Creative and Critical Studies, Faculty of (Okanagan)
DSpace
UBCO
Saffari, Sepideh
Doctor of Philosophy - PhD
University of British Columbia
Persianate Gardens possess an interconnected history across current countries of Central Asia, Iranian and Deccan plateaus. The gardens’ shared history, embodied in their consistent design, spanned diverse geographical locations (Archi-scape) that are currently framed by modern national borders. Despite Persianate gardens’ transnational reach, most scholarship adopts national lenses while concentrating on documentation and forms. This nation-based outlook has deeply shaped the representation of Persianate Gardens, and this view is disseminated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), arguably the world’s most significant cultural heritage organization. UNESCO’s nation-based outlook, which obscures the gardens’ fluid and dialogic nature, was further reinforced by UNESCO’s logocentric documentation and reports. Using visual data as ornamental materials conceals a holistic picture that can only be explored through visual and multimodal aspects of cultural heritage. Therefore, UNESCO’s interpretation of the Persianate Garden encourages a fragmented narrative of its history and development caused by its content and representation format. To address these gaps, this research investigates the commonalities of Timurid, Safavid, and Mughal gardens through a transnational lens while exploring multimodal approaches to argument and representation. The study employs visual-centric methods, namely cognitive mapping, and content analysis (with a focus on visual comparative evaluation), alongside semi-3D modeling and graphical analysis for case studies assessment. A visual-centered methodology is imperative to examine the visual datasets of spatial layouts and heritage information. The study applies a new set of criteria to explore the potential for diminishing the significance of the gardens’ national classification while unfolding their connections and consistency. Rather than imposing an external set of universal principles for heritage evaluation, these criteria propose a new arrangement inspired by spatial qualities inherent in the gardens. They contextualize gardens within a broader network of collaborative and shared historical settings, contesting Eurocentric and biased heritage interpretation. While the research approaches transnational exchanges from multiple lenses, it mainly employs an architectural lens to reveal the Persianate gardens’ connections. Since the research form and content should be compatible, an interactive website serves as a prototype to maintain the multimodal dimensions of findings that are crucial in the perception of transnational exchanges.
GARDENS BEYOND BORDERS: RETHINKING UNESCO'S APPROACH TO PERSIANATE GARDENS THROUGH TRANSNATIONAL AND MULTIMODAL LENSES by Sepideh Saffari A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Interdisciplinary Studies) (Digital Arts and Humanities) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Okanagan) September 2024 © Sepideh Saffari, 2024 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the College of Graduate Studies for acceptance, a dissertation entitled: GARDENS BEYOND BORDERS: RETHINKING UNESCO'S APPROACH TO PERSIANATE GARDENS THROUGH TRANSNATIONAL AND MULTIMODAL LENSES submitted by Sepideh Saffari in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy . Dr. Hussein Keshani, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies Supervisor Dr. Aleksandra Dulic, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Karis Shearer, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Neha Gupta, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Susan Crichton, Okanagan School of Education University Examiner Dr. Stephen Whiteman, The Courtauld Institute of Art External Examiner iii Abstract Persianate Gardens possess an interconnected history across current countries of Central Asia, Iranian and Deccan plateaus. The gardens’ shared history, embodied in their consistent design, spanned diverse geographical locations (Archi-scape) that are currently framed by modern national borders. Despite Persianate gardens’ transnational reach, most scholarship adopts national lenses while concentrating on documentation and forms. This nation-based outlook has deeply shaped the representation of Persianate Gardens, and this view is disseminated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), arguably the world’s most significant cultural heritage organization. UNESCO’s nation-based outlook, which obscures the gardens’ fluid and dialogic nature, was further reinforced by UNESCO’s logocentric documentation and reports. Using visual data as ornamental materials conceals a holistic picture that can only be explored through visual and multimodal aspects of cultural heritage. Therefore, UNESCO’s interpretation of the Persianate Garden encourages a fragmented narrative of its history and development caused by its content and representation format. To address these gaps, this research investigates the commonalities of Timurid, Safavid, and Mughal gardens through a transnational lens while exploring multimodal approaches to argument and representation. The study employs visual-centric methods, namely cognitive mapping, and content analysis (with a focus on visual comparative evaluation), alongside semi-3D modeling and graphical analysis for case studies assessment. A visual-centered methodology is imperative to examine the visual datasets of spatial layouts and heritage information. The study applies a new set of criteria to explore the potential for diminishing the significance of the gardens’ national classification while unfolding their iv connections and consistency. Rather than imposing an external set of universal principles for heritage evaluation, these criteria propose a new arrangement inspired by spatial qualities inherent in the gardens. They contextualize gardens within a broader network of collaborative and shared historical settings, contesting Eurocentric and biased heritage interpretation. While the research approaches transnational exchanges from multiple lenses, it mainly employs an architectural lens to reveal the Persianate gardens’ connections. Since the research form and content should be compatible, an interactive website serves as a prototype to maintain the multimodal dimensions of findings that are crucial in the perception of transnational exchanges. v Lay Summary Persianate Gardens share an interconnected and rich history that transcends national and political borders over Central Asia, Iranian, and Deccan plateaus. The transnational feature of Persianate Gardens is characterized by consistent design despite their diverse geopolitical locations. However, most scholarships employ a national lens, reinforced by the logocentric documentation of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This nation-based lens creates a fragmented narrative of gardens’ history and development. Alternatively, this dissertation investigates the shared design of Timurid, Safavid, and Mughal gardens through a transnational perspective. It employs visual-centric analysis and digital multimodal argumentation that integrates the analytical and interpretative use of images, illustrations, text, spatial analysis, 3D modeling, and comparative diagrams. The study’s new criteria, built upon architectural quality and spatiality, prioritize shared historical contexts over national classifications. An interactive website facilitates the multimodal representation of findings crucial for comprehending transnational exchanges in gardens’ design and architecture. vi Preface This dissertation offers original contributions to various interdisciplinary fields, such as cultural heritage studies and heritage interpretation. This work has been done independently by the sole author, Sepideh Saffari, under the expert supervision of Dr. Hussein Keshani and valuable feedback from members of the supervisory committee: Dr. Karis Shearer, Dr. Neha Gupta, and Dr. Aleksandra Dulic. The author's independent and original work includes various parts of research, from the written dissertation and analysis of the research data to the website design as a multimodal interpretation of Persianate Gardens' transnational features. It is worth noting that generative AI was not used to create any original aspects of this work. A few figures in this research are copyrighted and all of them have been used with the permission and proper citation. vii Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................. iii Lay Summary ...................................................................................................... v Preface ................................................................................................................ vi Table of Contents ............................................................................................. vii List of Figures ...................................................................................................... x Acknowledgements ....................................................................................... xxiv Dedication ........................................................................................................xxv Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................... 1 1.1. Overview ............................................................................................................. 1 1.1.1. Transnational Heritage and Multimodal Argumentation .................................... 2 1.2. Research Gaps ..................................................................................................... 6 1.2.1. UNESCO and the Potential for Greater Transnational View on Heritage .......... 7 1.2.2. Digital Heritage’s Unspoken Divide ................................................................. 16 1.2.3. Iranian National Identity and Built Heritage .................................................... 18 1.2.4. Modalities ......................................................................................................... 21 1.3. Research Questions, Arguments, and Objectives ............................................. 22 1.4. The Importance of Topic .................................................................................. 24 1.5. Positionality in Relation to the Topic ............................................................... 25 1.6. Chapters to Come .............................................................................................. 26 Chapter 2: Current Conversations .................................................................30 2.1. Critical Heritage Studies and the Politics of Heritage ...................................... 33 2.1.1. Iranian National Identity and Built Heritage .................................................... 34 2.1.2. UNESCO’s Outlook on Heritage ...................................................................... 36 2.2. Transnational Heritage ...................................................................................... 40 2.3. Heritage Interpretation and Heritage Storytelling ............................................ 44 viii 2.3.1. Digital Heritage and Modality .......................................................................... 47 2.4. Persianate Palace and Tomb Gardens ............................................................... 51 2.4.1. Description and Typology................................................................................. 54 2.4.2. Origins and Early Gardens ................................................................................ 57 2.4.3. Islamic Era, Connections, and Conversations................................................... 64 2.5. Chapter Summary ............................................................................................. 89 Chapter 3: Methodology and Process .............................................................92 3.1. Background - Visual-centric Analysis .............................................................. 94 3.2. Background - Multimodal Argumentation ..................................................... 101 3.2.1. Multimodal Argumentation and Theoretical Framework ............................... 101 3.2.2. Visual Perception and Visual Thinking .......................................................... 105 3.2.3. Inspiring Examples of Multimodal Practices and Scholarship ....................... 107 3.3. Visual-centric Analysis Employed ................................................................. 113 3.3.1. Methods and Processes ................................................................................... 113 3.4. Multimodal Argumentation Employed ........................................................... 130 3.4.1. Compatibility of Multimodal Argumentation with Research Themes ........... 130 3.4.2. Techniques, Tools, and Strategies for Multimodal Argumentation and Interpretation ................................................................................................................. 131 3.5. Chapter Summary ........................................................................................... 133 Chapter 4: Redrawing the Borders of the Persianate Gardens: From National Boundaries to Cultural Zone .........................................................136 4.1. Historical Context of Transnational Exchange ............................................... 138 4.2. Comparison Criteria: Shared Vocabulary of Architecture and Landscape Design ..................................................................................................................... 155 4.2.1. Hierarchical Order .......................................................................................... 157 4.2.2. Quadripartite Concept ..................................................................................... 161 4.2.3. Transparency of Pavilions............................................................................... 168 4.2.4. Royal Quarter .................................................................................................. 172 4.3. Chapter Summary ........................................................................................... 177 Chapter 5: Case Studies of Stepped Gardens and Nine-fold Plans ...........180 5.1. Stepped Gardens: Definition, Exchange, and Hidden Concepts .................... 181 ix 5.2. Ninefold Plans: Definition, Exchange, and Hidden Concepts ........................ 196 5.3. Chapter Summary ........................................................................................... 210 Chapter 6: Website Design.............................................................................212 6.1. The Journey of Research: Logic of Medium Choices .................................... 214 6.2. Website Design: A Multimodal Interpretation of Transnational Gardens...... 219 6.2.1. Home Page: Design Choices and Argumentations ......................................... 220 6.2.2. Case Studies through Multimodal Framework ............................................... 232 6.2.3. Behind the Scene: Datasets and Diagrams ...................................................... 242 6.3. Chapter Summary ........................................................................................... 245 Chapter 7: Conclusion ....................................................................................248 7.1. Insights and Reflections on the Research ....................................................... 250 7.2. Concluding Remarks ....................................................................................... 264 7.3. Statement of Contributions ............................................................................. 269 Bibliography ....................................................................................................273 x List of Figures Figure 1.1. Sepideh Saffari, Liquid effect: Transnational interactions, watercolor, 2000*2000 px, 2021. One may perceive the world as a fluid context, with each country as a color that can move freely and interact with each other. ................................................................... 4 Figure 1.2. Sepideh Saffari, The Intersection of Research Themes and Research Gaps, May 2022. .... 6 Figure 1.3. Sepideh Saffari, The UNESCO’s Categorization of Persianate Gardens and Related Monuments based on Nationality, 2022, https://app.milanote.com/1RRoco1ruFlQdD?p=Trli7QEbwlz. This visual diagram shows Persianate gardens across the current countries of Iran, India, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The nation-based foundation of this diagram is based on UNESCO's classification of these gardens, which visually shows how gardens are lumped based on national categories. The more developed version of this diagram can be found in Chapter 3 under the section, Content Analysis and Visual Comparative Evaluation. ................... 10 Figure 1.4. UNESCO World Heritage Center, the comparison between Indicators tab of Persian gardens and other random sites, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Accessed May 10, 2022. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1372/indicators/. (©UNESCO, CC BY-SA 3.0) .... 13 Figure 1.5. Sepideh Saffari, the comparison between the number and geographical distribution of heritage sites in France (left) and Iran (right). Note that French heritage sites extend well beyond France’s national borders and geographically beyond Europe into the Global South, based on UNESCO’s report of heritage sites, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Accessed May 10, 2022. https://whc.unesco.org/en/interactive-map/. (©UNESCO, CC BY-SA 3.0).......................................................................................... 15 Figure 1.6. Sepideh Saffari, the availability of digital databases based on their geographical location, May 2022. Note that the Mahan Garden (the first level from the top) and Nishat Garden (the second level from the top) are stepped gardens in which a three-dimensional perception of land features is important. The main concept of stepped gardens is multiple terraces, following the land topography. In these gardens, architects use topographic features and natural order to build social hierarchy. While one can see the topographic features in the Queen Elizabeth Park visualization (the third level from the top), this feature has been missed in Mahan Garden and Nishat Garden visualizations. ................ 18 Figure 1.7. Sepideh Saffari, The Structure of Research Chapters and the Visual Flow of Contents, 2024, https://app.milanote.com/1R5RIa12bcgUbG?p=Trli7QEbwlz. ............................. 27 Figure 2.1. Dive into Intangible Cultural Heritage!, UNESCO, Intangible Cultural Heritage, accessed March 9, 2021, https://ich.unesco.org/en/dive. The image shows a screenshot of intangible cultural heritage from UNESCO's project entitled Dive into Intangible Cultural Heritage. The visualization is based on semantics (concepts) rather than geography. The nodes represent concepts derived from UNESCO Thesaurus and a xi complementary vocabulary, and the lines represent connections. (©UNESCO, CC BY-SA 3.0) ............................................................................................................................. 43 Figure 2.2. Dive into Intangible Cultural Heritage!, UNESCO, Intangible Cultural Heritage, accessed March 9, 2021, https://ich.unesco.org/en/dive.The image is an enlarged part of a screenshot of intangible cultural heritage from UNESCO's project entitled: Dive into Intangible Cultural Heritage. (©UNESCO, CC BY-SA 3.0) ........................................... 43 Figure 2.3. Sepideh Saffari and Hussein Keshani, the Play Module of the Aga Khan Garden Web App (Wireframing), 2019. ....................................................................................................... 50 Figure 2.4. A fresco plan of Sennefer’s Garden, found in the Tomb of the Vines near Luxor in Egypt, dating from 1439-1413 BCE, depicted in a copy by Ippolito Rosellini from the 19th century. Image from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Immagine_di_un_giardino.jpg. .................... 58 Figure 2.5. The Adda Seal, 2300 BC. Greenstone, 2.55*1.50 centimeters, The British Museum, https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1891-0509-2553. ......................... 