CleanupBot II at 20:24, 13 August 2023

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{{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]]}}
[[File:View from atop the left minaret 008.jpg|thumb|Layout of the Charbagh at the [[Tomb of Jahangir]] in [[Lahore]]]]
[[File:1508-Babur celebrates the birth of Humayun in the Chahar Bagh of Kabul.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Babur]] celebrates the birth of [[Humayun]] in the charbagh of [[Kabul]]]]
[[File:Isfahan Garden carpet.jpg|thumb|Charbagh on an incomplete Persian "garden carpet", 17th century]]

'''''Charbagh''''' or '''''Chahar Bagh''''' ({{Lang-fa|{{Nastaliq|چھار باغ}}}} ''chahār bāgh'', {{Lang-hi|चारबाग़}} ''chārbāgh,'' {{Lang-ur|{{Nastaliq|چار باغ}}}} ''chār bāgh,'' meaning "four gardens") is a [[Persian gardens|Persian]] and [[Indo-Persian]] quadrilateral garden layout based on the four gardens of Paradise mentioned in the [[Quran]]. The quadrilateral garden is divided by walkways or flowing water into four smaller parts.<ref>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 pages 94-95], {{ISBN|978-0-275-98735-0}}</ref> They are found in countries throughout Western Asia and South Asia, including Iran and India.<ref name="Begde1978">{{cite book |last1=Begde |first1=Prabhakar V. |title=Ancient and Mediaeval Town-planning in India |date=1978 |publisher=Sagar Publications |pages=173 |language=English}}</ref>

==Concept==
The quadrilateral Charbagh concept is interpreted as the four gardens of Paradise mentioned in Chapter (Surah) 55, [[Ar-Rahman]] "The Beneficient", in the Qur'an:

{{quote|And for him, who fears to stand before his Lord, are two gardens. (Chapter 55: Verse 46)<br>
And beside them are two other gardens. (Chapter 55: Verse 62)}}

One of the hallmarks of Charbagh garden 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 method for the organization and domestication of the landscape, itself a symbol of political territory.<ref>[[D. Fairchild Ruggles]], ''Islamic Gardens and Landscapes'', University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008, p.39</ref>

==Famous Charbagh gardens==
[[File:Naghshe Jahan Square Isfahan modified.jpg|thumb|[[Naghsh-i Jahan square]], the charbagh Royal Square (Maidan) in [[Isfahan]], constructed between 1598 and 1629]]
The [[Charbagh, Isfahan|Chahrbagh-e Abbasi]] (or Charbagh Avenue) in [[Isfahan]], [[Iran]], built by [[Abbas I of Persia|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.

In India, the Char Bagh concept in imperial mausoleums is seen in [[Humayun's Tomb]] in [[Delhi]] in a monumental scale. Humayan's father was the Central Asian Conqueror Babur who succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty in the Indian Subcontinent and became the first Mughal emperor. The tradition of [[paradise garden]] brought to India by the [[Mughals]], originally from Central Asia, which is found at [[Babur]]'s tomb, [[Bagh-e Babur]], in [[Kabul]].<ref name=gar>[https://books.google.com/books?id=wnKiKy9_2u4C&pg=PA179&dq=Humayun%27s+Tomb&lr=&as_brr=0 Mughul Tomb Gardens]''The poetics of gardens'', by Charles Willard Moore, William J. Mitchell. Published by MIT Press, 2000. {{ISBN|0-262-63153-9}}. ''Page 17''.</ref>

This tradition gave birth to the [[Mughal gardens]] design and displayed its high form in the [[Taj Mahal]] — built by [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] emperor [[Shah Jahan]], the great, great, grandson of the Central Asian Conqueror Babur, as a tomb for his favourite Indian wife [[Mumtaz Mahal]], in [[Agra]], India. Unlike most such tombs, the [[mausoleum]] is not in the centre of the garden, however archaeological excavations have revealed [[Mehtab Bagh|another garden]] opposite indicating that historically the mausoleum was centered as in tomb garden tradition.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Ep. 2 |series=Monty Don's Paradise Gardens |network=[[BBC (TV channel)|BBC]]}}</ref>

==Contemporary==
A charbagh is located on the roof top of the [[Ismaili Centre, London|Ismaili Centre]] in [[South Kensington]], [[London]].<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/features/place_in_paradise/islamic.shtml A Place in Paradise] - radio coverage from the [[BBC]] about the charbagh garden on top of the Ismaili Centre in South Kensington</ref>

==See also==

*[[Lucknow Charbagh railway station]]

==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}}.
* [[D. Fairchild Ruggles|Ruggles, D. Fairchild]] (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|Charbagh}}
* [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:Persian gardens|*]]
[[Category:Types of garden]]
[[Category:Landscape design history]]
[[Category:Mughal architecture]]
[[Category:Persian words and phrases]]
[[Category:Islamic architectural elements]]
[[Category:Islamic gardens]]

Charbagh - Revision history

CleanupBot II at 20:24, 13 August 2023