# Charbagh > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Charbagh > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Charbagh.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charbagh > Source revision: 1353271694 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Four-part Islamic paradise garden layout}} {{Other uses|Chahar Bagh (disambiguation){{!}}Chahar Bagh}} {{see also|Persian Gardens|Bagh (garden)|Paradise garden}} {{Italic title|reason=[:Category:Persian words and phrases](/source/%3ACategory%3APersian_words_and_phrases)}} [[File:View from atop the left minaret 008.jpg|thumb|The charbagh at the [Tomb of Jahangir](/source/Tomb_of_Jahangir) in [Lahore](/source/Lahore), Pakistan]] A '''''charbagh''''' or '''''chaharbagh''''' ({{langx|fa|چهارباغ|chahārbāgh|lit=four gardens}}; {{langx|hi|चारबाग़}} {{Transliteration|hi|chārbāgh}}, {{langx|ur|{{Nastaliq|چار باغ}}}} {{Transliteration|ur|chār bāgh}}, {{Langx|bn|চারবাগ}}) is a [Persian](/source/Persian_gardens) and [Indo-Persian](/source/Indo-Persian) quadrilateral garden with a layout of four gardens traditionally separated by waterways, together representing the four gardens and [four rivers](/source/rivers_of_Paradise) of [Paradise](/source/Paradise) mentioned in the [Quran](/source/Quran).{{efn|The idea of the world divided into four parts is also present in the [Book of Genesis](/source/Book_of_Genesis) (2:10).}} The chaharbagh may also be divided by walkways instead of flowing water.Cornell, Vincent J. (2007) ''Voices of Islam: Voices of art, beauty, and science'' (volume 4 in the ''Voices of Islam'' series) Praeger, Westport, Connecticut, [https://books.google.com/books?id=RNTAHx95RqQC&pg=PA94 pp. 94–95], {{ISBN|978-0-275-98735-0}} Such gardens are found in countries throughout [West Asia](/source/West_Asia) (which includes Iran), [South Asia](/source/South_Asia), [North Africa](/source/North_Africa) and the former [al-Andalus](/source/al-Andalus).{{cite book |last1=Begde |first1=Prabhakar V. |title=Ancient and Mediaeval Town-planning in India |date=1978 |publisher=Sagar Publications |pages=173 |language=English}} A famous example of a charbagh is that of the [Taj Mahal](/source/Taj_Mahal) in India. ==Concept== [[File:Naghshe Jahan Square Isfahan modified.jpg|thumb|An example of chaharbagh on [Naqsh-e Jahan Square](/source/Naqsh-e_Jahan_Square) (constructed 1598–1629) in [Isfahan](/source/Isfahan), Iran]] The traditional chaharbagh has a four-part garden layout with axial waterways joining at a small square basin in the garden's centre. ==History== The chaharbagh layout originated in the [paradise garden](/source/paradise_garden)s of the [Achaemenid Empire](/source/Achaemenid_Empire), as suggested by excavations at [Pasargadae](/source/Pasargadae) and [Susa](/source/Susa).{{cite encyclopedia|entry=Čahārbāḡ|title=Encyclopædia Iranica|url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/caharbag-lit}} The highly structured geometrical scheme of the chaharbagh became a powerful method for the organization and domestication of the landscape, itself a symbol of political territory.[D. Fairchild Ruggles](/source/D._Fairchild_Ruggles), ''Islamic Gardens and Landscapes'', University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008, p. 39. After the [Muslim conquest of Persia](/source/Muslim_conquest_of_Persia), the chaharbagh was considered to represent the four gardens of Paradise mentioned in the [Quran](/source/Quran)'s 55th Chapter (Surah), [Ar-Rahman](/source/Ar-Rahman) ('The Beneficient'): {{blockquote|And for him, who fears to stand before his Lord, are two gardens. (Chapter 55: Verse 46)
And beside them are two other gardens. (Chapter 55: Verse 62)}} The waterways were considered to represent the [four rivers](/source/Rivers_of_Paradise) mentioned in a [hadith](/source/hadith): Sayhan, Jayhan, the [Euphrates](/source/Euphrates) and the [Nile](/source/Nile). [[File:1508-Babur celebrates the birth of Humayun in the Chahar Bagh of Kabul.jpg|thumb|upright|[Babur](/source/Babur) celebrates the birth of [Humayun](/source/Humayun) in the charbagh of [Kabul](/source/Kabul).]] In the 16th century, the chaharbagh layout was brought from Iran to the Indian subcontinent by the [Mughal dynasty](/source/Mughal_dynasty) founded by [Babur](/source/Babur), who was originally from Central Asia. This tradition gave birth to the [Mughal gardens](/source/Mughal_gardens), which perhaps displayed its highest