59 Figure 2.6. (Left-hand Image). Ivory plate. Assur, 1243-1207 B.C. Mountain with Water God, An Assyrian relief of the god of water flanked by two cypress tress, Flowing vases represent the four rivers of life, Staatliche Museum, Berlin, https://www.smb.museum/en/open-science/. ............................................................................................................................ 60 Figure 2.7. (Right-hand Image). Water basin for ritual cleansing from the Temple of Ashur (Assur), excavated by Walter Andrae Assyrian reign of Sennacherib, 704-681 BCE, Photographed by Mary Harrsch, Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Water_basin_for_ritual_cleansing_from_the_Temple_of_Ashur_%28Assur%29_excavated_by_Walter_Andrae_Assyrian_reign_of_Sennacherib_704-681_BCE_%2832237774315%29.jpg. ................................................. 60 Figure 2.8. (Left-hand Image). Wall Panel; Relief. 635BC 645. Gypsum, 132.08*58.42. British Museum, 124939, b, https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1856-0909-36. .................................................................................................................................... 61 Figure 2.9. (left-hand). The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest territorial extent under the rule of Darius I (522 BC–486 BC), Wikipedia, 8 December 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achaemenid_Empire#/media/File:Achaemenid_Empire_500_BCE.jpg ........................................................................................................................ 62 Figure 2.10. (right-hand). The Plan of Royal Garden of Pasargadae, 2024, Redrawn by the author after: [David Stronach, 1978, Pasargadae: A Report on the Excavations, from https://www.metmuseum.org/articles/pasargadae]. ......................................................... 62 Figure 2.11. Chronology of Major Empires and Dynasties of the Islamic World, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Chronology,” Accessed July 19, 2022. https://www.metmuseum.org/learn/educators/curriculum-resources/art-of-the-islamic-world/introduction/chronology. ....................................................................................... 65 xii Figure 2.12. (left-hand). Madinat Al-Zahra Plan, from Wikipedia, June 16, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Madinat_al-Zahra&oldid=1093436739. ..... 67 Figure 2.13. (right-hand). William J. Mitchell, Isometric View Showing Three Sections of the Shalimar Garden in Kashmir, Archnet, Accessed July 13, 2022. https://www.archnet.org/sites/5011?media_content_id=61305. ...................................... 67 Figure 2.14. (Left-hand). Four Arches of Qaḷʿeh Dukhtar (The central hall of the early palace of Ardersir), Redrawn by the author after: [Encyclopedia Iranica. “ČAHĀRṬĀQ:‘Four Arches,’” Encyclopedia Iranica. Accessed July 18, 2022. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cahartaq.] .............................................................. 71 Figure 2.15. (Middle). The so-called Palace of Sapur and Fire Temple at Bishapur, The so-called Palace of Sapur and Fire Temple at Bishapur, from Dietrich Huff, Bernard O’Kane, “ČAHĀRṬĀQ,” Encyclopædia Iranica, IV/6, pp. 634-642, In Encyclopaedia Iranica Online, (Brill, 2020) doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/2330-4804_EIRO_COM_7262. ........ 71 Figure 2.16. (Right-hand). Mausoleum Of the Samanids, Redrawn by the author after: [Arthur Upham Pope, Phyllis Ackerman, and Theodore Besterman. A Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric Times to the Present. London; New York; Oxford University Press, 1938.] 71 Figure 2.17. (Left-hand). Antiquities of Samarkand, Mausoleum of Emir Timur Kuragan (Gur-Emir), Plan, 1868-1872, Architectural Drawing, Washington, D.C. USA. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, https://www.loc.gov/item/2007683366/. (Adapted and modified by author.)......................................................................................................... 71 Figure 2.18. (Right-hand). Antiquities of Samarkand, Madrasa of Ulug Bek, Plan.1872-1868. Architectural Drawing, Washington, D.C. USA. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, https://www.loc.gov/item/2007682791/.(Adopted and modified by author.) ........................................................................................................................ 71 Figure 2.19. (Left-hand). Tomb of Ulugh Beg and Abdu Razzaq at Ghazni, plan and section, from John D. Hoag, “The Tomb of Ulugh Beg and Abdu Razzaq at Ghazni, A Model for the Taj Mahal,” in Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians Volume 27, Issue 4, (December 1968): 234–48, © 1968 by The Society of Architectural Historians. Published by the University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/988486........... 72 Figure 2.20. (Middle). Pascal Coste, Pavilion of Eight Paradise Plan (Hasht Behesht), 1840, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hasht_Behesht,_Plan_and_section_by_Pascal_Coste.jpg. ....................................................................................................................... 72 Figure 2.21. (Right-hand). Taj Mahal, from John Murray (Firm), A Handbook for Travellers in India, Burma and Ceylon (London: Thakar, Spink & Co., and John Murray, 1920), 231, accessed May 17, 2024, https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c049725688?urlappend=%3Bseq=9. ............................. 72 Figure 2.22. (Left-hand). Plan of Safavid Isfahan, mid-seventeenth century, edited by author, adopted from Farshid Emami,“Coffeehouses, Urban Spaces, and the Formation of a Public xiii Sphere in Safavid Isfahan,” Muqarnas Online 33, no. 1 (November 14, 2016): 177–220. https://doi.org/10.1163/22118993_03301P008. ............................................................... 76 Figure 2.23. (Right-hand). Plan of Safavid Qazvin, edited by the author, adopted from Ehsan Dizani, “Reimagining the Royal Safavid City of Qazvin, Using Historical Documents” 7, Hoviat Shahr, no. 14 (March 2013): 61–70, https://www.sid.ir/fa/journal/ViewPaper.aspx?id=199997. ............................................. 76 Figure 2.24. (Left-hand). Chahar Bagh Promenade; Maydan and Royal Quarter of Isfahan, from Nader Ardalan and Laleh Bakhtiar, The Sense of Unity : The Sufi Tradition in Persian Architecture, translated by Hamid Shahrokh, 2000. ........................................................ 77 Figure 2.25. (Right-hand). Amir Pashaei, Ali Qapu, in Wikipedia, July 22, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ali_Qapu&oldid=1099781147. .................. 77 Figure 2.26. Chehel Sotoun, In Wikipedia, May 7, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chehel_Sotoun&oldid=1086633485. ......... 79 Figure 2.27. Pascal Coste, Garden, and pavilion Chehel Sotoun plan, 1840, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Garden_and_pavilion_Chehel_Sotoun,_map_by_Pascal_Coste.jpg, edited by the author. ....................................................................... 80 Figure 2.28. Tomb of Humayun, ground plan of the tomb structure on the platform. Source: John Murray (Firm), A Handbook for Travellers in India, Burma and Ceylon (London: Thakar, Spink & Co., and John Murray, 1920), 272, https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c049725688?urlappend=%3Bseq=9. ............................. 84 Figure 2.29. The Tomb of Ulugh Beg and Abdu Razzaq at Ghazni, redrawn by the author after: [“Tomb of Ulugh Beg and Abdu Razzaq, Ghazni, plan and section”, Pg. 235, in .......... 84 Figure 2.30. Schematic drawing of Humāyūn's Tomb, “Humayun’s Tomb | Tomb, Delhi, India | Britannica.” Accessed November 17, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Humayuns-Tomb. ...................................................... 85 Figure 2.31. The plan of Chehel Sotoun garden, Isfahan, by Khansari et al. 1998, from https://www.irantravelingcenter.com/persian-garden-unesco-iran/ ................................. 85 Figure 2.32. Tomb of Ghayasuddin Tughluq Delhi, India, Wikimedia Foundation, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tomb_of_Ghayasuddin_Tughluq_-_Delhi.jpg. ......................................................................................................................................... 86 Figure 2.33. Huamyun’s tomb, Delhi, India, Wikimedia Foundation, Last modified April 22, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humayun%27s_Tomb ...................................................... 86 Figure 2.34. The Number of Persian artists and architects who migrated to India or were born there during different Mughal rulers, by author. (The information used for this bar chart was gathered from (Muhammad Ziauddin, “Role of Persians at The Mughal Court: A Historical Study, During 1526 A.D. To 1707 A.D., University of Balochistan, 2005. xiv https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Role-Of-Persians-At-The-Mughal-Court%3A-A-Historical-Ziauddin/df2bbda96a9ab1a393a003b4367c1b419c3276c8. ........................... 87 Figure 3.1. UNESCO World Heritage List, UNESCO’s Recorded Heritage List on Map, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Accessed Jan 10, 2023. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/............. 98 Figure 3.2. Dive into Intangible Cultural Heritage!, UNESCO, Intangible Cultural Heritage, accessed March 9, 2021, https://ich.unesco.org/en/dive. (©UNESCO, CC BY-SA 3.0) 98 Figure 3.3. Sepideh Saffari, Digitization and Multimodality, 2021. .................................................. 103 Figure 3.4. Margo Neale, Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters Exhibition, 2017, in Margo Neale, Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters (Canberra, Australia: National Museum of Australia Press, 2017), 83. ............................................................................................. 109 Figure 3.5. Waterways Exhibition, Okanagan Heritage Museum, September 2021 to March 2022, Photos by Sepideh Saffari. Aleksandra Dulic (Artistic Direction), Sepideh Saffari (Exhibition Design); and other team members listed in the Acknowledgment of (Sepideh Saffari and Aleksandra Dulic. 2024. "Waterways Exhibition Design: Crafting Cross-Cultural Narratives through Spatial Design." The International Journal of the Inclusive Museum 17 (2): 13-32. doi:10.18848/1835-2014/CGP/v17i02/13-32.) ......................... 110 Figure 3.6. Nick Sousanis, Flatness, 2015, in Nick Sousanis, Unflattening (Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England: Harvard University Press, 2015), 9-10. ................... 112 Figure 3.7. Sepideh Saffari, Data Collection: UNESCO’s Cultural Sites of Iran and India, 2022. This figure is only a part of a spreadsheet that shows UNESCO’s cultural heritage of Iran and India. Gardens and related monuments were highlighted in gray. ................................. 117 Figure 3.8. Sepideh Saffari, Classification of tangible built heritage (Persianate gardens), This cognitive map represents UNESCO's classification of built heritage and reveals the organization's policymaking. The diagram is based on UNESCO’s categorization of tangible heritage using political borders, 2022. ............................................................. 118 Figure 3.9. Sepideh Saffari, Tree Diagram 1: Shared Concepts and Form, 2023. ............................ 119 Figure 3.10. Sepideh Saffari, Tree Diagram 2: Shared Concepts and Form, 2023. https://app.milanote.com/1RRnpH1G1fJ10P?p=Trli7QEbwlz...................................... 121 Figure 3.11. Sepideh Saffari, Visual Comparison diagram coded by color tags, 2023, https://app.milanote.com/1RRmV61G1fJ10F?p=Trli7QEbwlz. This diagram illustrates Persianate gardens spanning the modern nations of Iran, India, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The research developed the cognitive map of Figure 3.8 by adding visual and spatial layouts to each garden. The study also tagged gardens with the related color defined for each criterion or their sub-categories. If you encounter a gray screen on Milanote, please zoom out to view all the content. ........................................ 123 xv Figure 3.12. Sepideh Saffari, Visual Diagram of Stepped Gardens, 2023, https://app.milanote.com/1RRn131ruEhso5?p=Trli7QEbwlz. Tagging visual data and comparing them in Figure 3.11 results in observing shared spatiality, which helps recategorize the gardens and show their transnational network. Out of six shared concepts tagged by colors, the study focuses on two: stepped gardens and nine-fold plans. If you encounter a gray screen on Milanote, please zoom out to view all the content. ........................................................................................................................... 125 Figure 3.13. Sepideh Saffari, Visual Diagram of Nine-fold Plans, 2023, https://app.milanote.com/1RRn131ruEhsrC?p=Trli7QEbwlz. Tagging visual data and comparing them in Figure 3.11 results in observing shared spatiality, which helps recategorize the gardens and show their transnational network. Out of six shared concepts tagged by colors, the study focuses on two: stepped gardens and nine-fold plans. If you encounter a gray screen on Milanote, please zoom out to view all the content. ........................................................................................................................... 126 Figure 3.14. Sepideh Saffari, Visual Diagram of Selected Stepped gardens- Case Studies, 2023, https://app.milanote.com/1R5RIb1YEu8Igw?p=Trli7QEbwlz...................................... 128 Figure 3.15. Sepideh Saffari, Visual Diagram of Selected Nine-fold Plan- Case Studies, 2023, https://app.milanote.com/1R5RIb1YEu8I6H?p=Trli7QEbwlz...................................... 129 Figure 3.16. Sepideh Saffari, Internal Concepts and External Representation Exchange, 2021. ...... 131 Figure 3.17. Sepideh Saffari, Research Map and Placement of Methodology in Research, 2021, https://app.milanote.com/1RCSSL10xePY09?p=Trli7QEbwlz. This figure provides an overview of the study, starting with research themes in column one and ending with the website in column 5. It situates the methodology within the study process while clarifying the progression of research steps. If you encounter a gray screen on Milanote, please zoom out to view all the content. ........................................................................ 135 Figure 4.1. A folio from "Akbarnameh," Shah Tahmasp of Persia receives Hamayun, the Mughal emperor, surrounded by courtiers from Abu’l Fazl, Akbar-nama, Volume 1, 1602-1603, f98r, from “The British Library MS Viewer.” https://blogs.bl.uk/asian-and-african/2017/04/on-display-in-the-treasures-gallery-humayuns-meeting-with-shah-tahmasp.html. ................................................................................................................. 140 Figure 4.2. Kamal ul-Din Bihzad. “The Beggar Who Professed His Love for a Prince,” Folio 28r from a Mantiq al-Tayr (Language of the Birds) by Farid al‑Din 'Attar’s. dated 1486 CE. Ink, opaque watercolor, silver, and gold on paper. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/451729. ......................................... 145 Figure 4.3. Sur Gujarati, Celebrations in honor of the birth of Humayun in the Chahar Bagh of Kabul (1508), Baburnama illustration, From the British Library Board, 3714 Vol.2 f.295, F60100-09, https://imagesonline.bl.uk/asset/32361/. .................................................... 145 Figure 4.4(Left). Bishndas and Nanha. Baburnama illustration, Babur supervising the laying out of a Kabul garden(Wafa Garden), ca. 1590. Painted in opaque watercolor on paper, Victoria xvi & Albert Museum South & South East Asia Collection. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O17687/painting-bishndas/ ..................................... 146 Figure 4.5(Right). Garden Carpet. Second half 18th century. Cotton (warp and weft), wool (pile); asymmetrically knotted pile. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/447583. ....................................................................................................................................... 146 Figure 4.6. Photo by Muhammad Mahdi Karim, Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah, In Wikipedia, May 22, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tomb_of_I%27tim%C4%81d-ud-Daulah&oldid=1156299866.......................................................................................... 151 Figure 4.7. Taj Mahal, In Wikipedia, May 22, 2023. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Taj_Mahal,_Agra,_India_edit3.jpg. ........... 151 Figure 4.8. Sepideh Saffari, The Historical Exchanges between Timurids and Safavids and Mughals, 2023, please see more details at https://app.milanote.com/1S0w7l1eYiNA9c?p=Trli7QEbwlz. The diagram shows historical exchanges, highlighting political, cultural, and familial connections during the Timurid (Top), pre-Safavid and Safavid (middle), and Mughal periods. If you encounter a gray screen on Milanote, please zoom out to view all the content. ............................. 153 Figure 4.9. Sepideh Saffari, The Historical Exchanges between Timurids and Safavids and Mughals, 2023, please see more details at https://app.milanote.com/1S0w7l1eYiNA9c?p=Trli7QEbwlz. These diagrams highlight diverse transfers and connections in Figure 4.8, such as family connections, art, and cultural connections. If you encounter a gray screen on Milanote, please zoom out to view all the content. ....................................................................................................... 154 Figure 4.10. Sepideh Saffari, Tree Diagram 2: Shared Concepts and Form, 2023. .......................... 156 Figure 4.11. Plan and Section of Shalimar Bagh in Kashmir (The figure shows the spatial hierarchy concerning the social and gender divisions.) Modified by the author from [C. M. Villiers-Stuart, Gardens of the Great Mughals. London: A. and C. Black, 1913, p.165, https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.55753.] ........................................................................ 160 Figure 4.12. 3D view of Shalimar Bagh in Kashmir (The figure shows how the focal point of the spatial design was devoted to kings, giving them the dominant view over other levels of the garden.) Modified by the author from [William J. Mitchell, Isometric View Showing Three Sections of the Shalimar Garden in Kashmir, Archnet, Accessed July 13, 2022. https://www.archnet.org/sites/5011?media_content_id=61305.]................................... 160 Figure 4.13. Shalimar Bagh, Kashmir, Second terrace (king’s garden): view downstream from Diwan-i Khass platform toward the rear of Diwan-i Amm (Public audience). Photo by William J. Mitchell, from “Archnet > Site > Shalimar Bagh.” Accessed August 8, 2023. https://www.archnet.org/sites/5011?media_content_id=61322 ..................................... 161 Figure 4.14. Shalimar Bagh, Kashmir, View from king’s garden looking northeast showing the third terrace (ladies garden). Photo by Maryann Thompson, from “Archnet > Site > Shalimar xvii Bagh.” Accessed August 8, 2023. https://www.archnet.org/sites/5011?media_content_id=3315 ....................................... 161 Figure 4.15. Figure with Streams of Water Flowing from Jars Held in His/Her Hand, 612 B.C 883. Painted or glazed terracotta, Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Ancient Near East Gallery (Gallery 110). https://collections.mfa.org/objects/45984/tile-figure-with-streams-of-water-flowing-from-jars-held-in. This Wall painting from provincial Assyrian palaces represents the four rivers flowing from jars held in the water deity’s hands. ... 163 Figure 4.16. Plan of the Palace Area in the Royal Garden of Pasargadae, 546 BC, from (David Stronach and Hilary Gopnik, “PASARGADAE.” In Encyclopaedia Iranica Online. Brill, August 30, 2020. https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-iranica-online/pasargadae-COM_951.), modified by the author................................................ 163 Figure 4.17. (Sassanid era, 240-272 AD), Bishapur Palace in Fars Province, Iran, Location on the map, “Google Maps.” Accessed July 25, 2023. ............................................................. 