Charbagh

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Chahar Bagh. See also: Persian Gardens, Bagh (garden), and Paradise garden

Four central axial water courses define Char Bagh Garden's quadrilateral layout at Humayun's Tomb, Delhi, 1572

Naghsh-i Jahan square, the charbagh Royal Square (Maidan) in Isfahan, constructed between 1598 and 1629

Charbagh on an incomplete Persian "garden carpet", 17th century.

Charbagh or Chahar Bagh (Persian: , chahr bgh, "Four Bghs") is a Persian-style garden layout. The quadrilateral garden is divided by walkways or flowing water into four smaller parts.[1] In Persian, "Chr" means 'four' and "bgh" means 'garden'.

Contents

1 History 2 Contemporary 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External links

[edit] History
One of the hallmarks of Islamic gardens is the four-part garden laid out with axial paths that intersect at the garden's centre. This highly structured geometrical scheme, called the chahar bagh, became a powerful metaphor for the organization and domestication of the landscape, itself a symbol of political territory.[2] The Chahrbagh-e Abbasi (or Charbagh Avenue) in Isfahan, Iran, built by Shah Abbas the Great in 1596, and the garden of the Taj Mahal in India are the most famous examples of this style. In the Charbagh at the Taj Mahal, each of the four parts contains sixteen flower beds. Chahrbagh originated from the time of Achaemenid Persia. Greek historians, such as Herodotus and Xenophon, give extensive accounts of Cyrus the Great's palatial city of Pasargadae and his four-gardens.[3] In India, the Char Bagh concept in imperial mausoleums is seen in Humayun's Tomb in Delhi monumental scale. The tradition of paradise garden originated among the Mughals which is

found at Babur's tomb, Bagh-e Babur, in Kabul,[4] a tradition which gave birth to the Mughal gardens design and displayed its high form in the Taj Mahal was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, as a tomb for his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal, in Agra, India. Here, unlike most such tombs, the mausoleum is not located in the centre of the garden, but on its northern end. The garden features Italian cypress trees (Cupressus sempervirens). The cypress trees symbolize death. Fruit trees in the garden symbolize life. The garden attracts many birds, which are considered one of the features of the garden.

[edit] Contemporary
A charbagh garden is located on the roof top of the Ismaili Centre in South Kensington, London.[5] The Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat, located on Sussex Drive in the Canadian capital Ottawa, Ontario contains a charbagh garden in a uniquely modern setting