 Notwithstanding significant political turmoil, and rise and fall of independent dynasties or those dependent upon the Abbasid Caliphate, this period also witnesses notable dynamism in all cultural manifestation, including architecture. In this period, the Ghaznavid Dynasty (977–1186 AD) further enhanced the rich cultural heritage they had inherited from S¯am¯anids (819–999 AD), B¯uyids (945–1055 AD), and Ziy¯arids (930–1090 AD)—in particular in bigger Khur¯as¯an area. Architecture similarly evolved not only in the real tangible world, but also in the realm of Persians mentalities.

2.1.1 Methodology As explained in Persian texts of this period, gardens were one of main architectural settings for both physical and intellectual life of Iranians. Due to their erodible constructs however, gardens deteriorate more rapidly. Therefore, not much remains of a garden built over a thousand years ago. Remnants of such ancient gardens should be traced either in archaeological excavations or in works of literature. It is therefore justifiable to seek the origins of gardens in literary sources written in the Age of Firdaws¯ı and Bayhaq¯ı. Although all published works of this period have been reviewed, this research focuses on exemplary prominent examples, deliberating neglecting texts unimportant for its scope to avoid repetition and redundancy. To avoid anachronism, a search for gardens in these texts should be free of all contemporary bias. It should be a more or less concise image of garden as elaborated in these texts. It consists of a designed open area with somewhat defined boundaries filled with cultivated vegetation. Defined as such, the garden boasts a tangible, objective and physical dimension. At the same time, the garden is referred to as an intangible subjective entity. Although the tangible and intangible dimensions of a garden are mutually interactive, the intangible mental dimension usually takes precedence over the tangible. Another challenge in all research in historic textual primary sources is semantic evolution. There is always a risk of misinterpretation of historic texts, because of changes in the meaning of certain words. To avoid such a risk to the extent possible, the meanings of specific terms are derived from a comparative analysis of diverse texts.

1 This period is identified with renowned

personalities such as Firdaws¯ı T.u¯ s¯ı (c. 935–1020/26 AD), N¯as.ir-i Khusraw (1004–1072/77 AD), Abu l-Fad.l Bayhaq¯ı (995–1077 AD), Ab¯u Rayh.a¯ n B¯ır¯un¯ı (973–1052 AD), and Ibn S¯ın¯a (Avicenna, 980–1037 AD).

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2.1.2 Sources The key sources of this research include all Persian prose written during eleventh century in the Age of Firdaws¯ı and Bayhaq¯ı; i.e. the age of oeuvres such as Ab¯u Yaq¯ub Sajist¯an¯ı’s Kashf al-mah.j¯ub, B¯ır¯un¯ı’s al-Tafh¯ım, and Avicenna’s D¯anishn¯ama-yi Al¯a e¯ı. Reference to certain gardens by mentioning their name or location is rare. These are mostly found in T¯ar¯ıkh-i Bayhaq¯ı or T¯ar¯ıkh-i Mas u¯ d¯ı (hereafter: Bayhaq¯ı’s History [2]). Another notable source is N¯as.ir-i Khusraw’s Safar-n¯ama (hereafter Travelogue [9]). A few gardens are described or referred to in poems by Asadi T.u¯ s¯ı,2 Farrukh¯ı S¯ıst¯an¯ı,3 and Uns.ur¯ı Balkh¯ı,4 which are all reviewed here. The old part of T¯ar¯ıkh-i S¯ıst¯an (literally The History of Sistan), finished c. 1056 AD [14]) is another useful source. To avoid the risk of misinterpretation, the meaning of words is derived from a comparative analysis of diverse texts. Only when such an analysis has yielded no adequate response, Dihkhud¯a’s Dictionary has been used as a reliable reference [3]. Initial research in searching for history of architecture in historic textual primary sources has been introduced by Qayyoomi in Persian Literature as Source of Architectural History: A Bibliographical Introduction, Volume 1 [11] as well as poetry of the period as introduced by Dhab¯ıh.ull¯ah S.af¯a in The History of Literature in Iran [13].

2.2 Gardens in the Subjective Realm The literature surveyed treat the garden based on the subjective realm of the author. Some authors have focused on the real garden and its sensory perception; while others were more concerned with intuitions stimulated by gardens. Some have described the impact of spring and autumn on the garden and feasts held inside; while others have referred to the resemblance of the garden to the human soul. Despite all these differences in approach, there is no eminent contradiction between them.

2 Asad¯ı Tu ¯ s¯ı (d. 465 AH) whose notable works include Garsh¯asb-n¯ama

and the first known Persian . dictionary. 3 Abu l-Hasan Al¯ı b. J¯ ul¯ugh Farrukh¯ı S¯ıst¯an¯ı (c. 980 – 1037 or 1038 AD) was a tenth century Persian . royal poet and one of the brightest masters of the panegyric school of poetry. 4 Abu l-Q¯ asim H.asan b. Ah.madUns.ur¯ı Balkh¯ı (350–431 AH) was appointed as the poet laureate by Mah.m¯ud.