165 Figure 4.18. (Sassanid era). The so-called Palace of Sapur and Fire Temple at Bishapur, from Dietrich Huff, Bernard O’Kane, “ČAHĀRṬĀQ,” Encyclopædia Iranica, IV/6, pp. 634-642, In Encyclopaedia Iranica Online, (Brill, 2020) doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/2330-4804_EIRO_COM_7262.This figure is modified by the author. .................................. 165 Figure 4.19. (Mughal era,1583), Rani Ki Mahall Ground Plan in Allahabad Fort, India, Location on the map, “Google Maps.” Accessed Dec 19, 2023. ....................................................... 165 Figure 4.20. (Mughal era). Rani Ki Mahall Ground Plan in Allahabad Fort, 1583, India, From Ebba Koch,“Akbar,” “Shah Jahan,” In Mughal Architecture: An Outline of Its History and Development, 1526-1858, 61-62, 62. München, Federal Republic of Germany : New York, NY, USA: Prestel ; Distributed in the USA and Canada on behalf of Prestel-Verlag by the Neues Pub. Co, 1991. .............................................................................. 165 Figure 4.21. There are similarities between the Sierpinski carpet (the top row) and the Taj Mahal layout (the bottom row). Image Source:Agnès Patuano and M. Francisca Lima, “The Fractal Dimension of Islamic and Persian Four-Folding Gardens.” Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 8, no. 1 (March 19, 2021): 86. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00766-1. ............................................................... 167 Figure 4.22. Spatial Transparency in AliQapu, Iran. Modified by author, image Source: Diego Delso. “Aali Qapu (‘Great Gate’) Palace,” September 20, 2016. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Palacio_Aali_Qapu%2C_Isfah%C3%A1n%2C_Ir%C3%A1n%2C_2016-09-20%2C_DD_60.jpg. ................................ 170 Figure 4.23. Spatial Transparency through a combination of a four-fold layout of the garden and a nine-fold plan of pavilion, Hasht Behesht, Isfahan. Image was modified by the author and the pavilion plan was enlarged for clarity., image Source: Mahdizadeh, Sara, “Historical Gardens in Transition in 20th Century Iran: A Critical Analysis of Garden Conservation.” Ph.D. diss., University of Sheffield (United Kingdom). Accessed May 8, 2023, https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/6634/. .................................................................. 171 xviii Figure 4.24. Spatial Transparency, Hasht Behesht, Isfahan, The green spaces show the reduction of material to decrease the level of solidity in pavilions. The image was modified by the author. Source: Ermac Kiyani. “Hasht Behesht Palace.” Wikidata. Accessed May 8, 2023. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1314130. .......................................................... 171 Figure 4.25. Spatial Transparency, Hasht Behesht, Isfahan, The green spaces show the reduction of material to decrease the level of solidity in pavilions. Red lines represent the cruciform plan. The image was modified by the author, Source: Pedram Forouzanfar. “Hasht Behesht Palace.” Accessed May 8, 2023. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1314130. . 171 Figure 4.26. Plan of Safavid Isfahan, mid-seventeenth century, modified by the author, adopted from Farshid Emami, “Coffeehouses, Urban Spaces, and the Formation of a Public Sphere in Safavid Isfahan,” Muqarnas Online 33, no. 1 (November 14, 2016): 177–220. https://doi.org/10.1163/22118993_03301P008. ............................................................. 176 Figure 4.27. Plan of Mughal Shahjahanabad, 1639-1739, edited by the author, adopted from William Mackenzie map, London, 1857-58, http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00maplinks/colonial/delhi1857/delhi1857max.jpg. ......................................................................................................................... 177 Figure 5.1. Sepideh Saffari, Tree Diagram of Shared Concepts and Form (A part of Comparison Criteria), 2023. .............................................................................................................. 180 Figure 5.2. Sepideh Saffari, The Plan of Takht Garden, Shiraz, Iran, exported from Illustrator 2023. ....................................................................................................................................... 191 Figure 5.3. Sepideh Saffari, The Plan of Timurid Rose Garden, Samarkand, Uzbekistan, exported from Illustrator 2023. The 2D plan was adopted from John Brookes, Gardens of Paradise: The History and Design of the Great Islamic Gardens, 76. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1987. ...................................................................................... 191 Figure 5.4. Sepideh Saffari, The Plan of Babur Garden, Kabul, Afghanistan, exported from Illustrator 2023. .............................................................................................................................. 192 Figure 5.5. Sepideh Saffari, The Plan of Shalamar Garden, Srinagar, Kashmir, India, exported from Illustrator 2023. The 2D plan was adopted from C. M. Villiers-Stuart, Gardens of the Great Mughals. London: A. and C. Black, 1913, 165, https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.55753. ......................................................................... 192 Figure 5.6. Sepideh Saffari, The Plan of Shalamar Garden, Lahore, Pakistan, exported from Illustrator 2023. The 2D plan was adopted from Asian Historical Architecture, Courtesy, redrawn and edited by Timothy M. Ciccone, accessed February 24, 2023. https://www.orientalarchitecture.com/sid/572/pakistan/lahore/shalamar-gardens. ....... 193 Figure 5.7. Sepideh Saffari, The Plan of Nishat Garden, Kashmir, built in 1632, exported from Illustrator 2023. The 2D plan was adopted from “Archnet > Site > Nishat Bagh.” Accessed October 26, 2023. https://www.archnet.org/sites/6339?media_content_id=105688. And .......................... 193 xix Figure 5.8. Sepideh Saffari, The Complete Plan of Taj Mahal in India, exported from Illustrator 2023. ....................................................................................................................................... 194 Figure 5.9. Sepideh Saffari, the Plan of Mahan Garden, Iran, exported from Illustrator 2023. ........ 194 Figure 5.10. Sepideh Saffari, the interactive and customized Google map of Stepped Garden Webpage, from my Dissertation’s Website, 2023, https://thearchiart.com/stepped-gardens/, accessed 7 Nov 2023. This figure shows a screenshot of the Dissertation’s Web page, including the discussed stepped gardens above. It is worth noting that the map on the website does not include the 3D analysis of stepped gardens. ................................. 195 Figure 5.11. The online tour, Fin Garden in Iran, (This image shows the four outward-directed arrows towards the garden.) Edited by author, from 360 Google Map Street views, 2022. ....................................................................................................................................... 197 Figure 5.12. Global Digital Heritage, Bibi-Khanym Mosque in Uzbekistan, (The image shows the four inner-directed arrows towards the courtyard.) from Sketchfab, 2021. https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/bibi-khanym-mosque-samarkand-uzbekistan-dc8ec865fd0d480c8ae06196fd18d296. ......................................................................... 197 Figure 5.13. Persian spouted vessel, Tepe Sialk, Kashan, Iran, 4,000 BC - source Iran National Museum, Tehran, photo by Fabian Dany. From “Ceramics Art or Science.” Accessed March 26, 2024. https://www.ceramicsartorscience.co.uk/EicBooks/bookpage.php?eicbookident=caoslive&eicbookpage=217. ....................................................................................................... 198 Figure 5.14. Pottery, Tepe Sialk, Kashan, Iran, 1000 BC - source Iran National Museum, Tehran, by Jona Lendering, Marco Prins. ........................................................................................ 198 Figure 5.15. Sepideh Saffari, The Development of Fourfold Plan into Nine-fold Plan, created by Illustrator, 2023. ............................................................................................................. 199 Figure 5.16. The Plan of a Palace at Royal Garden of Pasargadae,559-530 BC, Iran. Drawn and Modified by the author................................................................................................... 204 Figure 5.17. The Plan of Apadana Palace at Persepolis, 515- 485 BC, Iran. Modified by author. From Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation. “APADĀNA.” In Encyclopaedia Iranica. Accessed October 25, 2023. https://iranicaonline.org. .................................................................. 204 Figure 5.18. Plan and Section of Takht-i Nishin; a fire temple by Ardašīr, 180–242 AD, Iran. Modified by author. From Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation. “ČAHĀRṬĀQ” In Encyclopaedia Iranica. Accessed October 25, 2023. https://iranicaonline.org. ............ 205 Figure 5.19. Reconstructed View of Imarat-i Khusraw at qasr-i Shirin, 591-628 AD, Iran. Modified by author. From “Khosrow Palace,” in Wikipedia, Oct. 24, 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Khosrow_Palace&oldid=1117916438. ..... 205 xx Figure 5.20. Plan of Riverfront Bulkawara Palace at Samarra, 849-859 AD, Iraq. Modified by author. From Excavation of Samarra (Iraq): Balkuwara Palace, Architectural drawing, Metropolitan Museum of Art: (Drawings, Watercolors and Prints: Excavation of Samarra) Ernst Herzfeld, https://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16028coll11/id/7165/. .............. 205 Figure 5.21. Mausoleum Of the Samanids, Modified by author. From Arthur Upham Pope, Phyllis Ackerman, and Theodore Besterman. A Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric Times to the Present. London; New York; Oxford University Press, 1938. ................................. 205 Figure 5.22. Pascal-Xavier Coste, Oljeitu Tomb, Sultaniya. Iran, 1867. Print. The tomb was Built in 1313 AD. Plan Modified by author. ............................................................................... 206 Figure 5.23. The 2nd Floor Plan of JahanNama Garden near The Hafiz Tomb, Shiraz, Iran This garden dates back to the 13th century CE. Much of the present design is related to the 18th century. Modified by author. From Alireza Aryanpour. A General Survey of Persian Gardens and an Investigation of Historical Gardens of Shiraz. Tehran: Golshan, 1986. P. 238. ............................................................................................................................ 206 Figure 5.24. The 1st Floor Plan of Dilgusha Garden, (Near Saadi Tomb), in Shiraz, Iran. This garden dates back to three eras of Sassanid, Safavid, and Qajar. Modified by author. From Alireza Aryanpour. A General Survey of Persian Gardens and an Investigation of Historical Gardens of Shiraz. Tehran: Golshan, 1986. P. 258. ..................................... 206 Figure 5.25. Vahid Mali, Dilgusha Garden, Shiraz, Iran, January 2, 2017, From Wikimedia Commons, accessed October 25, 2023. https://commons.wikimedia.org/. ................... 206 Figure 5.26. (Timurid). Timurid Garden entitled Dilgusha Garden, from a folio of Zafarnama. Timur Holding a Festival in Dilgusha Garden, 1533. Edited by author, From the British Library Board, I.O. ISLAMIC 137, F60100-09, https://imagesonline.bl.uk/asset/8304/. The location of this garden is not clear, it was probably in Central Asia, near Samarqand. ....................................................................................................................................... 207 Figure 5.27. (Timurid). Timur within a royal garden, Frontispiece of the Zafarnama by Sharaf ad-din Ali Yazdi, 1370. Edited by author, From John Work Garrett Library, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. https://islamic-pasts-futures.org/chapters/pasts-envisioned/beautiful-violence/. ...................................................................................... 207 Figure 5.28. (Timurid). Sepideh Saffari, The Suggested Plan of Timur’s Royal Tent, according to Timur within a royal garden miniature in figure 5.42 and Clavijo’s description, Oct 2023. .............................................................................................................................. 207 Figure 5.29. (Timurid). The Tomb of Ulugh Beg and Abdu Razzaq at Ghazni, 1501, from John D. Hoag, “The Tomb of Ulugh Beg and Abdu Razzaq at Ghazni, A Model for the Taj Mahal,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 27, no. 4 (December 1, 1968): 234–48. https://doi.org/10.2307/988486.This figure is modified by the author. ........... 207 xxi Figure 5.30. (Mughal era). Tomb of Humayun, ground plan, Modified by author. from John Murray (Firm), A Handbook for Travellers in India, Burma and Ceylon (London: Thakar, Spink & Co., and John Murray, 1920), 272, https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c049725688?urlappend=%3Bseq=9. ........................... 208 Figure 5.31. (Mughal Era). The Plan and Section of the Taj Mahal, India. 1631 and 1648. Modified by author. From Taj Mahal, from John Murray (Firm), A Handbook for Travellers in India, Burma and Ceylon (London: Thakar, Spink & Co., and John Murray, 1920), 231, https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c049725688?urlappend=%3Bseq=9. ........................... 208 Figure 5.32. (Safavid Era). Pascal Coste, Garden and pavilion Chehel Sotoun plan, 1840, Constructed in 1632-1666. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Garden_and_pavilion_Chehel_Sotoun,_map_by_Pascal_Coste.jpg, edited by the author. ..................................................................... 208 Figure 5.33. (Safavid era). Pascal Coste, Pavilion of Eight Paradise Plan (Hasht Behesht), 1840, Constructed in 1670. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hasht_Behesht,_Plan_and_section_by_Pascal_Coste.jpg. This figure is modified by the author. ......................................................... 208 Figure 5.34. Sepideh Saffari, the interactive and customized Google Map of Ninefold Pavilion Webpage, from the Dissertation’s Website, 2023, https://thearchiart.com/nine-fold-plans/, accessed 7 Nov 2023. ......................................................................................... 209 Figure 6.1. Sepideh Saffari, The Dialogue between Different Mediums of Research, i.e., Word document, Milanote app, and Website, 2023. ................................................................ 216 Figure 6.2. Sepideh Saffari, the Level of Multimodality and Interactivity in Mediums of Research, i.e., Word document, Milanote app, and Website, 2023. ...................................................... 218 Figure 6.3. Sepideh Saffari, The Static Image of Home Page’s Hero Section, 2024. https://thearchiart.com/, accessed 4 Jan 2024. ............................................................... 222 Figure 6.4. Rob Linrothe, Tomb of Humayun: Detail of Window with Jali Screen, in Faculty Collections at Northwestern University Libraries, Rob Linrothe Image Collection. Accessed Jan 18, 2024. https://dc.library.northwestern.edu/items/2b37e16b-d820-486a-828f-1824ab25ccb5........................................................................................................ 222 Figure 6.5. UNESCO World Heritage Center, the UNESCO’s cultural heritage map of The Persianate Gardens (page 1) and the subsequent pages, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Accessed October 05, 2023. https://whc.unesco.org/en/interactive-map/?search=&id_sites=1372&components=0 ............................................................. 225 Figure 6.6. Sepideh Saffari, The Static Illustration of Research Idea for the Website Home Page, The simple map without the plans can be found on the research website, Accessed October 05, 2023, https://thearchiart.com/. This image shows the actual idea of the map section for the research website’s homepage (the website's main page), showing the extent of the xxii Persianate Gardens concept over the cultural zone of the Iranian, Deccan plateaus, and Central Asia. .................................................................................................................. 226 Figure 6.7. Sepideh Saffari, The static image of Menu, 2023. This image shows a conceptual design of the home page’s section, including the transitional menu with a nation-based outlook (the initial look). ............................................................................................................ 228 Figure 6.8. Sepideh Saffari, The static image of Menu, 2023. This image shows a conceptual design of the home page’s section, including the transitional menu with abstract concepts (after the transition’s look). The Research Website Homepage, https://thearchiart.com/, accessed October 05, 2023. ........................................................................................................... 228 Figure 6.9. Sepideh Saffari, The Screenshot of Case Studies Menu, The Research Website Homepage, https://thearchiart.com/, accessed October 05, 2023. ..................................................... 229 Figure 6.10. (Part 1- Home page). Sepideh Saffari, The static image of Home page, 2024. This image shows different sections of the home page. https://thearchiart.com/, accessed 29 Jan 2024. The difference between the actual website’s map and this image is because of technical limitations. ...................................................................................................... 230 Figure 6.11. (Part 2-Home page). Sepideh Saffari, The static image of Home page, 2024. This image shows different sections of the home page.https://thearchiart.com/, accessed 29 Jan 2024. ....................................................................................................................................... 231 Figure 6.12. Sepideh Saffari, The Story Timeline in the Stepped Garden Webpage, from the Research Website, 2024, https://thearchiart.com/stepped-gardens/, accessed 7 Jan 2024. ........... 234 Figure 6.13. Sepideh Saffari, The Story Timeline on the Ninefold Plans Webpage, from the Research Website, 2024, https://thearchiart.com/stepped-gardens/, accessed 7 Jan 2024. ........... 234 Figure 6.14. Sepideh Saffari, The Slider Bar on Stepped Gardens Webpage, from the Research Website, 2024, https://thearchiart.com/stepped-gardens/, accessed 7 Jan 2024. ........... 235 Figure 6.15. Sepideh Saffari, The Evocative flip box(front and back sides) on Stepped Gardens Webpage, from the Research Website, 2024, https://thearchiart.com/stepped-gardens/, accessed 7 Jan 2024. ...................................................................................................... 236 Figure 6.16. Sepideh Saffari, The Slider bar on Stepped Gardens Webpage, from the Research Website, 2024, https://thearchiart.com/stepped-gardens/, accessed 7 Jan 2024. ........... 237 Figure 6.17. Sepideh Saffari, the Relevancy of Fourfold Layout and Nine-fold Pavilions, from the Research Website, 2024, https://thearchiart.com/stepped-gardens/, accessed 7 Jan 2024. ....................................................................................................................................... 238 Figure 6.18. (Part 1- Stepped Gardens Web page). Sepideh Saffari, The static image of Stepped Gardens Web page, 2024. https://thearchiart.com/stepped-gardens/, accessed 29 Jan 2024. .............................................................................................................................. 240 xxiii Figure 6.19. (Part 2- Stepped Gardens Web page). Sepideh Saffari, The static image of Stepped Gardens Web page, 2024. https://thearchiart.com/stepped-gardens/, accessed 29 Jan 2024. .............................................................................................................................. 240 Figure 6.20. (Part 1- Nine-fold Plans Web page). Sepideh Saffari, The static image of Nine-fold Plans Web page, 2024. https://thearchiart.com/nine-fold-plans/, accessed 29 Jan 2024. ........ 241 Figure 6.21. (Part 2- Nine-fold Plans Web page). Sepideh Saffari, The static image of Nine-fold Plans Web page, 2024. https://thearchiart.com/nine-fold-plans/, accessed 29 Jan 2024. ........ 