form in the [Taj Mahal](/source/Taj_Mahal) {{see below}}. ==Notable examples== [[File:Humayun's Tomb, Delhi - Visit During WCI 2016 (37).jpg|thumb|Charbagh at [Humayun's Tomb](/source/Humayun's_Tomb), [Delhi](/source/Delhi), India]] Several of the first Mughal charbagh gardens of monumental scale belonged to imperial [mausoleum](/source/mausoleum)s, such as the [Bagh-e Babur](/source/Bagh-e_Babur) at Babur's Tomb, in [Kabul](/source/Kabul), Afghanistan (honoring the first Mughal emperor, [Babur](/source/Babur));[https://books.google.com/books?id=wnKiKy9_2u4C&dq=Humayun%27s+Tomb&pg=PA179 Mughul Tomb Gardens] ''The poetics of gardens'', by Charles Willard Moore, William J. Mitchell. Published by MIT Press, 2000, p. 17. {{ISBN|0-262-63153-9}} the charbagh at [Humayun's Tomb](/source/Humayun's_Tomb) in [Delhi](/source/Delhi), India (honoring [Humayun](/source/Humayun), son of Babur); and the charbagh at the [Tomb of Jahangir](/source/Tomb_of_Jahangir) (honoring the fourth Mughal emperor [Jahangir](/source/Jahangir), son of [Akbar](/source/Akbar)) in [Lahore](/source/Lahore), Pakistan. [[File:Agra, Taj Mahal LCCN95505064.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of the charbagh of the [Taj Mahal](/source/Taj_Mahal), [Agra](/source/Agra), India, showing the square basin at the intersection of four waterways]] The charbagh of the [Taj Mahal](/source/Taj_Mahal) is also the charbagh of a mausoleum, built by Mughal emperor [Shah Jahan](/source/Shah_Jahan) (great-great-grandson of Babur) for his favourite Indian wife [Mumtaz Mahal](/source/Mumtaz_Mahal). Unlike the other tombs, the [mausoleum](/source/mausoleum) is not in the centre of the garden, however archaeological excavations have revealed [another garden](/source/Mehtab_Bagh) opposite indicating that historically the mausoleum was centered as in tomb garden tradition.{{cite episode |title=Ep. 2 |series=Monty Don's Paradise Gardens |network=[BBC](/source/BBC_(TV_channel))}} In the charbagh of the Taj Mahal, each of the four parts contains sixteen flower beds. [[File:'Pakistan'- Shalimar Gardens Lahore- By @ibneazhar Sep 2016 (38).jpg|thumb|View of one charbagh garden of the [Shalamar Gardens](/source/Shalamar_Gardens%2C_Lahore), [Lahore](/source/Lahore), Pakistan, displaying the typical charbagh layout]] Other Mughal charbagh gardens were built for leisure, without any mausoleum, such as the [Shalamar Gardens](/source/Shalamar_Gardens%2C_Lahore) (also known as the "Shahla Bagh"), in [Lahore](/source/Lahore), Pakistan, which were also laid out by Shah Jahan. The Shalamar Gardens comprise two charbagh gardens separated by a gigantic pool. ==Contemporary== A charbagh is located on the roof top of the [Ismaili Centre](/source/Ismaili_Centre%2C_London) in [South Kensington](/source/South_Kensington), [London](/source/London).[https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/features/place_in_paradise/islamic.shtml A Place in Paradise] - radio coverage from the [BBC](/source/BBC) about the charbagh garden on top of the Ismaili Centre in South Kensington ==See also== {{Portal|Gardens}} *[Paradise garden](/source/Paradise_garden) ==Notes== {{notelist}} ==References== {{reflist}} ==Further reading== * Lehrman, Jonas Benzion (1980). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=WwH5L6u6tu0C Earthly paradise: garden and courtyard in Islam]''. University of California Press. {{ISBN|0-520-04363-4}}. * [Ruggles, D. Fairchild](/source/D._Fairchild_Ruggles) (2008). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=848k_veh0IkC Islamic Gardens and Landscapes]''. University of Pennsylvania Press. {{ISBN|0-8122-4025-1}}. ==External links== {{commons category}} *https://villanews.ir/en/editorial/when-everything-starts-with-chahar-bagh * [http://afghanistan.asiasociety.org/timeline/53/CE/1505 ''Babur's Garden''] - video from the Asia Society, US {{Horticulture and gardening}} {{Islamic architecture}} {{Islamic art}} Category:Persian art * Category:Types of garden Category:Landscape design history Category:Mughal architecture elements Category:Persian words and phrases Category:Islamic architectural elements Category:Islamic gardens Category:Iranian architectural elements --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Charbagh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charbagh) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charbagh?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.