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2.2.1 Figurative References In most of the texts, the garden symbolises the healthy condition of the earth; for example under the rule of a just king, the country becomes buoyant, the earth a source of joy, and the city looks like the Garden of Eden [5, Chap. 41, verses 262–265]. The garden is associated with a heavenly paradise; a ‘heavenly city’ is thus a ‘cultivated city’ [1, p. 22]. The city at its best, i.e. when it is decorated and coins are sprinkled in its streets, resembles to a symbolic vibrate garden: The city’s become like the Eden entire; As a fragrant, gold-sprinkled empire [1, p. 63].

As the garden pleases the body, wisdom delights the soul [10, pp. 305–306]. The sage becomes gratified in recluse where the soul settles in a ‘garden’ [6, p. 181]. As the decayed garden indicates destitution of the wealthy, a ruined heart devastates the mystic [6, P. 533]. As the autumn arrives, the garden symbolizes the frustration of a lover departed from the beloved: Autumn is not but a separation call; Ask a thousand lovers left in disdain; Trees clad in leaves are in a happy stall; As happy as I—when before my love I had lain; When trees shed leaves in the autumn’s thrall; My heart also aches for love lost in vain; […]. With Trees stand nude like a grieving troll; I mourn forever for a single mutual pain [4, p. 116].

It is not only the human soul, which can be like a garden; but revered personalities can also be like sacrosanct gardens in a material world. An interesting example is given in the poem of Asadi T.u¯ s¯ı. According to him, the mythical king Garsh¯asb reached a fortified castle in one of his journeys. He was told that it was the residence of Siy¯amak son of Kay¯umarth (the first human and prophet-king in Persian mythology). The fortifications were built of plumb-reinforced steel. It had no entrance; the only way inside was by modest prayer. Therefore, he took off his armour and raised his hands in a plea to God. Then a virtuous man appeared and gateways opened in the wall. They saw a paradisiacal garden inside, full of fresh flowers, its quality full of humming, its breeze full of knowledge; a garden more pleasing than music, more delightful than cutes. Inside, there was a tall cypress tree, with leaves reflecting the beaming pleasant face of a man. The luscious fruit (of his knowledge) never ceased with season; tasted once, it would give food for a week of thought [1, p. 178].

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2.2.2 Adjectives and Assessments How gardens are described and assessed demonstrates another aspect of the mentalities about the garden. In the texts reviewed, the garden is associated with the spring. If the spring breeze is fragrant, this is because it has passed through a garden [4, p. 169]. The garden is conversely revived thanks to the torrents of spring. The association of spring and garden is not limited to this relation, however. The garden is the spring; sometimes the spring is the garden per se. Spring is a garden free of terrain; the garden is a spring tied to terrain [15, pp. 103–111]. The garden is sometimes like the paradise; sometimes it is like Eden; it is sometimes called pleasant, sometimes gorgeous, fresh and famous; each part seems as an infinite space; jewels have sprinkled its paths [1, p. 178; 15, pp. 103–104; 5, Chap. 22, verses 199–204; 7, ode 23]. The mental image of a garden is always accompanied by elements such as trees, flowers and vegetation; as well as walls, gate, pool and pavilion. In this mental image, these elements are taken for granted. For example, the texts do not find it necessary to mention the existence of a surrounding wall, but its lack is always referred to (for example see p. 5 in [9]).

2.3 Description of Gardens Although description of gardens is not common in the literature of the eleventh century, there is still a wealth of knowledge to be derived from scrutiny in the literature of this period. In addition to references to gardens in general terms, there are several mentions of specific gardens, especially royal gardens. This section reviews all these descriptions.

2.3.1 Gardens in General Most of references to gardens in the reviewed texts concern some unspecified gardens, i.e. gardens that are not named after a person or place—real or imaginary. Most of the gardens referred to in the previous section are like that. The anonymous author of T¯ar¯ıkh-i S¯ıst¯an refers to irrigation of Zaranj Gardens by means of windmills: Among other things [people do in Zaranj, the capital of Sist¯an is] use of windmills to grind seeds and make flour, while in other cities animals or water are used or the mill rotates manually. They have used similar wheels to bring out water from wells for irrigation of gardens and fields, although water may be scarce. They make most use of winds, as well [14, p. 12].

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N¯as.ir-i Khusraw also writes about the gardens in the suburbs and within the cities including those of Qazv¯ın [9, p. 5] and T¯un [ pp. 10, 170]. On the Gardens of Arraj¯an (Argh¯an), he writes: On its east is a river originating in the mountains and flowing to the north. Four big canals have been dug, at a hefty price, to let the water pass through the city and plant several lush gardens of palm, citrus and olives in the suburbs [9, p. 164].