241 Figure 6.22. Sepideh Saffari, The static image of Datasets and Diagrams Web page, 2024. https://thearchiart.com/datasets-and-diagrams/, accessed 29 Jan 2024. ........................ 244 Figure 7.1. Sepideh Saffari, The structure of Research: Arguments, Methodology and Objectives, 2024, https://app.milanote.com/1RYZT616yJD5fq?p=Trli7QEbwlz............................ 249 Figure 7.2. Sepideh Saffari, The Eurocentric structure of UNESCO, 2024. ...................................... 267 Figure 7.3. Sepideh Saffari, Moving from Geopolitical Divisions to Cultural Zone, 2024. ............... 271 xxiv Acknowledgements I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Hussein Keshani, for his valuable guidance and support throughout the research process. The development of this extensive and novel research was not possible without the generous assistance of my supervisor whose great expertise, profound knowledge, and insightful feedback greatly enriched my work and learning experience. I would like to extend my genuine thanks to the members of my committee — Dr. Aleksandra Dulic, Dr. Neha Gupta, and Dr. Karis Shearer — for their guidance and invaluable perspectives on the topic. Their thoughtfulness to share learning opportunities has been instrumental in my academic journey. I would also sincerely acknowledge the funding support and collaboration opportunities provided by the University of British Columbia Okanagan and the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies. Last but not least, I would like to convey my heartfelt thanks to my spouse, brother and parents. Their constant kindness and encouragement were invaluable, serving as my guiding light and source of hope throughout this research journey. This dissertation is dedicated to you with deep appreciation and love. xxv Dedication To my beloved spouse, brother, and parents. For love, hope, and peace. 1 1. Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1. Overview UNESCO has made significant work in the realm of heritage. Despite UNESCO's admirable aim to promote peace based on the criteria that transcend national boundaries,1 one may notice that UNESCO’s World Heritage is largely developed based on national boundaries and political divisions. The agency’s criteria for heritage selection focuses on claiming authenticity based on uniqueness. Put differently, state parties can claim the authenticity of their cultural heritage by highlighting the distinctions and differences. However, sustainable peace seems more achievable by highlighting similar qualities and concepts inherent in diverse visual cultures. By considering UNESCO’s presentation of Iran’s built heritage, specifically the historical Persianate2 gardens3 of Timurids, Safavids, and Mughals, I will investigate how the organization intellectually constructs Iranian national identity through the representation of monuments, along with the role of the modalities it uses to do so. In other words, I plan to examine UNESCO’s representation of Iranian heritage (Iran’s fourfold gardens) in light of 1 UNESCO World Heritage Center, “World Heritage,” UNESCO World Heritage Center, Accessed May 10, 2022. https://whc.unesco.org/en/about/. 2 The Persianate terminology, coined by Marshall Hodgson, features a shared cultural sphere across multiple societies that were carried in Persian or featured Persian inspiration to some extent. (Marshall G. S. Hodgson, “VI. The Bloom of Persian Literary Culture and Its Times, c. 1111-1274,” in The Venture of Islam, Volume 2: The Expansion of Islam in the Middle Periods, (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1977), 293–94, https://archive.org/details/TheVentureOfIslamExpansionInMiddleAgeVol2MarshallHodgson/page/n5/mode/2up) This research particularly focuses on the Iranian plateau, Deccan plateau, and Central Asia. 3 Persianate gardens are also known as paradise gardens, Islamic gardens, and fourfold gardens (chahar bagh). This study also used Persianate palace/tomb gardens terminology. This is because Persianate gardens, characterized by their fourfold and axial design, were often integrated with a built structure that served as a royal palace or tomb. Hence, the function of the built structure influenced the designation of these fourfold gardens either as palace gardens or tomb gardens. 2 the challenges posed by current transnational conceptions of heritage and modalities and accordingly propose alternatives while considering their implications for heritage interpretation. Moreover, I will employ non-conventional modes of scholarly communication, such as interactive multimodal argumentation intended for digital platforms. My research will focus on the intersection of the following: first and foremost, UNESCO’s representation of Iran’s fourfold gardens as part of a transnational built heritage, and second, multimodal argumentation in an academic environment. The interdisciplinary and multifaceted nature of this research significantly contributes to a range of studies such as critical heritage studies and architectural history. Considering the primary focus of the study on Persianate gardens' spatial design using transnational and multimodal lenses, the study intends to engage scholars in the realm of critical heritage studies and heritage interpretation. The research multimodal element also seeks to involve the public, people in specific regions, and heritage professionals. It aims to offer a multimodal lens to reconceptualize the notion of heritage from geopolitical to interconnected and shared concepts contextualized in a network of interactions and cultural transfers. 1.1.1. Transnational Heritage and Multimodal Argumentation Transnational conceptions of culture transcend national borders, emphasizing how ideas and values are commonly shared and exchanged across different nations. Indeed, cultural phenomena are more than static conceptions produced by nation-focused historiographies. Transnational conceptions of culture are dynamic conceptions stemming from the transnational flow of ideas among different communities over history. They focus on the interconnections of nations' histories, establishing a broader and more dialogic context in which various voices can speak to each other and learning can occur. They do not reject 3 the existence of national culture or identity but redefine nations as products of inter-relations with other communities, rooting collective identity in transnational exchanges and encounters. In the same vein, transnational heritage refers to entangled memories and histories, where one nation’s heritage intersects and becomes entangled with others.4 According to Gerard Delanty, who is critical of UNESCO’s nation-focused approach, “Transnational heritage has shared reference points. But the actual interpretations that people in different places at different times make of those reference points are quite different”.5 In line with Gerard Delanty’s argument about transnational heritage, I also propose that the Persianate garden as a shared cultural heritage is not restricted by borders. Figure 1.1 reflects the concept of transnational heritage through a visual metaphor considering the world as existing in a fluid state with each country as a color that interacts with each other, undermining the primacy of borders when discussing cultural heritage. 4 Gerard Delanty, “Introduction: The Past in the Present.” in The European Heritage: A Critical Re-Interpretation, 1st Edition (New York, NY: Routledge, 2018), 1-3, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315177229. 5 Gerard Delanty, “A Transnational Cultural Heritage: The Case of UNESCO,” Future Learn, accessed March 16, 2021, https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/culture-identity-europe/0/steps/32237. 4 Figure 1.1. Sepideh Saffari, Liquid effect: Transnational interactions, watercolor, 2000*2000 px, 2021. One may perceive the world as a fluid context, with each country as a color that can move freely and interact with each other. This metaphor is also well illustrated in the words of Michel Espagne, who is one of the founders of the transnational approach. He uses the concept of “cultural zones” instead of the nation or country, proposing that cultural transfer happens across fluid and flux cultural zones.6 Considering the interactions between national histories, transnationalism draws attention to interconnection across political and local borders, situated in a yet broader and more global context.7 The transnational conception of culture acknowledges local cultures. It brings nations together by focusing on global relations and transnational exchanges among communities – hence, transnationalism tends to highlight nations’ commonalities instead of 6 Katarzyna Cytlak, “Transculturation, Cultural Transfer, and the Colonial Matrix of Power on the Cold War Margins: East European Art Seen from Latin America,” in Globalizing East European Art Histories (New York: Routledge, 2018), 162-174, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351187190. And please also see Olga Yakushenko, “What Is Cultural Transfer?” European University at St. Petersburg (EUSP), Accessed November 9, 2022. https://eusp.org/en/news/what-is-cultural-transfer. 7 Delanty, “Introduction: The Past in the Present.” 1-3. 5 their differences.8 They can help undermine the categorizing of communities based on racial, geographical, ideological, and political boundaries. The focus of transnationalism on the flows, interconnections, and transfers are well articulated in Arjun Appadurai’s well-known paper, Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy. He coined new terminologies to describe global cultural flow, classifying them as the following: ethnoscapes (The flow of people across borders), mediascape (The dissemination of media), thecnoscape (The global spread of technology), and finanacescape (The flow of global capital across borders) and ideoscape (The flow of political ideas, ideologies).9 Inspired by Appadurai’s terminology, I also suggest that the transnational flow and movement of consistent visual culture, art, and architectural ideas can be introduced as visio-scapes, art-scapes, and archi-scapes. These terminologies represent the flows of visual culture, spatial logic, and architectural design in a cultural zone. The transfers and exchanges that shape the landscape of cultural zones are not only about consistent visual forms and design outcomes but also involve visions and mindsets (negaresh), which in turn affect perception, visual thinking, interpretation, and solid embodiment. These flows are shaped by and, in turn, impact other forms of movement, such as ideoscapes, ethnoscapes, financescapes, and more. Besides transnational heritage, this dissertation focuses on multimodal argumentation as the inquiry format. It proposes that the traditional modality of argumentation (in linear and 8 Mohammad Javad Nateghpour, “Transnational Culture and International Relations of Iran.” in Iran and the International System, 1st Edition by Anoushiravan Ehteshami and Reza Molavi (London: Routledge, 2011), 90- 97, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203809136. 9 Arjun Appadurai, “Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy,” Theory, Culture & Society 7, no. 2–3 (June 1, 1990): 295–310, https://doi.org/10.1177/026327690007002017. 6 solely text-based form) is a barrier to the employment of transnational perspectives. Content and discourse are shaped by their media and vice-versa, and the discussion of visual culture requires the use of diverse and multiple media. Consequently, developing multimodal methods of analysis and argumentation on a digital platform informed by creative practice is the secondary aspect of my research that opens intellectual space for discovering new methods of communicating as a serious discourse in an academic environment. Multimodality in this context refers to an inclusive use of pictorial, verbal, and aural media concurrently to create meaning and communicate knowledge.10 1.2. Research Gaps Figure 1.2. Sepideh Saffari, The Intersection of Research Themes and Research Gaps, May 2022. 10 Dylan Yamada-Rice, “Traditional Theses and Multimodal Communication,” in The SAGE Handbook of Digital Dissertations and Theses (London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2012), 157–76, https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446201039. Yamada-Rice’s perspective on multimodality resonates with Gunther Kress’s social semiotic approaches to multimodal representation. Gunther Kress, who is a prominent theorist in this field, discusses the semiotic “reach” of modes. Kress argues that each mode of communication has a unique affordance, challenging the dominance of language. Different modes offer diverse opportunities and limitations for communication, influenced by cultural context. 7 This study focuses on the core theme of the Persianate Palace and Tomb Garden and its intersections with the fields of Critical Heritage Studies and the Politics of Heritage, Transnational Heritage, along with Heritage Interpretation and Heritage Storytelling.11 After reading the relevant literature (see Chapter 2), one may identify research gaps that emerge through these intersections (Figure 1.2), which are: UNESCO and the potential for greater transnational view on heritage, digital heritage’s unspoken divide, Iranian national identity and built heritage, and modalities. 1.2.1. UNESCO and the Potential for Greater Transnational View on Heritage UNESCO defines heritage as a cultural legacy with an "exceptional universal value" passing between generations.12 According to its website, heritage creates a sense of individual and collective belonging to sustain social and territorial cohesion.13 In line with this definition, UNESCO aims to enhance the identification, protection, and preservation of cultural and natural heritage that has an outstanding value to humanity. The UNESCO World Heritage map provides a long list of built heritage based on their geopolitical locations. Tremendous effort has been put into accomplishing the larger vision of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention in 1972, which is the promotion of peace and appreciation of diversity in response to the destruction caused by World War I and World War II. To build peace, it 11 These themes, which will be thoroughly discussed in Chapter 2, are Critical Heritage Studies and the Politics of Heritage, Transnational Heritage, Heritage Interpretation and Heritage Storytelling, and Persianate Palace and Tomb Gardens. 12 In addition to objects and monuments, UNESCO acknowledges living heritage as another category of cultural legacy. While the categorization of heritage into tangible and intangible groups is not the focus of this study, it is still worth noting that these categories reflect a materialistic perspective that hinders observing the spirit of cultural objects developed by social interactions and beliefs. In other words, intangible and tangible heritage are integrated, and this division affects the coherent and holistic view of heritage. 13 UNESCO World Heritage Centre. “Cultural Heritage,” UNESCO, November 19, 2020. https://en.unesco.org/fieldoffice/santiago/cultura/patrimonio. 8 attempts to boost international cooperation in Education and Culture. According to the convention, World Heritage sites belong to people across the world and the conservation of World Heritage sites is a concern for the international community, regardless of the territory in which they are located. Despite this valuable aim, a deeper look into how UNESCO conceives these sites reveals some gaps in its definition of heritage and its missions that have drawn scholars’ attention. Although Jan Turtinen strongly believes UNESCO provides an excellent international context to comprehend heritage as a universal property, he points out that the UNESCO World Heritage practices are contradictory. Numerous actors, mandates, and interests are involved in creating the official image of World Heritage. UNESCO, as an international organization, is comprised of various state parties prioritizing and competing for their internal national and political aims.14 This promotes the concept of cultural nationalism and puts state parties’ interests at odds with each other. As a result, the World Heritage program converts into a fragmented body of different political and economic interests, which subsequently affects the initial aims of UNESCO to protect and preserve the world's endangered places.15 For instance, the nomination of a natural heritage site located in Kashmir was a point of disagreement and conflict between Pakistan and India.16 As state parties select and nominate world heritage sites, it becomes an area for international 14 Jan Turtinen, “Globalising Heritage on UNESCO and the Transnational Construction of a World Heritage.” Stockholm Center for Organizational Research, SCORE Rapportserie 12 (2000):1–25, https://www.score.su.se/polopoly_fs/1.26651.1320939806!/200012.pdf. 15 Elizabeth Betsy Keough, “Heritage in Peril: A Critique of UNESCO’s World Heritage Program,” Washington University, Vol. 10, no. Issue 3 (Autumn 2011). https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=LT&u=ubcolumbia&id=GALE%7CA277270219&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon. 16 Jan Turtinen, “Globalising Heritage on UNESCO and the Transnational Construction of a World Heritage.” Stockholm Center for Organizational Research, SCORE Rapportserie 12 (2000):1–25, https://www.score.su.se/polopoly_fs/1.26651.1320939806!/200012.pdf. 9 competition and dispute to prove the supremacy and authenticity of heritage regarding its territory. The political perspectives on heritage undermine the articulation of the transnational dimensions of heritage shaped by the process of collaboration across borders. Hence, the principle of relying on expertise to determine the significance of heritage is at times ignored, as world heritage becomes increasingly politicized. For instance, one can notice the similar geometrical layout of fourfold gardens in the Middle East and Central Asia. This layout can be traced back to Mesopotamian gardens’ reliefs in present-day Iraq, and the Achaemenid gardens in Iran. Then, the Timurid gardens in Central Asia, the Safavid gardens in Iran, and the Mughal gardens in India followed and developed the same concept and form.17 While the historical interactions and flow of ideas over the mentioned regions are apparent, UNESCO’s representation of these gardens lumps this cultural heritage based on their location within modern political borders, as shown in Figure 1.3. Although UNESCO’s work in capturing diverse sites is precious, the nation-based categorization undermines the transnational influences between the gardens. While the historical interactions and flow of ideas across these regions are clearly evident, UNESCO’s representation of these gardens, as shown in Figure 1.3, organizes this cultural heritage primarily by modern political borders. Although this approach highlights the importance of national heritage, it also presents an opportunity to more fully reflect the rich transnational influences that connect these sites 17 Iran Heritage Foundation, “Mohammad Gharipour: Gardens of Medieval Persia: From Patronage to Evolution,” Asia House, London, 2015. Lecture Video, 51:58, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KAjLA_Vn7A. 10 Figure 1.3. Sepideh Saffari, The UNESCO’s Categorization of Persianate Gardens and Related Monuments based on Nationality, 2022, https://app.milanote.com/1RRoco1ruFlQdD?p=Trli7QEbwlz. This visual diagram shows Persianate gardens across the current countries of Iran, India, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The nation-based foundation of this diagram is based on UNESCO's classification of these gardens, which visually shows how gardens are lumped based on national categories. The more developed version of this diagram can be found in Chapter 3 under the section, Content Analysis and Visual Comparative Evaluation. 