Assistant Professor, Department of Architectural History and Conservation, Shahid Beheshti University.
Abstract
The Persian Garden is a historical phenomenon, yet studying its development over time or its formal and stylistic variations does not yield to a full understanding. The Persian Garden is not delimited in its geometry or physicality; it holds a content, or khayal, upon which it is created. But what is this khayal and how does it relate to its physicality? Is it appropriate to claim it a single structure out of many formal variations? What is the historical and geographical extent of Persian Garden? More importantly, what are valid and reliable assumptions based on which one can attempt to study Persian Garden? There are quite numerous questions as well as resources. Illustrating the structure, physical reality, and qualitative/quantitative properties of the Persian Garden calls for a broad and serious research with a correct approach—whose first question shall inevitably be, “what do we know of the Persian Garden?,” or “inside what historical/geographical boundaries should its examples be sought?” Learning about different aspects of the Persian Garden is a must toward its comprehensive understanding, which requires defining a range of different subjects for this matter. Designing correct questions, finding abundant resources, and picking the right approaches are the essential requirements for such researches. The historical continuity of its presence as well as its universal meaning justifies such research about it, calling for a broad range of questions and resources on the subject of the Persian Garden. However, knowing the right method and picking up the correct approach in this regard is a must.
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