Charbagh

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

See also: Persian Gardens

Charbagh (Persian چهارباغ) is a Persian-style garden layout. The quadrilateral garden is divided by walkways into four smaller parts. In Persian, "Chār" means 'four' and "bāgh" means 'garden'. The Chahrbagh-e Addbasi in Isfahan built by Shah Abbas the Great in (1596), along with the garden of the Taj Mahal 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.^[1]

In India, the Taj Mahal was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, aka Shahjahan, as a tomb for his favorite wife. It is located in Agra, India. The architectural style represents the number four, which is sacred in Islam. The number four represents the four rivers in Paradise: one of water, the second of milk, the third of wine, and the fourth of honey.^[2]

Unlike most such tombs, the mausoleum is not located in the center 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.