11 It is undeniable that there are general statements in UNESCO's documents regarding the effects of tangible heritage on each other, particularly in appendix reports,18 but there is room for further detailed argumentation on this subject matter in its main documents. Most importantly, there is no visual reference to these networks of mutual connections. Hence, there is a need to add transnational interpretative layers to UNESCO’s beneficial documents and reports that further illuminate historical, conceptual, and architectural connections. Another issue is that each heritage site inscribed on UNESCO’s list needs to justify its outstanding universal value, which is one of the primary criteria set by the agency. It evaluates the originality of the proposed heritage as an exceptional property of common importance to all humanity.19 While this criterion seemingly transcends national boundaries, it may also increase competition among countries as they seek to prove that their heritage is original and unique. For instance, reports by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) on Persian gardens show how UNESCO’s criteria regarding the outstanding universal value are met. The report includes a section entitled “Outstanding Universal Value, Integrity and Authenticity” that displays a comparative analysis among Iranian, Indian, Pakistani, and Arabic-Spanish gardens. According to the comparative analysis, the “Persian Garden is original in its conception and different from all other typologies in terms of selected concrete examples (in other countries) in design principles…”. The report asserts that the Persian Garden’s originality, which was proved by differences, is only partly 18 Please refer to the Advisory Body Evaluation (ICOMOS) document provided as appendix reports in UNESCO’s website. “Advisory Body Evaluation (ICOMOS)-The Persian Garden (Iran),” ICOMOS, 2011, https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1372/documents/. 19 The World Heritage Committee, “The Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention,” July 3, 2021. https://whc.unesco.org/en/guidelines/. 12 reflected by Indian, Arabic-Spanish, Pakistani, etc. gardens.20 Hence, the inclusion of Persian gardens in the World Heritage List relies on its differences from gardens located in other countries, not because it is a piece of a bigger picture demonstrating the connections between the mentioned gardens. This report reveals that UNESCO's approach to heritage authenticity and originality follows the tendency of nineteenth-century comparative studies to juxtapose and compare objects rather than show their connections.21 While this method promotes competing perspectives on heritage between nation-states, the transnational lens emphasizes and illustrates cultural transfer. It is also worth noting that UNESCO’s European heritage has place within a more transnational context compared to Asian cultural heritage, likely due to Europe’s recognition as a unified cultural entity. As an example, one can find the Belfries of Belgium and France in UNESCO's Heritage List, showing the names of two countries together for twenty-three belfries in the north of France and the belfry of Gembloux in Belgium. However, similar situations may not be true for UNESCO’s representation of Asian built heritage. Figure 1.4 demonstrates the comparison of built heritage reporting trends in different locations in Europe and Asia. This figure reveals that built heritage location impacts how frequently UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee has deliberated over the property. 20 “Advisory Body Evaluation (ICOMOS)-The Persian Garden (Iran).” 21 Nathalie N. Hager, “From Nations to Networks: An Analysis of North American World Art Historical Discourse during the Transcultural Turn, and the Rise of the Museum as Agent.” PhD diss., University of British Columbia, 2020, 37-40, https://doi.org/10.14288/1.0388440. 13 Figure 1.4. UNESCO World Heritage Center, the comparison between Indicators tab of Persian gardens and other random sites, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Accessed May 10, 2022. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1372/indicators/. (©UNESCO, CC BY-SA 3.0) Moreover, the number of European heritage sites recognized by UNESCO is much larger than for Middle Eastern countries. Figure 1.5 displays the number of heritage sites that it recognizes in France in comparison with Iran. Two intriguing points in Figure 1.5 draw attention; first, some European heritage sites inscribed in UNESCO are outside European national borders. For instance, UNESCO inscribed Taputapuātea on Ra’iātea island as French property,22 while it is the land of indigenous peoples of Pacific islands with Polynesian culture.23 Moreover, the architectural work of Le Corbusier, a Swiss-French architect, is inscribed internationally on UNESCO's World Heritage List for countries such as 22 UNESCO World Heritage Centre. “Taputapuātea.” UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Accessed March 24, 2023. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1529/. 23 This culture has been dramatically changed by Western colonial powers such as Britain, France, and the United States. from Robert C. Kiste, Robert Carl Suggs, Miriam Kahn, and The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Polynesian Culture - Traditional Polynesia | Britannica.” Accessed March 24, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/place/Polynesia. 14 Argentina, France, India, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, and Japan.24 The international attitude to inscribe this property can be seen in the Chandigarh Capitol Complex in India, which is also recorded as a French property because of the nationality of the architect. Second, while the number of Heritage sites in Iran is much more than what is recognized by UNESCO, only a fraction of them is included in the World Heritage List. Around 880 heritage sites in Iran have been mentioned on the Iran National Heritage List.25 However, the total number of heritage sites inscribed in its Heritage List is 26. While there are around twelve historical garden sites solely in Shiraz (only one city in today’s Iran),26 only nine gardens for the whole country have been inscribed in the World Heritage List. These gardens are grouped under one category called Persian gardens, without further individual details on the main page of the website. Information such as the gardens' name, dates of construction, etc. exists in appendices. On the other hand, there is a different approach to the representation of information on the architectural work of Le Corbusier, as one can observe data such as building names and their role in the development of the Modern Movement on the heritage main page. Hence, it is possible to observe some variation in UNESCO’s approach to European heritage sites in comparison to those from Iran, reflecting different ways in which each region's cultural heritage is represented. 24 UNESCO World Heritage Centre, “The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement.” UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Accessed March 24, 2023. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1321/. 25 The National Heritage Preservation Act of 1930 established the Iran National Heritage List as an official registration of historically significant monuments, locations, structures, events, etc. “Iran National Heritage List,” In Wikipedia, March 18, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Iran_National_Heritage_List&oldid=1077836389. 26 Alireza Aryanpour. A General Survey of Persian Gardens and an investigation of Historical Gardens of Shiraz. Tehran: Golshan, 1986. P. 211-301. 15 Figure 1.5. Sepideh Saffari, the comparison between the number and geographical distribution of heritage sites in France (left) and Iran (right). Note that French heritage sites extend well beyond France’s national borders and geographically beyond Europe into the Global South, based on UNESCO’s report of heritage sites, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Accessed May 10, 2022. https://whc.unesco.org/en/interactive-map/. (©UNESCO, CC BY-SA 3.0) Considering the location of UNESCO's headquarters in Paris, one may notice its potential influence on monuments selection. It also highlights the role of the Global North27 in the formation of knowledge infrastructures within organizations such as UNESCO. Hence, one can detect the subtle trace of exclusions, rooted in historical legacies of colonialism and inequality, in relation to knowledge production, culture, and power.28 In brief, UNESCO World Heritage designations contribute significantly to the establishment of protected heritage sites and this research does not intend to downgrade the valuable effort of UNESCO on cultural heritage. However, it seeks a new lens through which 27 Global North and South are terminologies that focus on geopolitical power relations rooted in colonial expansion and the hierarchical division of societies into the first, second, and third world. While Global North denotes European and North American countries, the Global South refers to countries outside Europe and North America. This kind of categorization contests the belief in a homogenized development of cultures and societies. (From Nour Dados, and Raewyn Connell, “The Global South,” Contexts 11, no. 1 (February 1, 2012): 12–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1536504212436479. and Lara Braff, and Katie Nelson., “Chapter 15: The Global North: Introducing the Region.” Accessed March 28, 2023. https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/genderedlives/chapter/chapter-15-the-global-north-introducing-the-region/. 28 Roopika Risam, “A Call to Action,” in New Digital Worlds: Postcolonial Digital Humanities in Theory, Praxis, and Pedagogy (Chicago, UNITED STATES: Northwestern University Press, 2018), 139-144, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ubc/detail.action?docID=5543868. 16 the shared and transnational nature of heritage can be further acknowledged, particularly in its representations of tangible heritage in non-Western contexts. The nation-based outlook could be because UNESCO relies on national governments to nominate heritage. Hence, the interpretation and even preservation of monuments are affected by both UNESCO and state parties outlooks. The interdependency of UNESCO and state parties also affects the national identity built upon them. While there is much scholarship that analyzes UNESCO’s constructions of culture – the field of Critical Heritage Studies29 comes to mind – little focuses on its role in constructing national identity through the built environment like Persianate gardens. Thus, this study aims to demonstrate that, although UNESCO is a collective of nation-states, this does not oblige them to adopt geopolitical frames to narrate cultural heritage. The agency proves its potential for adopting a broader transnational perspective for select heritage in some regions of the world, such as European heritage. Reinscribing national-based frames on complex traditions of cultural heritage can distort those histories and is at odds with UNESCO’s precious goals of transcending geopolitical borders. 1.2.2. Digital Heritage’s Unspoken Divide The increasing growth of digital media highlights the importance of digital data as a modality for heritage comprehension and interpretation. Digital technologies prove their capacity to reconstruct, visualize, and represent cultural heritage with the aim of heritage preservation and management. Fiona R. Cameron describes digital cultural heritage as all 29 Critical heritage explores connections and conversations among people, heritage, and power. (Tim Winter, “Clarifying the Critical in Critical Heritage Studies,” International Journal of Heritage Studies 19, no. 6 (September 1, 2013): 532–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2012.720997.) 17 digital information deemed significant by societies to preserve for future generations. According to Cameron’s definition, digital data itself can be conceived as heritage.30 UNESCO defines the concept of digital heritage as the use of computer-based materials to preserve enduring value that should be kept for future generations.31 Despite the potential offered by digital media in the realm of cultural heritage, one may notice the digital sphere’s unspoken divide, which applies different attitudes in capturing cultural heritage sites worldwide. The uneven digital databases, such as the geospatial datasets available through Google Maps for different regions of the world, result from various factors. These include disparities in technological infrastructure, local governments’ restrictive and stringent policies, and the North-South division of the world that echoes the trace of colonial legacy. Overall, Persianate gardens do not figure prominently in the discourse on digital heritage and the discrepancies in access to data and technologies, as well as representation in digital space, are under-examined. For example, compare the spatial data generally available for 1) Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, Canada, 2) Mahan Garden near Mahan, Iran, and 3) Nishat Garden near Srinagar, Kashmir. One can observe a substantially richer Google Map 3D database for heritage sites located in the Global North as opposed to the South. In Figure 1.6, one can compare the details of 3D Google Map data available for the three different locations, accessed via a Blender add-on called Maps Models Importer. Digital heritage 30 Fiona R. Cameron, “Introduction,” in The Future of Digital Data, Heritage and Curation: In a More-than-Human World, (London: Routledge, 2021), 1–25, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003149606. 31 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), “Concept of Digital Heritage.” UNESCO, March 28, 2019. https://webarchive.unesco.org/web/20230616073538/https://en.unesco.org/themes/information-preservation/digital-heritage/concept-digital-heritage. 18 depends on the quality of digital databases available, and all nations do not have the same capacity to engage. Figure 1.6. Sepideh Saffari, the availability of digital databases based on their geographical location, May 2022. Note that the Mahan Garden (the first level from the top) and Nishat Garden (the second level from the top) are stepped gardens in which a three-dimensional perception of land features is important. The main concept of stepped gardens is multiple terraces, following the land topography. In these gardens, architects use topographic features and natural order to build social hierarchy. While one can see the topographic features in the Queen Elizabeth Park visualization (the third level from the top), this feature has been missed in Mahan Garden and Nishat Garden visualizations. 1.2.3. Iranian National Identity and Built Heritage There is much scholarly literature on Iranian/Persian32 nationalism and identity, but the role of the built environment in shaping them is under-examined, and scholarly literature 32 Iranian and Persian are often used interchangeably to refer to people living in the modern country of Iran (formerly known as Persia). While both names of Iran and Persia have historical roots and display the Iranian Plateau, each prompts affiliated concepts within the political and historical contexts. The word Persia derives from Parsa, an ethnic group in the southern of current Iran, in an area called Persis around 1000 BCE. The initial written references to Parsa appeared in records of an Assyrian king (the 9th century BCE). During the Achaemenid Empire, the Parsa power increased, and the Iranian plateau became known as Persia and its people as Persians to the ancient Greeks. Achaemenids also developed the Royal Garden of Pasargadae as the first mature expression of the four-fold gardens. The name of Iran, derived from Eran and Eran Shahr, can be traced back to Sasanian kings who called themselves the lords of Aryans. Aryans were Indo-European nomadic people who migrated into the Iranian Plateau and included different ethnicities like Parsa/Persians—the predominant ethnic group of Iran. Until 1935, the name Persia was more familiar to those outside of Iran, but Reza Shah's state party insisted on changing the name of Persia to Iran due to a misdirected sense of nationalism, as Ehsan Yarshater discussed. Still, both names remind a historical territory (Iranian Plateau) which includes current nation-states such as today’s Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and north of India and a part of Central Asia. 19 that exists dwells on the use of ancient Iranian architectural monuments. Surprisingly, little focus on the genre of Persianate palace/tomb gardens, which play a central role in contemporary Iran’s architectural heritage conservation efforts and conceptions of Iranian identity. For instance, Meir Litvak underlines the significant role of nationalism in the cultural and intellectual discourse of modernity in Iran. He also discusses the intimate connection of nationality with social, cultural, economic, and political psychology. According to him, Iranian nationalism as elsewhere looks at the past, either the pre-Islamic imperial era of Iran or the Islamic one, as a source of comfort and inspiration. However, referring to the past has also become a source of ideological and political conflict used to define Iranian modern nationality. He recognizes nationality as a product of historical processes along with conscious and unconscious human actions. Though scholars like Litvak investigate Iranian nationalism and collective identity, UNESCO’s role in enhancing national ideology and political behavior in the representation of built heritage has not been examined closely.33 Similarly, Ahmad Ashraf reflects on the competing perspectives on the origins of nations that greatly impacted Iranian scholars and politicians in the twentieth century. According to him, three major views shape the understanding of nations’ origins: The However, the usage of Iran for the whole area might be confusing right now. Hence, the research used the term Persianate when it refers to a broader geographical, historical, and cultural zone united by a shared cultural sphere transcending current national borders. (Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation. “Encyclopaedia Iranica.” In Encyclopaedia Iranica Online. Accessed March 21, 2024. https://iranicaonline.org. And The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Persian | People, Language & Religion | Britannica.” in Britannica. Accessed March 21, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Persian. And Fiona Kidd, “Ideas of Empire: The ‘Royal Garden’ at Pasargadae,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Accessed June 1, 2022, https://www.metmuseum.org/articles/pasargadae and Ehsan Yarshater, “Communication.” Iranian Studies 22, no. 1 (1989): 62–65. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4310640.) 33 Meir Litvak, Constructing Nationalism in Iran: From the Qajars to the Islamic Republic. (London: Routledge, 2017): 1-9, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315448800. 20 romantic nationalist view represents nations as historical entities existing since time immemorial. The modernist, or postmodernist perspective, comprehends nations as a completely modern construct. Lastly, the historicizing perspective acknowledges modernity as the root of civic nations, but it also recognizes the role of historical forces in forming nations.34 In this regard, it rejects the modernist and post-modernist perspectives on the radical discontinuity between a modern nation and its historical past. The advocates of the historicizing perspective observe the historical roots of ethnic communities and nations while recognizing them as concepts that are subject to “flux and change”.35 While Ashraf reflects on the role of these three views on the conception of the modern nation in Iran, he does not scope the impacts of these perspectives on Persian built heritage. Iranian historian and linguist, Ehsan Yarshater acknowledges historicizing position in defining nationality and national identity. He discusses that a type of pre-modern ethnonational identity has existed in Iran long before the invention of modern construction of nations in the 18th and 19th centuries.36 Still, he does not extensively focus on the role of built heritage in perception and conceptualization of national identity. This study intends to propose a transnational lens in the realm of Iran’s cultural heritage. The transnational concept in this research does not aim to neglect local and national 34 Ahmad Ashraf, “Iranian Identity, Perspectives on Iranian Identity,” Encyclopedia Iranica, December 15, 2006, https://iranicaonline.org/articles/iranian-identity-i-perspectives. 