The Persian paradise at Pasargadae: distinctive features of the garden and park art in the achaemenid Persian empire in Iran

The paper is dedicated to the study of distinctive features of the gardenand park art in the Achaemenid Persian Empire in Iran in the 6th-4th centuries BC usingmaterials related to the king’s garden of Cyrus II at Pasargadae. The preserved sectionsof the Pasargadae irrigation system provide an opportunity to carry out a detailed studyof the design and layout solution for the paradise garden as well as understand its rolein the overall design of the palace ensemble. On the basis of archaeological excavationsof the palaces and historical reports left by Classical Hellenic writers, a typology of theAchaemenid garden and art sites was proposed. A special consideration was given to theetymology of the word «paradise» in the Old Iranian language; it provided an additionalmaterial for the research of the different types of gardens dating to the Achaemenid period.The paper describes the main distinctive features of the Persian paradise at Pasargadae, itstypology and planning and also singles out specific features and differences identified intwo other types of the Achaemenid garden and park art sites in the 5th-4th centuries BC.