Gardens on the Desert: A Brief Introduction to Historic Gardens of South Khorasan Province

Garden construction is a tradition dating from very old times in South Khorasan Province. According to the local historical sources, the earliest garden in the province dates from early Islamic era, and the idea appears to have been borrowed from the ancient Iranian traditions. This garden is simply mentioned in a single local historical source, but no physical traces of the actual structure remain at the moment, with its exact location also being uncertain. The earliest known historic garden of the province, which is published for the fi rst time in the present paper, is Tughan Garden from the late seventh century AH. It belonged to a local ruler during the Ilkhanid period. On the whole, it seems that throughout the areas now covered by South Khorasan Province garden construction was a common practice in particular among the local ruling dynasty and other affi liated offi cials. Thus, the historic gardens in the region belong for the most part to the Qajar period, and are scattered across Birjand and other areas of the province. Birjand, as the governmental center, and its environs account for the largest number of these gardens. In this study 36 historic gardens are described or briefl y mentioned.