35 According to scholars such as Ahmad Ashraf and Ehsan Yarshater, a sense of collective ethno-national identity in ancient Iran can be seen in the usage of names like Persia during Achaemenid or Iran shahr (land of Iran) during the Sassanid eras. After a period of ups and downs during the early Islamic era, the name "Iran" was re-established in the 13th century and has been used since. (Please refer to Ahmad Ashraf, “Iranian Identity, Perspectives on Iranian Identity,” Encyclopedia Iranica, December 15, 2006, https://iranicaonline.org/articles/iranian-identity-i-perspectives). 36 Ehsan Yarshater, “Were the Sasanids Heirs to the Achaemenids?” in La Persia nel Medioevo, Rome, 1971, pp. 517-31. 21 identities. Alternatively, it seeks to transcend the limitation of binary and static logic in the interpretation of heritage rooted in geopolitical divisions. The study aims to foreground the shared and adynamic nature of culture, emphasizing the sense of interconnections and interdependencies through which nations can contextualize and observe themselves as a part of a larger network of connections and interactions. Hence, the study questions the radical political impacts on the definition of cultural heritage and identity to comprehend local and national identities within a broader context of causality and interdependency. Within that lens, the study intends to acknowledge local histories, but also offer a balanced way to observe that the very nature of culture and heritage is interdependent and should be seen in a wider context. 1.2.4. Modalities Various scholars, media studies experts, and artists have examined the interconnectedness of media modalities and messages. In the context of this dissertation, the multimodal argumentation is delivered through a multimodal website,37 utilizing a blend of modes in the form of images, illustrations, texts, spatial analysis, 3D modeling, diagrams, and graphs used for cultural heritage interpretation, i.e., transnational Persianate gardens.38 Despite numerous instances of multimodal practices and scholarship, none have focused on 37 Sepideh Saffari (under Dr. Hussein Keshani supervision), “Home page,” of the Dissertation Website: The Persianate Gardens, 2024, https://thearchiart.com/. Please also see the website’s pages such as Stepped Gardens, Ninefold plans (the case studies of the research), and Datasets and Diagrams at https://thearchiart.com/stepped-gardens/ and https://thearchiart.com/nine-fold-plans/ and https://thearchiart.com/datasets-and-diagrams/. Please note that the dissertation created the content on the primary website at https://thearchiart.com/. To ensure further sustainability, the study plans to back up digital data and the main website on the DARC website, Digital Art History Research Collective, at the University of British Columbia. Please refer to the DARC website at https://blogs.ubc.ca/darc/. 38 More information on multimodal format of research and website design can be found in Chapter 3 and Chapter 6 respectively. 22 heritage and Iranian built heritage, and there is still much room to explore the potential of digital media for scholarly communication. Dylan Yamada-Rice discusses how meaning-making across a range of modes other than text helps create a message that stands out from mass communication. Hence, employing a multimodal approach, even at the initial research stages, provides an opportunity to construct new forms of knowledge.39 They have also explored the workings of visual rhetoric and argumentation, experimenting with innovating the media used for scholarly discourse. Nick Sousanis’s comic dissertation entitled Unflattening is an excellent example of merging verbal and pictorial argumentation in academia. He demonstrates how researchers might use a combination of words and images to generate a richer context and new insights.40 Anna Williams also challenges the conventional forms of knowledge delivery in academia by publishing the first-ever dissertation in podcast format. Her study explores an intertextual analysis of Gothic literature and contemporary graduate education in humanities.41 1.3. Research Questions, Arguments, and Objectives In response to the research gaps identified, I pose the following questions: Are political borders useful for the category of analysis when dealing with heritage shared across borders? How can UNESCO’s representations of Iranian architectural heritage and the genre of palace/tomb gardens be examined and reconceptualized using the intersection of concepts of transnational theory, digital multimodal scholarship and creative practice? To what extent 39 Yamada-Rice, “Traditional Theses and Multimodal Communication.” 157–76. 40 Nick Sousanis, Unflattening (Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England: Harvard University Press, 2015). 41 Anna Williams, “My Gothic Dissertation.” PhD diss., University of Iowa, 2019. My Gothic Dissertation, 2019. https://doi.org/10.17077/etd.8a8q-65dh and https://www.mygothicdissertation.com. 23 can the interpretation of Iranian built heritage be enhanced using multimodal and interactive elements?42 Moreover, since I use multimodal argumentation, one may interrogate if researchers can employ non-conventional methodologies to conduct a serious scholastic discourse through visual-centered methods and multimodal format. These research questions help me investigate how UNESCO’s approach to cultural heritage may inadvertently overlook the transnational nature of Iranian architectural heritage. It challenges the current interpretation of heritage built upon national boundaries, seeking a transformative way to reorganize heritage. Furthermore, using a digital multimodal language to conduct and communicate this research opens space for conveying increasingly complicated meanings by adding more layers and dimensions to the analysis. Hence, it helps me offer a more accurate interpretation to explore the hidden stories behind heritage. Furthermore, it allows me to devise innovative ways of representing the transnational conception of heritage using multimedia. The study outcomes contribute to a more accurate and inclusive understanding of cultural heritage while exploring the hidden stories behind cultural heritage in a transnational context. To be more precise, the study aims to demonstrate the interdependent nature of cultural heritage exemplified by the Persianate gardens and their shared design. This interdependency is now obscured within a nation-based outlook toward heritage. In addition, the study intends to show the role of multimodal format and visual-centric methods in an accurate representation and garden reconceptualization by creating a concrete multimodal prototype (an interactive and multimodal website). 42 It is worth noting that the interactivity offered by digital multimodal platforms facilitates gamifying the pedagogical and interpretative context of cultural heritage. 24 1.4. The Importance of Topic Since UNESCO is an international organization that is highly influential all over the world, its approach significantly impacts the way heritage can be perceived and preserved. Therefore, it deserves analysis and refinement. Moreover, connections among various monuments located in different countries, like Iran, can be further captured using a transnational and multimodal lenses. These interconnections are obscured in the current approach toward World heritage. UNESCO follows a universal approach to heritage, particularly built heritage. While this approach seems transnational at first glance, it often reflects its authority to designate heritage and assign universal value to monuments. Moreover, the universal values can foster competition among state parties, especially in the case of tangible heritage, which can be more easily claimed as a state parties’ asset. While UNESCO’s website offers a transboundary option in its heritage list, there is still room to underline the transnational influences of built heritages over each other, particularly by using visual languages in their main documents. This strengthens bonds among nations as one of UNESCO's main aims and further highlights the agency’s prestigious position. Moreover, Iran, as an ancient country with a huge range of cultural heritage, offers a great source of investigation that has not been sufficiently noticed concerning the intersections of concepts such as Transnational Heritage, Critical Heritage Studies and Heritage Interpretation. While these fields are inseparable from the multifaceted nature of cultural heritage, the current literature falls short of connecting interlinked areas that can redefine the notion of shared heritage like Persianate gardens (one of the central elements in cultural identity). A review of these areas in Chapters 2 and 3 highlights the lack of a transnational and multimodal lens in the context of Persianate gardens. 25 Using multimodal approaches in heritage analysis and interpretation is vital, considering cultural heritage as a visual and multi-layered entity that can be explored and comprehended further through a multimodal lens. Additionally, the digital turn is transforming humanistic scholarship and this research will contribute to expanding its modalities. According to Peter-Paul Verbeek, technology, particularly digital media, mediates our interpretation of reality and subsequently our actions.43 Hence, digital platforms act not only as a tool to conduct my research but also as a mediator of users’ thoughts regarding transnational communication among Persianate gardens. 1.5. Positionality in Relation to the Topic As an architect educated in Iran's academic environment, we were often trained to seek appropriate ways of reviving Iran's historical architecture and identity. To nourish the architectural design, distinguished contemporary Iranian’ architects such as Hooshang Seyhoun, Hadi Mirmiran, and Hossein Amanat approached historical architecture to obtain inspiring concepts and translate them into modern spatial design. The question of how to reconceptualize the contemporary architecture of Iran, often through a retrospective search for historical inspiration, highlights Iranian architects' desire to seek a reference point for redefining their spatial logic and architectural identity. While these thoughts are valuable and result in developing outstanding designs, the missing point was considering Iranian culture, history, and architecture as an isolated island without contextualizing it in the cultural zone. 43 Peter-Paul Verbeek, “Materializing Morality: Design Ethics and Technological Mediation,” Science, Technology, & Human Values 31, no. 3 (May 2006): 361–80, https://doi.org/10.1177/0162243905285847. 26 As a PhD student who moved to Canada, I had the chance to observe these local challenges within a broader transnational lens and outside the context. This experience helped me further realize that our world is larger than we conceived and meanwhile smaller than we thought. I realized that we are interconnected in a way that an event from miles away can affect us here as well. Hence, our identity, culture, architecture, and heritage are also intertwined. Accepting that we are co-actors in this causality can contextualize our local identity in a broader context and help further observe the bigger picture. Moreover, my learning about Okanagan history and colonization, rooted within the center versus the periphery perspective, further encourages me to ponder and question hierarchical classifications. To provide balance, we can view ourselves as parts of a larger network, built on mutual reverence and humbleness toward both our locality and our role within a web of interdependencies. 1.6. Chapters to Come The overall structure of this dissertation can be visualized as a diagram, as shown in Figure 1.7. The diagram depicts the flow and interconnections of chapters and clarifies the role of each chapter in the research findings and their cohesive connections. 27 Figure 1.7. Sepideh Saffari, The Structure of Research Chapters and the Visual Flow of Contents, 2024, https://app.milanote.com/1R5RIa12bcgUbG?p=Trli7QEbwlz. 28 The introduction defines the scope and subject of the research, explaining the incentives and arguments that initiate the development of this dissertation. In line with Chapter 1, Chapter 2 breaks down the research subject and frames the multifaceted research themes. It provides a detailed literature review of the overarching themes to show the lack of transnational perception and multimodal interpretation in the context of Persianate gardens in the existing literature. Chapter 3 argues that visual-centric analysis and multimodal argumentation align with the research themes and objectives, considering the interconnected and multimodal characteristics of the shared cultural heritage like Persianate gardens. The research visual datasets, including interconnected diagrams of spatial layout and visual heritage information, demand visual-centric methods to analyze the design consistency of Persianate gardens. Multimodal argumentation in the form of a website fits well into a complex network of transnational and multimodal aspects of heritage. The multimodality and interactivity of the research digital tools, i.e., Milanote and the website, accelerate the application of central methods of research, which are visual comparative analysis and cognitive mapping. Chapter 4 approaches the transnational arguments using multiple lenses, but it is primarily built upon an architectural lens to redraw the borders of the Persianate gardens. It establishes a historical context of transnational interplay through the migration of nobles, political exchanges/conflicts, family bonds, and blood connections. The chapter also defines the new set of criteria or Shared Vocabulary of Architecture and Landscape Design, previously introduced in Chapter 3 to shift the nation-based structure of gardens. Chapter 5 selects two criteria out of four, providing case studies to show the validity of new shared criteria in supporting the research argument about the transnational nature of Persianate 29 gardens. Using semi-3D modeling and graphical analysis, the chapter demonstrates the consistent spatial logic in stepped gardens and nine-fold plans. The consistency of spatiality in stepped gardens is affected by factors such as gender, social class, and natural features. The chapter also unfolds the continuity of spatial divisions in the gardens’ pavilions, demonstrating the link between the fourfold layouts of the gardens and the ninefold plans of pavilions. Chapter 6 centers on the website design as a prototype of interpretation, discussing the significance of multimodal and interactive design choices in delivering the concept of transnationality in Persianate gardens. Additionally, the chapter elaborates on the research turn from traditional written sections to multimodal and interactive digital tools, i.e., Milanote (to apply research methods) and the website (as the research interpretation). In this sense, it argues that the nature of these tools and factors like required workspace size, data format, and the comparative nature of analysis are crucial in selecting each tool at different stages of research. Within all these tools, the research investigates the possibility of reducing the importance of national and political classification of heritage, as this lens generated a fragmented interpretation of four-fold gardens. Alternatively, it investigates fourfold gardens in a transnational network of communities’ interactions and exchanges, offering a new lens to perceive heritage. 30 2. Chapter 2: Current Conversations To frame this investigation into UNESCO’s approach to Iranian built heritage, I draw on various areas of scholarship, derived from the research topic. These include critical heritage studies, the politics of heritage, transnationalism, narrative and interpretation, and Persianate palace/tomb gardens. In addition to these, I examine the literature on multimodal argumentation, which will be discussed in detail in Chapter 3 as it fits well with methodology and format.44 A concise review of scholarship on the research themes is a prerequisite for identifying challenges and opportunities in the context of cultural heritage studies, particularly on the transnational nature of Persianate gardens. To that end, this chapter asks, to what extent does the current literature frame transnationality in the context of Persianate gardens? The first section, Critical Heritage Studies and the Politics of Heritage, unfolds the relationship between power and heritage, showing how political perspectives on heritage prompt selective heritage management and preservation. UNESCO's representation of heritage and national identity aligns with this theme. Critical Heritage Studies highlights the gap in heritage studies concerning today’s global transformations and centers on non-Eurocentric understandings of culture. While the current literature casts light on the role of UNESCO and state parties in defining World Heritage, none specifically examines Persianate gardens in its context and state parties’ policy. 44 While this chapter review literature of heritage interpretation, Chapter 3 elaborates the role of interactive multimedia in expanding the scholarly language of discourse and interpretation in the context of research. In this sense, the more balanced distribution of content across chapters is ensured. In addition, it provides a more focused analysis within each thematic area. 31 The second section, Transnational Heritage, discusses the discourse on transnational conceptions of heritage, focusing on the notion of shared heritage in the face of UNESCO's conceptualization of common heritage. This section provides several sources and examples that challenge Eurocentric views on cultural heritage. However, the need for greater and in-depth discussion of Persianate culture and heritage from a transnational perspective is evident as well. The third section explores several points of view on heritage interpretation, demonstrating the significance of inclusive storytelling in this area. Within a critical lens towards various viewpoints on heritage interpretation, it is observed that UNESCO’s policy contains the same drawback of the conventional perspective on heritage interpretation, as it seeks to centralize the heritage narrative by using a Eurocentric lens. The agency imposes a Eurocentric hierarchical measurement of heritage and assessment of "Outstanding Universal Value".45 In addition, although studies focus on the importance of narrative and multiple viewpoints in heritage interpretation, they do not underline the connection between multiple-voiced heritage narratives and multiple interpretative lenses derived from transnational approaches. Moreover, the section shows the significant role of digital media in the interpretation of heritage by providing examples. However, it also highlights the uneven state of digitization and the significance of shaping diverse and inclusive digital heritage settings. The insufficiency of digital interpretation on Persianate gardens encourages the study to develop a multimodal interpretation of heritage on a digital platform. 45 UNESCO defines Outstanding Universal Value as an exceptional cultural and/or natural significance that attributes international importance to the heritage property. While this standard appears to transcend national borders, state parties must compete to demonstrate the originality and distinctiveness of their heritage. Please refer to UNESCO and World Heritage Section, Chapter 1: Introduction for a comprehensive discussion on Outstanding Universal Value in the context of Persianate gardens. 