Firdaws¯ı writes about gardens planted by Ardash¯ır I (Artaxerxes) in G¯ur City (Khw ara-yi Ardash¯ır): Filled with palaces and many a garden; Was the citadel Ardash¯ır had built; Thus named it the old wealthy warden: Khw ara-Ardash¯ır—a city free of guilt [5, ch. 21, verses 393–396].

Referring to Z¯ıb Khusraw, the city built by Khusraw An¯ush¯ırav¯an (r. 531–579 AD), Firdaws¯ı also mentions that it was modelled after Ant.a¯ kiyya (Seleucid Antioch) full of palaces, flowing rivers, squares and gardens [5, Chap. 41, verses 670–671].

2.3.2 Specific Gardens The gardens specifically described—or at least mentioned—are located in cities of Ghazni, Balkh, Herat, N¯ıshab¯ur, and a few other places. In each city, most descriptions are in reference to the most important garden of the city—the royal garden. Other gardens, such as the governor’s garden and those owned by the courtiers are less described. Reference to certain gardens by mentioning their name or location is rare. These are mostly found in Bayhaq¯ı’s History [2]. A few are referred to in poems. All of these references are reviewed here.

2.3.2.1

Gardens of Ghazn¯ı

Ghazn¯ı,5 is a city in the east of bigger Khur¯as¯an, in today’s central Afghanistan. Sabuktag¯ın (Sebüktigin, d. 997 AD), the founder of the Ghaznavid Dynasty (977– 1186 AD), chose it as his capital. It was at its height of its buoyancy under Ghaznavid rule. The gardens mentioned here all belong to their rule especially the rule of Mah.m¯ud b. Sabuktag¯ın (998–1030 AD) and his son Masu¯ d I (1031–41 AD). P¯ır¯uz¯ı Garden P¯ır¯uz¯ı/F¯ır¯uz¯ı (literaly “victory”) Garden was a garden in a clover plain outside Ghazn¯ı/Ghazn¯ın: 5 Also

Ghazna or Ghazn¯ın.

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The Sultan [Masu¯ d I], may Allah be pleased with him, left Ghazn¯ın on fourth of Muh.arram and settled in tents erected in P¯ır¯uz¯ı Garden [2, vol. 3, p. 406]. Or: He said: “we should freely go to the fields and drink wine in P¯ır¯uz¯ı Garden” [2, vol. 3, p. 990]. And: He mounted and rode towards clover fields of F¯ır¯uz¯ı Garden [2, vol. 3, p. 406].

It was one of the two royal gardens at Ghazn¯ın during the reign of Mah.m¯ud and Masu¯ d I. Mah.m¯ud liked this garden so much that he was buried there in compliance with his testament [2, vol. 1, p. 111, vol. 2, p. 406]. In his poem in praise of Mah.m¯ud, ‘Uns.ur¯ı Balkh¯ı also allegorises that the building of a heavenly garden and palace was accomplished in P¯ır¯uz¯ı (which can mean either in P¯ır¯uz¯ı Garden, or ‘victoriously’ in the literal sense of the word) [15, p. 267]. P¯ır¯uz¯ı Garden was apparently more in favour under Mah.m¯ud. Nevertheless, in his visits to Ghazn¯ın, Masu¯ d stayed in this Garden. Mah.m¯ud¯ı Garden As implied by its name, the patron of this garden was Sultan Mah.m¯ud. It was located in the suburbs of Ghazn¯ı. Once Sultan Masu¯ d went to the New Masu¯ d¯ı Palace—which he himself had built in the city—for a courtly reception and stayed there until noontide. Then he went to Mah.m¯ud¯ı Garden, changed his attire, and returned mounted, and sat for luncheon in the palace. After eating and drinking, he contentedly mounted and came to Mah.m¯ud¯ı Garden. He stayed there for enjoyment with pages until the afternoon prayer when he returned to the city [2, vol. 3, p. 872]. Indubitably, the garden had diverse buildings. Bayhaq¯ı also refers to a certain Mah.m¯ud¯ı Palace, which was certainly not in Mah.m¯ud¯ı Garden, but was within the city. This palace was referred to as the “Old Palace” or the “Father’s Old Palace” distinct from the New Masu¯ d¯ı Palace: And the sultan returned to Mah.m¯ud¯ı Garden on the last two days of the month Shab¯an, […] and the sultan returned from Mah.m¯ud¯ı Garden to the Father’s Old Palace, on the day of Saturday [2, vol. 2, p. 637].

