Bagh-i Hizar Jarib (MEGT)Isfahan, Iran
The garden known as Bagh-i Hizar Jarib was created by Shah ‘Abbas. Iskandar Munshi, in his chronicle for the year 1006 AH/1597–1598, writes that it was created at the end of the promenade (khiyābān) that connected the Dawlat Gate near the precincts of Bagh-i Naqsh-i Jahan to the river and across the Allahverdi Khan bridge to the foot of Suffa Mountain, south of the city. The garden had a great view of the Zayanda River and the city. It consisted of nine ascending terraces designed for the private use (khas) of the shah, and was also called Bagh-i ‘Abbasabad.
Mirza Beg Hasan Junabadi adds more details regarding its layout. It consisted of 1000 Isfahani jaribs made up of nine terraced levels, such that each level was two canonical cubits above the one below. The great canal divided and descended down the chahārbāgh in five channels. These channels are surveyed in a plan drawn by Kaempfer in 1684 that shows also the building for the haram and a maydān for playing polo. According to Jalal al-Din Muhammad Munajjim-i Yazdi, in the year 1006 AH/1598, a large stream (nahr) was diverted from the Zayanda River to Bagh-i ‘Abbasabad, from which it flowed to all other gardens. The garden was seen by Coneille le Brun in 1704. Muhamad Shah Qajar (1810–1848) gave instructions for repairing its water channel called Juy-i Sefid. Remains of the garden walls were visible in 1932 when Beaudouin made a plan of Isfahan. One of its pigeon-towers survived at least until the 1890s in a picture by Ernst Hoelster, but no traces remain today.
Sources: Travel Account, 1684 | Court Chronicle, 1598, 1611–1617
Resources:
Four Sources on Shah ‘Abbas’s Buildings of Isfahan (Open in Zotero)
Safavid Palaces at Isfahan: Continuity and Change (1590–1666) (Open in Zotero)
I giardini reali di Ashraf e Farahâbâd (Open in Zotero)
Safavid Royal Gardens and Their Urban Relationships (Open in Zotero)
Originally published at: Alemi, Mahvash. “Bagh-i Hizar Jarib.” Middle East Garden Traditions. Dumbarton Oaks, November 18, 2014. https://www.doaks.org/resources/middle-east-garden-traditions/catalogue#b_start=0&c6=Safavid+Gardens. Archived at:https://perma.cc/H4VG-8VF7
The garden known as Bagh-i Hizar Jarib was created by Shah ‘Abbas. Iskandar Munshi, in his chronicle for the year 1006 AH/1597–1598, writes that it was created at the end of the promenade (khiyābān) that connected the Dawlat Gate near the precincts of Bagh-i Naqsh-i Jahan to the river and across the Allahverdi Khan bridge to the foot of Suffa Mountain, south of the city. The garden had a great view of the Zayanda River and the city. It consisted of nine ascending terraces designed for the private use (khas) of the shah, and was also called Bagh-i ‘Abbasabad.
Mirza Beg Hasan Junabadi adds more details regarding its layout. It consisted of 1000 Isfahani jaribs made up of nine terraced levels, such that each level was two canonical cubits above the one below. The great canal divided and descended down the chahārbāgh in five channels. These channels are surveyed in a plan drawn by Kaempfer in 1684 that shows also the building for the haram and a maydān for playing polo. According to Jalal al-Din Muhammad Munajjim-i Yazdi, in the year 1006 AH/1598, a large stream (nahr) was diverted from the Zayanda River to Bagh-i ‘Abbasabad, from which it flowed to all other gardens. The garden was seen by Coneille le Brun in 1704. Muhamad Shah Qajar (1810–1848) gave instructions for repairing its water channel called Juy-i Sefid. Remains of the garden walls were visible in 1932 when Beaudouin made a plan of Isfahan. One of its pigeon-towers survived at least until the 1890s in a picture by Ernst Hoelster, but no traces remain today.
Sources: Travel Account, 1684 | Court Chronicle, 1598, 1611–1617
Resources:
Four Sources on Shah ‘Abbas’s Buildings of Isfahan (Open in Zotero)
Safavid Palaces at Isfahan: Continuity and Change (1590–1666) (Open in Zotero)
I giardini reali di Ashraf e Farahâbâd (Open in Zotero)
Safavid Royal Gardens and Their Urban Relationships (Open in Zotero)
Originally published at: Alemi, Mahvash. “Bagh-i Hizar Jarib.” Middle East Garden Traditions. Dumbarton Oaks, November 18, 2014. https://www.doaks.org/resources/middle-east-garden-traditions/catalogue#b_start=0&c6=Safavid+Gardens. Archived at:https://perma.cc/H4VG-8VF7