32 The fourth part, Persianate Palace and Tomb Gardens, discusses scholarly discourse on Persianate gardens, which tends to emphasize their origins as well as chronological and design development. The section shows how scholars have focused on a particular landscape design (four-fold layout) and architectural plan (four-arch structure), its continuity over centuries and its development across Iran, Central Asia, and South Asia. The section attempts to show that existing studies, when viewed together, reveal the interconnected history of the palace gardens. Major works of literature typically focus on documentation, form, and origins, and few examine transnational influences. As a result, there is insufficient focus on the transnational exchange of the designs of royal gardens. In recognizing this oversight, I bring into question how palace/tomb gardens can be solely construed as icons of national heritage. Overall, a review of these four areas of scholarship reveals the lack of a transnational lens in the investigation of Persianate gardens, challenging the prevailing nation-based view on heritage advocated by international organizations. UNESCO’s nation-based policy prompts a scattered perception and interpretation of heritage like Persianate gardens owing to its content and the format of representation. Additionally, the study highlights that dominant views fail to integrate multiple interlinked and related areas in cultural heritage studies. Hence, there is a need for a simultaneous investigation of these intertwined areas to further comprehend the gaps and potentials in the current approach to Persianate gardens. This research aims to address these gaps by reconceptualizing fourfold gardens within intertwined transnational and multimodal lenses of interpretation. In this sense, the study shows how examining the realm of Critical Heritage Studies and Heritage Interpretation in conjunction with Persianate gardens could reshape the concept of heritage. 33 2.1. Critical Heritage Studies and the Politics of Heritage The investigation of state parties and international heritage bodies' policies on World Heritage management and conservation plays a significant role in this research. It challenges the complicated conception of national identity built upon UNESCO and state parties’ politics of heritage. This section examines several studies carried out on this subject matter, namely Tim Winter's research entitled, Clarifying the Critical in Critical Heritage Studies, Culture and Cultural Politics Under Reza Shah: The Pahlavi State (1925-1979) edited by Bianca Devos, and Christoph Werner’s, Colin Long’s and Jonathan Sweet’s essay on “Globalization, nationalism and World Heritage,” along with Piotr Kisiel's study on “The Difficult Relationship between Nationalism and Built Heritage.” According to Winter, critical heritage studies reflect and address the social and political factors that influence heritage conservation and policies that stem from it.46 In this sense, critical heritage explores connections and conversations among people, heritage and power.47 It examines how “heritage is used to construct, reconstruct and negotiate a range of identities along with social and cultural values and meanings in the present.”48 Critical heritage studies encompasses several fields of study and seeks, in part, to examine and propose different ways in which heritage can play a significant role in addressing the complicated challenges that we 46 Winter, “Clarifying the Critical in Critical Heritage Studies,” 532–45. 47 Jeremy Wells, “What Is Critical Heritage Studies and How Does It Incorporate the Discipline of History?” Conserving the Human Environment (blog), June 28, 2017. https://heritagestudies.org/index.php/2017/06/28/what-is-critical-heritage-studies-and-how-does-it-incorporate-the-discipline-of-history/. 48 Laurajane Smith, “Introduction,” in Uses of Heritage (London: Routledge, 2006) ,1-7, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203602263. 34 face today. These challenges can include addressing cultural and environmental sustainability, economic inequalities, conflict resolution and social cohesion.49 2.1.1. Iranian National Identity and Built Heritage Iran has a significant heritage industry and heritage plays a prominent role in shaping national identity, but there are few critical studies that have been completed. In their Introduction to the Culture and Cultural Politics under Reza Shah and the Pahlavi State (1925-1979), Bianca Devos and Christoph Werner present Iranian culture in a broader context by combining multidisciplinary fields of studies, including art history and Middle Eastern politics.50 In this sense, the cultural history of Iran and the politics of the Reza Shah period were examined together for the first time, considering the relationship between politics and culture as a double-sided process of interaction. The text discusses the role of centralized efforts in rebuilding the Iranian identity as a progressive nation. However, it transcends the state as the sole reference point of societal action by examining the role of individual reformers in shaping Reza Shah’s cultural politics. Reza Shah was the founder of the Pahlavi state, which based the name of his dynasty on the pre-Islamic language spoken in the Sasanian era. In so doing, Reza Shah drew his lineage to ancient Persian empires and promoted nationalistic beliefs. It is no surprise then, that during his reign, Reza Shah took steps to document and transform Iran’s national identity. The state-sponsored historical narrative under the Pahlavi state glorified the Golden Age of Persia through ancient Persian empires, as supported by new archeological evidence. 49 Winter, “Clarifying the Critical in Critical Heritage Studies,” 532–45. 50 Bianca Devos, and Christoph Werner, “Introduction,” in Culture and Cultural Politics Under Reza Shah: The Pahlavi State, New Bourgeoisie and the Creation of a Modern Society in Iran, edited by Bianca Devos and Christoph Werner, 1st ed. (London: Routledge, 2013), 1–15, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203798423. 35 In contrast, Pahlavis downgraded the history of the recent past by characterizing it as a period of moral and material decay. The celebration of the remote past served to legitimize Pahlavi's rule as an age of renewed grandeur.51 The Pahlavi dynasty (1925-1979) was the last Iranian royal dynasty before 1979 when Iran’s Islamic revolution changed the country’s cultural heritage policy. The focus of the book on this specific era, the transition from pre-Islamic to Islamic identity, makes it a considerable contribution to the cultural history studies of Iran in the 1920s and 1930s. In a section of the book entitled Archaeology and the Iranian National Museum, Nader Nasiri-Moghaddam examines the role of politics in recalling a certain part of nationality in art history.52 During Reza Shah's reign, archaeological institutions in Iran were developed and designed to research the ancient architecture of Iran as part of a nation-building program. While the first Pahlavi ruler pursued an extensive modernization program under his reign, his choice to select a part of Iran’s ancient pre-Islamic history is worth contemplating. Indeed, during Reza Shah’s reign, patriotic intellectuals criticized more vigorously the invasion of the Arabs and the arrival of Islam in Iran. Thus, it is not surprising that a part of Iranian visual culture related to the Islamic era was neglected, as it was believed that Islamic-era art posed a contradiction to Iranian identity. Moreover, using the ancient past to create a modern national identity followed European precedent. The acknowledgment of historical forces in 51 Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation. “Historiography Ix. Pahlavi Period,” in Encyclopaedia Iranica. Accessed November 21, 2022, https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/historiography-ix-1. 52 Nader Nasiri-Moghaddam, “Archaeology and the Iranian National Museum,” in Culture and Cultural Politics under Reza Shah: The Pahlavi State, New Bourgeoisie and the Creation of a Modern Society in Iran, edited by Bianca Devos and Christoph Werner, 1st ed. (London: Routledge, 2013), 121–48, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203798423. 36 the formation of modern nations aligns with the historicizing perspective and how it impacts the conservation of art and visual culture.53 Reza Shah consolidated his power by increasing nationalist feelings in Iran, and he commissioned foreign missions to protect archaeological sites and recall the greatness of Iran in ancient times. Additionally, highly respected scholars such as the American art historian Arthur Upham Pope were invited by the Society for National Heritage in Iran to deliver several landmark speeches. Pope’s influence on Reza Shah Pahlavi resulted in the construction of key buildings in the Achaemenid style: the National Museum of Iran, inspired by ancient Sasanian architecture; the main office of the National Bank of Iran; and Tehran’s police headquarters. Hence, several pre-Islamic Iranian architectural forms were revived under Reza Shah's rule. However, one may notice the contradiction between hiring experts from other nations and being an intense nationalist.54 In a similar vein, the current Islamic government of Iran also follows a selective approach to heritage, emphasizing a particular Islamic identity as a basis for national identity. These works show how the political conditions of a country impact the definition of national identity, as each political system foregrounds its desirable part of history. 2.1.2. UNESCO’s Outlook on Heritage As discussed, state parties play a significant role in celebrating a part of art history and cultural heritage in order to form national identities. In addition to that, UNESCO’s practice of collaborating with state parties can reinforce the selective agenda-driven approach towards 53 Ashraf, “Iranian Identity, Perspectives on Iranian Identity.” 54 Nasiri-Moghaddam, “Archaeology and the Iranian National Museum.” 121–48. 37 heritage. Colin Long and Jonathan Sweet investigate the role of international organizations such as UNESCO in highlighting certain aspects of Laotian nationalism.55 Laos is one of the world's few remaining communist states, and like other communist regimes, it seeks to legitimize the current state’s policy through an ideologically acceptable version of the past. Laos is a multicultural country with a huge range of diversities and differences, and its cultural heritage policy seeks to present and promote a unique national identity and nation-state. To achieve national unity, the Lao government celebrates and emphasizes only some parts of Laos’ cultural heritage that align with the government’s goals. Meanwhile, UNESCO, which operates at a supranational level, cooperates with state parties to develop a particular interpretation of the World Heritage City Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang is the former royal capital of Laos, and its heritage identity aligns with both UNESCO’s purposes and those of the Laotian government. The authors argue that the convergence of the interests between international world heritage organizations and Lao authorities shapes a particular vision of national identity through the selective acknowledgment of cultural heritage sites. This affected the selection of heritage sites and politicized the preservation of Laos’s heritage. In the same vein, Piotr Kisiel discusses the role of historical monuments in national thinking by analyzing an architectural case study, Wawel Castle on Wawel Hill in Krakow. He investigates the meaning of "authenticity" in the built heritage, revealing its multifaceted 55 Colin Long and Jonathan Sweet, “Globalization, Nationalism and World Heritage: Interpreting Luang Prabang,” South East Asia Research 14, no. 3 (November 2006): 445–69, https://doi.org/10.5367/000000006778881564. 38 nature.56 Authenticity, as heritage itself, is a relative and negotiated concept. Barbara Wood defines authenticity as a dynamic and context-dependent concept that transcends material culture and objects to encompass the way people experience and engage with heritage. In this sense, Wood argues that the concept of authenticity is shaped at the intersection of object-based authenticities based on evidence data and demonstrable context, along with subjective belief and facts related to heritage sites and activity.57 Furthermore, heritage interpretation, which is all the ways of presenting the cultural significance of a monument, can be used to inform and construct aspects of national identity. He presents how different interpretations of authenticity, particularly the ones influenced by nationalistic views, impact the process of preserving monuments. According to nationalists, architectural monuments are selected for preservation based on whether their histories are aligned and do not contradict the representation of a nation’s past glory. Hence, it is not the historicity of built heritage that makes it important in the nationalistic view, but built heritage is appreciated because of its symbolic power to evoke nationalistic pride. In other words, the author examines how national and political worldviews manipulate and interpret the history of art using only desirable facts. In line with Kisiel’s paper, David Lowenthal argues that “heritage is not an inquiry into the past, but a celebration of it ... a profession of faith in a past tailored to present-day 56 Piotr Kisiel, “The Difficult Relationship between Nationalism and Built Heritage: The Case of Late Nineteenth-Century Krakow,” Nationalities Papers 45, no. 3 (May 2017): 410–24, https://doi.org/10.1080/00905992.2016.1262339. 57 Barbara Wood,“A Review of the Concept of Authenticity in Heritage, with Particular Reference to Historic Houses.” Collections 16, no. 1 (March 1, 2020): 8–33. https://doi.org/10.1177/1550190620904798. 39 purposes.” 58 These present-day aims may be nationalistic or pursued at the local level by politicians. Indeed, the current approach of UNESCO and state parties obscures particular realities, including transnational interactions. As national stories are inevitably formed in a broader international context 59, one may notice the lack of transnational influences in UNESCO’s and state parties’ strategies to portray national and cultural identity, particularly in the context of Iranian gardens. Moreover, UNESCO World Heritage is a prestigious brand that also establishes a context for commercial profit and marketing. As Bailey Ashton Adie asserts, the World Heritage List has frequently been cited as a quality and authenticity indicator. Thus, it is necessary to investigate how UNESCO and state parties collaborate to promote and disseminate the World Heritage brand. According to Bailey Ashton Adie, UNESCO acts as the franchisor and the states parties as franchisees. While this can be an appropriate management and business model, it may not be in line with UNESCO’s primary goal to preserve the world’s heritage. In other words, the logic of nomination is partly built upon economic profit through tourism receipts.60 The preceding texts highlight the gap in UNESCO’s and state parties’ policy on heritage and display the embedded diversity in the concept of nationality. In other words, UNESCO's current approach indirectly supports the state parties' policy on heritage, obscuring the 58 Lowenthal, David. “Introduction.” in The Heritage Crusade and the Spoils of History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), xiii-xviii, 1998, https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511523809. 59 Long and Sweet, “Globalization, Nationalism and World Heritage: Interpreting Luang Prabang.” 445–69. 60 Bailey Ashton Adie, “Franchising Our Heritage: The UNESCO World Heritage Brand,” Tourism Management Perspectives 24 (October 1, 2017): 48 & 52, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2017.07.002. 40 transnational aspect of heritage in favor of highlighting political borders and commercial perspectives on heritage. 2.2. Transnational Heritage As mentioned earlier, the concept of authenticity in UNESCO’s built heritage map generally tends to reinforce national borders and identities in the face of more complex historical realities. For example, the UNESCO world heritage map offers an excellent primary resource for exploring natural and cultural sites, but it is based on geopolitical locations. Hence, it promotes the concept of heritage as a landmark associated with a sense of place more than a sense of space.61 One may find UNESCO's approach to tangible heritage problematic, as it does not sufficiently account for transnational conceptions of heritage, which foreground instead the semantic connections between heritage beyond political borders. As Gerard Delanty points out, transnational heritage refers to entangled memories and histories, where one nation’s culture intersects and is entangled with another’s. He explains that a “[t]ransnational conception of heritage would stress less the idea of a common heritage, a sense of something that’s common to everyone, but rather it would be more of – as opposed to a common heritage, a shared heritage.”62 Delanty also discusses the need for re-embracing transnational and global history to generate new socio-cultural realities in 61 Space and place are intertwined concepts. While space involves spatial qualities with a dynamic nature, place is the configuration of position and emphasizes the stable notion of location. In the context of this research, place refers to the geopolitical location of heritage. Please see Michel de Certeau, Steven Rendall, and Roy Miki, The Practice of Everyday Life (Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1988). and Edward Soja, Postmodern Geographies: The Reassertion of Space in Critical Social Theory. London; New York: Verso, 1989, p 80. 62 Delanty, “A Transnational Cultural Heritage: The Case of UNESCO.” 41 today’s world.63 According to him, cultural phenomena are no longer viewed as the outcomes of national histories but are shaped through transnational interactions and exchange. As a result, the study of national culture and identity has been significantly changed in light of entangled history in which there is a possibility of dialogic and shared construction of heritage. In his book entitled, The European Heritage: A Critical Re-Interpretation, he challenges current views on European heritage, discussing how a transnational perspective can reorient European Heritage interpretation and articulate an intercultural identity.64 His discussion does not refer to globalization or global heritage, but it highlights certain features, such as transnational dimensions of heritage. Mohammad Javad Nateghpour also differentiates transnational culture from globalized culture, arguing transnational culture acknowledges the local identity while referring to a broader context for transnational influences.65 While one may not see sufficient consideration of transnationality in tangible heritage sites designated by UNESCO, the agency’s approach to intangible heritage follows a different approach. Transnational perspectives are more evident in its policies on intangible heritage.66 The UNESCO’s Dive into Intangible Cultural Heritage! project provides an interactive data visualization concerning intangible and living heritage. Whereas UNESCO’s data on 63 Gerard Delanty, “A Transnational World? The Implications of Transnationalism for Comparative Historical Sociology.” Social Imaginaries 2.2 (2016): 17-33, https://www.sciencespo.fr/ceri/plurispace/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DELANTY_A-Transnational-World.pdf. 64 Delanty, “Introduction: The Past in the Present.” 1-3. 65 Nateghpour, “Transnational Culture and International Relations of Iran.” 90- 97. 66 This may be because tangible heritage is concrete and can be easily associated with geographical locations circumscribed by national borders. 42 intangible heritage had previously been categorized based on year, country, and list, the current version reflects the actual cultural contents and represents them through similar themes. To be more precise, 500 cultural elements, which are inscribed on UNESCO’s Lists of the 2003 Convention, are indexed against 10 to 15 primary and secondary concepts. In other words, the project provides a dynamic and interactive space to explore cultural diversity in a network of semantic connections. The semantics encompass concepts such as oral traditions, storytelling, vocal music, dance, etc., placed in a network of connections. These concepts were drawn from the UNESCO Thesaurus and a complementary vocabulary, including more specific terms. In contrast to UNESCO’s world heritage map, this graphic visualization of intangible heritage (Figures 2.1 and 2.2) is a response to achieve the following aims: firstly, design a map built upon semantics and concepts rather than geography, and secondly, illustrate the connections between cultural elements dealing with similar topics. Such visualizations lend themselves to transnational representations of heritage. 