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BAGH-E ERAM (Eram Garden), a famous and beautiful garden at Shiraz. Its site close to the embankment of the Rudkhana-ye Kushk was formerly on the northwestern fringe of the city but is now well inside the greatly expanded urban area.
The present garden and mansion are not very old but, like the other famous gardens of Shiraz, may well have replaced an earlier foundation. D. N. Wilber surmised that its antecedent may have been the Bag-e Shah mentioned in accounts o seed (Fasa`i, II, p. 164). Forsat Shirazi, a contemporary of Fasa`i, praised the Bag-e Eram for its beautiful flowers, refreshing air, tall cypresses (a stately, beautiful cypress tree there known as sarv-e naz has long been a major tourist attraction), fragrant myrtles, flowing wa of the constructional work and praises of the then owner Nasir-al-Molk.
After the coup detat of 1332 5./1953 and the exile of the Qashqa`i brothers, who in the meantime had regained ownership of the Bag-e Eram, the government confiscated the garden and later on gave it to Pahlavi University (now the University of Shiraz).
With its beautiful flowers and decorative plants as well as its amazing edifice, it is now also known as the Botanical Garden of Shiraz University, and is in the heart of the city of Shiraz .
During this period the former mud walls were replaced with iron railings, old trees were cut down to make room for lawns, and a broad street named Eram Boulevard was laid out on the northwest side. Early during the revolution of 1357 5./1978-79. The Qashqa`is repossessed the garden; shortly afterward its owner Khosrow Khan dedicated it to the people of Shiraz. The garden has now been made into a botanical garden and the mansion has been assigned to the Faculty of Law of the university. Bibliography: Mohammad-Nasir Forsat Shirazi, Atar-e `Ajam, Bombay, 1313/1895, repr. 1353/1934. D. N. Wilber, Persian Gardens and Garden Pavilions, Tokyo, 1962; tr. Mahindokht Saba, Bagha-ye Iran kuska-ye an, Tehran, 1348 5./1969. R. Pechere, -Etude de jardins historiques, in UNESCO, Iran, March, 1973. Mohammad-Taqi Mostafawi, Eqlim-e Pars, Tehran, 1343 5./1964; tr. R. N. Sharp, The Land of Pars, Chippenham, England, 1978, p. 315.
Eram garden is located in the center of Shiraz on the side of Eram Street. A leader of the Qashqai tribe known as Mohammad Ali Khan Ilkhani during the early 18th century made this garden. About 75 years later, Nasirolmolk bought the garden and Haj Mohammad Hassan, the prominent architect built its three storey building. This monument is a masterpiece from the Qajar dynasty in so far as architecture, painting, carving, tiling and stuccowork are concerned.
The lower sections of the building`s exterior are formed of 2 - meter - high plain and carved stones and on the eight columns there is the exhibit of two Qajar soldiers and six inscriptions. The inscriptions have been inscribed by Mirza Ali Naghi Khoshnevis in Nastaligh style of writing. In the portal of the building there are three large and two small sessions.
The spring, which flows in the waterfronts, right in the middle of the building pours into ponds and grants Eram garden a great appeal. The cypress tree in this garden is quite famous. |