S.ad-Hiz¯ar/S.ad-Hiz¯ara Garden S.ad-Hiz¯ar (literally “hundred nightingale”) Garden was located in the periphery of Ghazn¯ın in a plain as the two other royal gardens [2, vol. 3, p. 497]. Assuming that the royal hunting grounds were at a distance to the city, it could be deduced that this garden was at a farther distance to the city as compared with the two previous gardens. This is because Bayhaq¯ı reports that Sultan Masu¯ d stayed in this garden for seven days awaiting the arrival of game animals, and went to Mah.m¯ud¯ı Garden after hunting [2, vol. 2, pp. 411 and 747]. It is clear that Sultan Masu¯ d did not favour this garden as much as the other two, but he officially stayed there with all his courtiers [2, vol. 2, pp. 630–631].

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B¯u Nas.r’s Garden Khw a¯ ja B¯u Nas.r Mushk¯an, Bayhaq¯ı’s master, was the chief secretary of Sultans Mah.m¯ud and Masu¯ d. He owned a beautiful lush garden in Ghazn¯ın, where he hosted Sultan Mah.m¯ud and then Sultan Masu¯ d’s vizier [2, vol. 2, pp. 479–480]. He was probably buried there [2, vol. 3, p. 931]. As with other gardens of the wealthy, this was a garden of flowers used for feast and drinking banquets [2, vol. 2, p. 479]. Towards the end of Bayhaq¯ı’s History, there is mention of a big caravanserai in Ghazn¯ın owned by B¯u Nas.r. It had a garden, where he was buried. It is highly probable that this was the same garden. As mentioned in case of P¯ır¯uz¯ı Garden, Masu¯ d ordered the construction of a caravanserai adjacent to the garden. The revenues of this caravanserai were endowed towards keeping the burial place of his father. The caravanserai of B¯u Nas.r could have been a similar case. The financial relation of the two building may have been the opposite: the caravanserai was built as a charity and non-profit institution; and the revenues of the garden or several gardens were endowed for the caravanserai maintenance and management. The New Palace Complex of Masu¯ d K¯ushk-i Naw-i Masu¯ d¯ı (literally “the new palace of Masu¯ d) was a sophisticated garden with several monuments and orchards. On the word of Bayhaq¯ı, Masu¯ d I had himself designed this garden [2, vol. 2, p. 722]. The Garden of Khw a¯ ja Ah.mad H.asan in Maymand Shams al-Kuf¯at Khw a¯ ja Ah.mad H.asan Maymand¯ı, one of the viziers of Mah.m¯ud and then the vizier of Masu¯ d I, owned an exquisite garden in his birthplace Maymand (a village around Ghazn¯ın). Uns.ur¯ı Balkh¯ı has described this garden at length in one of his poems. Although not free from poetic exaggeration, he describes the garden as colourful and aromatic. It was filled with extraordinary trees abundant with ripe fruit. Singing nightingales and perky parrots perched on their branches. Dark green trees with wild oranges in the colour of fire filled the garden. Flower petals and leaves paved it, so that it looked like a royal treasury abundant with gold, silver, and jewels. He also praises its formal design, aqueducts, and high walls. Furthermore, he has described with admiration its palace and the platform from which one has a view towards the emerald green of the garden [15, pp. 103–111]. B¯u Sahl Z¯uzan¯ı’s Garden Bayhaq¯ı reports a suburban garden where B¯u Sahl Z¯uzan¯ı, one of the courtiers of the three Ghaznavid Sultans Mah.m¯ud, Masu¯ d I, and Mawd¯ud, stayed on his way to Bust [2, vol. 3, p. 982].

2.3.2.2

Gardens of Balkh

As one of the most important cultural focal points in the history of Iran, Balkh was at the peak of its buoyancy in eleventh century. Sultan Mah.m¯ud and his royalty built

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several palaces and garden there, the remnants of which could be seen in the vast ruins close to Maz¯ar-i Shar¯ıf City in today’s Afghanistan. Kh¯as.s.a/Buzurg Garden. The biggest garden in Herat was apparently Buzurg Garden (literally “the big garden”) or Kh¯as.s.a Garden. The word kh¯as.s.a means belonging to or reserved for the king.6 It is reported that Khw a¯ ja Ah.mad H.asan Maymand¯ı, the vizier of Masu¯ d I, came to the Herat’s Abd al-Al¯a Gate from this garden where he received his appointment decree. There he dismounted and walked home. This indicates that the garden was outside the city, but near to it close to Abd al-Al¯a Gate, one of the prominent gates of the city. There are other reports that indicate the garden was outside the city. For example, once ten Turkmen riders rode from the Quhandiz Fortress outside of Balkh (not to be mistaken with the quhandiz or kuhandizh citadel within the city), to the vicinity of this garden and killed four Hindu grooms and stole an elephant and went to one farsang distance (5–6 km) from the city [2, vol. 3, p. 898]. The distance between the garden and the city was therefore much