Paradise garden
The form of garden spread throughout Egypt and the Mediterranean during the Muslim Arabic conquests, reaching as far as India and Spain.
Originally denominated by a single noun denoting "a walled-in compound or garden", from "pairi" ("around") and "daeza" or "diz" ("wall", "brick", or "shape"), philosopher and historian Xenophon of Athens borrowed the Old Iranian *paridaiza(h), Late Old Iranian *pardēz (Avestan pairidaēza, Old Persian *paridaida, Late Old Persian pardēd) into Greek as paradeisos.
[2]: 8 The oldest Persian garden of which there are records belonged to Cyrus the Great, in his capital at Pasargadae in the province of Fars to the north of Shiraz.
These watercourses formed the principal axis and secondary axes of the main garden at Pasargadae, prefiguring the four-fold design of the chahar bagh.
[citation needed] In the 5th century, at the time of the invasion of Persia by Cyrus the Younger, Xenophon described a complex of palaces and pavilions belonging to Artaxerxes.
[2]: 8 The Spartan General Lysander who joined Cyrus as a mercenary reported to Xenophon how Persian kings "excelled in not only in war but also in gardening, creating paradeisos" where they collected plants, especially fruit-bearing trees and animals encountered during foreign campaigns.
[2]: 8 The four-fold layout was later reinterpreted in Islamic terms by Muslim Arabs after the 7th-century conquest of Persia, becoming associated with the Abrahamic concept of paradise and the Garden of Eden.
The ground where the flora were planted was sunken or the walkways raised so that passers-by would be able to easily pluck fresh fruit as they walked throughout the garden.
[7] They are typically enclosed by high walls providing shade and protection, especially desirable in the harsh, arid climate where this type of garden flourished.
[citation needed] In its simplest form, the paradise garden consists of a formal, rectangular pool, having a flow just sufficient to give it movement, and a dais from which to observe it.
[citation needed] An example of this style are the Bahá'í Terraces and Mansion of Bahjí on Mount Carmel in Israel, both of which have extensive gardens of intricate design.
