Bagh (garden)

Bāgh, which usually translates to "garden" is in fact a more general concept. It refers to an enclosed area with permanent cultures (many types of trees and shrubs) as well as flowers. It is common to near-, middle- and south-eastern countries. It usually has Irano-Islamic architectural elements.

Etymology

Bāgh (Persian: باغ) is a word common to both Persian [citeweb|url=http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/unicode/v3f4/v3f4a054.html|author=W. Eilers|coauthors=M. Bazin; W.L. Hanaway; N.H. Dupree|title=Bāḡ|publisher=Encyclopaedia Iranica|accessdate=2008-04-15] Arabic and Azarbaijani and means "Garden" and "Orchard", specifically one containing fruit- and flower-bearing trees. [Dehkhoda Dictionary ("Loghat'nāmeh-ye" Dehkhoda), Third Edition (Tehran University Press, 2006).] In Persian, the plural of "Bāgh" is "Bāgh-hā" (باغها or باغ ها) and in Arabic, "Bayghān" (بيغان).

The Old Persian word "Baga", or "Bag", as in such word as "Baghdād", means "God" ["Baghdād" can be interpreted as "God-given". Here "dā" is the Old Persian word for "Give".] [Similarly, the place-name Bāku is considered to be an abbreviated form of the word "Baghkuh", meaning "Mount of God", or "Mountain of God", where the Modern Persian word "Kuh" has its root in the Old Persian word "Kaufa", Mountain.] and should not be confused with "Bāgh". Similarly for the Avestan word "Bagh" (note the difference between "a" and "ā") and the Vedic Sanskrit word "Bhag", both of which also mean "God". [Dehkhoda Dictionary, "ibid."]

The word "Bāgh" is encountered in both Pahlavi and Sogdian. [Dehkhoda Dictionary, "ibid."] In Farizandi, Gilaki, Shahmirzadi and Sorkhei "Bāk", and in Natanzi "Bāg" stand for "Bāgh" [Dehkhoda Dictionary, "ibid."] (see Dialects of Central Iran).

The word "Bāgh" is often met in place-names in conjunction with a word in which the notion of garden is already implicit, such as Bāgh-e Ferdows, Bāgh-e Jannat and Bāgh-e Rezvān. ["Bāgh-e Rezvān" is the name of a cemetery in Esfahan.]

"Bāgh" is also a constituent part of the place-name Karabagh (or Kārā-bāgh), which means Black Garden.

In Turkic, Bāgh also is the word for "cord", "string" or "rope", used in tying or bundling objects together. [Dehkhoda Dictionary, "ibid."]

The Russian language utilizes the words "bakhcha" (бахча) and "bakhchevye kultury" (бахчевые культуры) to designate melons and gourds.

Elements of a Bāgh

The elements of a Bāgh consist of the following:Fact|date=April 2008

Natural conditions and materials:

* Soil
* Rocks
* Light conditions
* Wind
* Precipitation
* Air quality
* Plant materials

Man-made elements:

* Paths
* Lighting
* Raised beds
* Pool

Important Bāghs

*Chahar Bagh
*Sikandar Bagh
*Hazuri Bagh
*Jallianwala Bagh
*Bagh-e Melli
*Ram Bagh
*Lal Bagh
*Bagh-e Ferdows
*Khusro Bagh
*Bagh-e Fin
*Bāgh-e Jinnah

Notes and references

ee also

* Persian Gardens
* Paradise Garden