43 Figure 2.1. Dive into Intangible Cultural Heritage!, UNESCO, Intangible Cultural Heritage, accessed March 9, 2021, https://ich.unesco.org/en/dive. The image shows a screenshot of intangible cultural heritage from UNESCO's project entitled Dive into Intangible Cultural Heritage. The visualization is based on semantics (concepts) rather than geography. The nodes represent concepts derived from UNESCO Thesaurus and a complementary vocabulary, and the lines represent connections. (©UNESCO, CC BY-SA 3.0) Figure 2.2. Dive into Intangible Cultural Heritage!, UNESCO, Intangible Cultural Heritage, accessed March 9, 2021, https://ich.unesco.org/en/dive.The image is an enlarged part of a screenshot of intangible cultural heritage from UNESCO's project entitled: Dive into Intangible Cultural Heritage. (©UNESCO, CC BY-SA 3.0) For another instance of the implementation of the transnational conception of heritage, one may also refer to the First Peoples’ Cultural Council (FPCC) map formed by the government of British Columbia.67 FPCC intends to revitalize and preserve Indigenous languages, cultural heritage, and arts in British Columbia. Building on this aim, FPCC created an interactive map that illustrates language group boundaries based on available knowledge of the spoken languages by First Nations Peoples in British Columbia. While the initial map was developed based on language boundaries, the recent version also includes diverse data points such as arts and heritage. Hence, it is a great local source to refer to and 67 First Peoples’ Culture Council (FPCC), “First Peoples’ Map of B.C.,” First Peoples’ Map of B.C., 2019, https://maps.fpcc.ca/heritages. 44 explore First Nations heritage. It is worth noting that, unlike UNESCO’s approach, the First Peoples’ Map of B.C. provides a visual reference of overlaps between language boundaries, focusing on cultural exchange. As a result, the FPCC project offers a different perspective on interactive heritage maps than UNESCO’s tangible heritage list. Overall, there are various scholarly works on transnationalism and heritage interpretation. Nonetheless, there is a necessity for broader discussions about Persianate culture and heritage within a transnational context, as there is no significant body of literature with a simultaneous focus on UNESCO’s construction of heritage, transnationality, and Persianate gardens. 2.3. Heritage Interpretation and Heritage Storytelling The field of heritage conservation is deeply intertwined with the field of interpretation. It is essential to comprehend different perspectives on heritage interpretation to better narrate the transnational aspects of cultural heritage. This section discusses different viewpoints on heritage interpretation, showing the role of narrative in this subject matter. Although the use of digital media and diverse modalities in heritage interpretation will be thoroughly discussed in Chapter 3 and Chapter 6, this section briefly casts light on these subjects as subsections of heritage interpretation. Freeman Tilden, one of the pioneers in setting down the theories and principles of natural and heritage interpretation, defines interpretation based on his experience with the United States National Park Service.68 According to him, interpretation is a pedagogical activity, intending to reveal spiritual meanings that lie behind what the visitors can perceive 68 Freeman Tilden, “1. Principles of Interpretation,” in Interpreting Our Heritage, 3rd Edition (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1977), 3-10. 45 with their senses. Interpretation benefits from using original objects, first-hand experience, and illustrative media. While initial data and research are vital factors in a successful interpretation, this concept is more than simply communicating factual information. While Tilden’s perspective helps to better understand the concept of interpretation, Russell Staiff, an art historian and heritage scholar, challenges Tilden’s view and conventional approach to heritage interpretation in his book, Re-Imagining Heritage Interpretation: Enchanting the Past-Future. He argues that Tilden’s use of “revelation” in heritage interpretation implies a hierarchical power between the “expert” and the “non-expert.” 69 As a result, heritage visitors and their power to interpret might be ignored in Tilden’s conceptualization. Moreover, Staiff points out that interpretation should not be only based on educational logic that advocates changing visitor attitudes and behavior. Instead, it should encourage and involve visitors in the process of meaning-making. In this context, meaning-making is how humans interpret, comprehend, and make sense of cultural heritage. The meaning-making process can occur individually or collaboratively in an educational setting or daily life. Both cover the gap between one’s current understanding of heritage and newly gained knowledge through related experience.70 In the same vein, although Tilden believes the process of meaning-making is based on facts and facts are unique,71 Staiff discusses how meaning is not crystallized within physical objects and is a cultural phenomenon of human invention and imagination. According to him, 69 Russell Staiff, “2. Tilden: beyond resurrection,” in Re-Imagining Heritage Interpretation : Enchanting the Past-Future, 1st Edition (London: Routledge, 2016), 30-42, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315604558. 70 Lynn Cartmell, Tonia Herndon, Thomas Moffat, and Katy Mike Smaistrla Lampe, “The Heritage Leadership Process: Exploring Meaning Making and Social Emotional Competencies in Heritage Interpretation and Education for Sustainability,” Ed.D. diss., 39-42. University of Missouri, 2019. 22583089. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2312801666/abstract/EB77010D27F423DPQ/1. 71 Tilden, “1. Principles of Interpretation,” 3-10. 46 interpretation is subjective and flux and differs based on the interpreter’s mindset, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, class, and age. Moreover, the interpretative representation of heritage has its own life, distinct from the objects they represent. Hence, Staiff dissents from Tilden’s desire to totalize knowledge and interpretation, questioning his universal view on the interpretation that results in erasing differences.72 The intention for totalizing knowledge and interpretation can also be seen in UNESCO’s Outstanding Universal Value,73 which structures and interprets heritage within a centralized Eurocentric lens. This concept and how the transnational lens could shift the interpretation of Persianate gardens were not addressed in current literature. Interpretation depends on factual information and sensory, imaginary, and subjective experience. Hence, factual interpretation is built upon certain logic, while the sensory and imaginary representation can be open and subjective. Reflecting on the power of imagination in interpretation, Staiff presents the role of narrative in heritage interpretation and a close connection between narrative and meaning-making.74 The narrative adds emotional dimensions to interpretation and creates a more memorable experience. Moreover, the use of narrative in heritage interpretation reveals the social nature of heritage and connects people to monuments. 72 Staiff, “2. Tilden: beyond resurrection,” 30-42. 73 These criteria were discussed in Chapter 1. 74 Russell Staiff, “5. Narratives and narrativity: the story is the thing,” in Re-Imagining Heritage Interpretation: Enchanting the Past-Future, 1st Edition, (London: Routledge, 2016), 95-115, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315604558. 47 2.3.1. Digital Heritage and Modality The digital turn in Art History and Visual Culture offers a great chance to interpret cultural heritage distinctively. The ubiquity of digital media underscores the significance of digital data as a means for understanding and interpreting heritage. Digital heritage encompasses a wide range of meanings and usage. UNESCO’s Charter on the Preservation of Digital Heritage (2003) indicates that digital heritage is an information resource and creative expression created and shared digitally.75 Trinidad Rico discusses that digital media and technologies in the service of cultural heritage can be recognized as digital heritage, virtual heritage, and even new heritage. Fiona R. Cameron underscores the capacity of digital data to offer an alternative to traditional forms of heritage, such as books and paper records, in digital format.76 Ann Marie Sullivan discusses the ability of new technology to capture the social, cultural, and human components of places and the people who inhabited them in an interactive manner. This capacity of digital media might elevate the status of preservation above static exhibitions.77 Hidden Florence, an interpretive mobile app, is an excellent example to show the role of multimodal and digital heritage in the interpretation of social and dynamic aspects of cultural heritage. It is also in line with Staiff’s argumentation on the narrative approach to heritage interpretation. Hidden Florence was designed to narrate Florence's past using different historical figures, offering various audio narratives provided by historical figures 75 UNESCO, “Concept of Digital Heritage.” 76 Cameron. “Introduction.” 1–25. 77 Ann Marie Sullivan, “Cultural Heritage & New Media: A Future for the Past,” The John Marshall Review of Intellectual Property Law 15, No. 3 (2016). https://repository.law.uic.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1392&context=ripl. 48 from different social backgrounds (multiple interpretations based on different viewpoints). The mobile app immerses users in Renaissance Florence and microhistories of daily life and space. 78 In this sense, the app highlights the concept of space as an emergent quality of social interactions. Social relations are spatial by nature, and space is a means and dimension of space’s sociality.79 Hence, the app also highlights the sense of space that, according to Staiff, is the outcome of the narrative.80 Staiff’s view on heritage narrative and multiple interpretative lenses exemplified in Hidden Florence highlights the importance of an inclusive and multimodal interpretation language in which multiple voices and viewpoints can narrate their views on art history. Transnational heritage narrative also seeks to include and connect different voices in heritage interpretation. According to Gerard Delanty,81 the transnational approach offers a double critical lens through which heritage subjects can be viewed, showing how national histories are interconnected. This feature of the transnational approach can be met through an inclusive usage of multiple voices in heritage interpretation. As another example of heritage interpretation, The Aga Khan Garden web application (web app)82 is an excellent source of strategies to establish transnational conversations among monuments. The web app is the outcome of a multidisciplinary partnership between 78 “Augmented Reality in Florence,” University of Exeter, Centre for Intermedia and Creative Technology, accessed March 5, 2021, https://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/english/research/centres/intermedia/projectinsights/florence/. 79 Setha M. Low, “Towards an Anthropological Theory of Space and Place,” Semiotica,175 (June 1, 2009): 21–37. https://doi.org/10.1515/semi.2009.041. 80 Staiff, “5. Narratives and narrativity: the story is the thing,” 95-115. 81 Delanty, “Introduction: The Past in the Present.” 1-3. 82 Hussein Keshani, “Mobile Digital Interpretation in the Botanic Garden,” DARC | Digital Art History Research Collective, Accessed June 8, 2022, https://blogs.ubc.ca/darc/2015/10/22/evolving-the-botanic-garden/. 49 the University of British Columbia (UBC), the University of Alberta (UA), and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) to develop an interpretative program on a digital platform. The web app designers intended to simultaneously interpret the nature, culture, and landscape of the garden. As a part of the web app, the ‘Play’ module,83 communicates a multimodal argument depicting transnational conversations between Aga Khan Garden and historic Islamic landscapes, particularly Persian and Mughal palace gardens. This project contains several concepts such as digitization, multimodal argument, and gamification approach, which all collaborate in heritage interpretation. The web app facilitates learning by providing multimodal and gamified elements that emphasize transnational concepts. It creates a playful setting, where users can interact and discover the hidden concepts and stories behind illustrations. For instance, the comparative slider bar between the Aga Khan Garden and Taj Mahal illustrations encourages users to compare the similarities between these monuments. The gamified elements of the web app emphasize the importance of the visual approach in heritage interpretation (Figure 2.3). In short, it is helpful to comprehend how one interprets transnational dialogue among monuments through digital technologies.84 83 Sepideh Saffari and Hussein Keshani, the Play Module of the Aga Khan Garden Web App (Wireframing), 2019. To be published. 84 The employment of mobile technologies to interpret transnational impacts on “Aga Khan Garden”, a part of University of Alberta’s Botanic Garden, Hussein Keshani, “Aga Khan Garden,” Aga Khan Garden | Alberta, accessed March 8, 2021, https://akg.ok.ubc.ca/. 50 Figure 2.3. Sepideh Saffari and Hussein Keshani, the Play Module of the Aga Khan Garden Web App (Wireframing), 2019. Recent examples underscore digital media's progressive role in digitizing cultural heritage. However, a deeper look into digital heritage interpretation also sheds light on limitations and shortfalls in addressing the initial promise of digital heritage about inclusivity and availability. Gerben Zaagsma discusses that the current state of digitization is uneven and there are inequalities in accessing online heritage sources.85 According to Trinidad Rico, technological approaches to heritage remain, for the most part, European.86 This prompts scholars to critically examine the politics behind digitization and recognize the significance of shaping a diverse and inclusive digital heritage context with global heritage access. Roopika Risam argues that one can track the trace of exclusions and biases, as products of colonialism and racism, from print culture to digital cultural records.87 Chapter 1 highlighted 85 Zaagsma, Gerben. “Digital History and the Politics of Digitization.” Digital Scholarship in the Humanities 38, no. 2 (May 31, 2023): 830–51. https://doi.org/10.1093/llc/fqac050. 86 Rico, Trinidad. “Technologies, Technocracy, and the Promise of ‘Alternative’ Heritage Values.” In Heritage in Action, edited by Helaine Silverman, Emma Waterton, and Steve Watson, 217–30. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42870-3_15. 87 She also discusses how local and small-scale projects, which aim to illuminate underrepresented cultural heritage and unheard stories, are not acknowledged in digital cultural records. These undermining politics 51 the unspoken divide towards heritage with a comparison of the spatial data availability for gardens in the global North and South. In addition to the North-South divide, the uneven digital sphere has been shaped by important factors such as differences in technological infrastructure and the restrictive policies of local governments. These add up to the Eurocentric lens on digital heritage. In the context of this research, the lack of proper 3D spatial data on Persianate gardens in the digital environment calls for in-depth research on Persianate gardens with the use of digital platforms, providing an equal atmosphere of digital and multimodal heritage. 2.4. Persianate Palace and Tomb Gardens Gardens play a significant cultural role in Western and Eastern societies,88and a considerable amount of literature has been written on the Persianate89 garden, also known as Paradise gardens, Islamic gardens, and fourfold gardens (Chahar Bagh). However, the importance of the gardens' cultural and social life has been underestimated in academic reflect the legacies of colonialism in digital culture. Hence, scholars must fight against these institutional and systematic omissions rooted in the determining power of the Global North over the formation of knowledge infrastructures. It is suggested that a micro digital humanities approach that validates scholarly local outputs is a way to challenge the myth of democratized digital knowledge. In other words, local digital humanities production that does not rely on global digital humanities centers and large datasets is a way to value social and racial justice in digital culture. While Risam’s discussion addresses digital humanities challenges, a similar approach could be helpful in the realm of digital heritage. From Risam, “A Call to Action.” 88 Mohammad Gharipour, “Transferring and Transforming the Boundaries of Pleasure: Multifunctionality of Gardens in Medieval Persia,” Garden History 39, no. 2 (2011): 249–62. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41411812. 89 While Persianate, as a new terminology, refers to ethnic Persians, it also contains societies that may not be ethnically Persian such as Seljuq, Timurid, and Mughal reigns. The literature, language, and cultural activities of these pre-19th-century Persianate societies were influenced by Persianate culture. Hence, this terminology refers more to cultural boundaries rather than political borders. From (Hodgson, “VI. The Bloom of Persian Literary Culture and Its Times, c. 1111-1274.”). 52 studies.90 For the purposes of this study, I will focus on Persianate palace gardens as they are one of the primary elements used to define Iranian culture and heritage. This section provides a background and literature review to discuss the origin of Persianate gardens and their pre-Islamic and Islamic development. Using several scholarly works on this subject matter, the section attempts to find the connections and conversations of Iranian, Central Asian, and Indian gardens. A general look through the literature reveals that most of it focuses on documentation, form, typology and origins. Surprisingly, none of the literature mainly focuses on the palace garden’s role in the establishment of a transnational network among nations, challenging the complex concept of nationality. For instance, David Stronach notes the Achaemenid (550–330 B.C.) origin of Persianate gardens, arguing that Safavid gardens are the result of developing the Royal Garden at Pasargadae.91 However, the Timurid and Mughal gardens were not fully noticed. Influential educators such as Mohammad Gharipour discuss the origin of Persianate gardens and their influence over the design of Islamic gardens in Central Asia and India.92 Still, transnational exchange is not the main argument. Mahvash Alemi primarily focuses on Safavid politics in shaping gardens and royal gardens in relation to the city.93 Lisa 90 John Dixon Hunt, “Approaches (new and old) to garden history,” in Perspectives on Garden Histories, ed. Michel Conan, (Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks,1999), p. 79. 91 David Stronach, “Parterres and Stone Watercourses at Pasargadae: Notes on the Achaemenid Contribution to the Evolution of Garden Design,” Journal of Garden History, vol.14, (1994): 3-2. 92 Gharipour, “Transferring and Transforming The Boundaries Of Pleasure: Multifunctionality Of Gardens In Medieval Persia,” 249–62. 93 Mahvash Alemi, “The Royal Gardens of the Safavid Period: Types and Models.” in Gardens in the Time of the Great Muslim Empires: Theory and Design, edited by Attilio Petruccioli (Leiden; New York: E.J. Brill., 1997), 72-96, https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004660823_006. 53 Golombeck and Ebba Koch discuss the link between the Mughal and Timurid gardens.94 However, the Safavid gardens seem to be missed. Glenn D. Lowry highlights Persian, Timurid, and Indian inspirations for Humayun's tomb, but the scope of the paper is limited to one architectural monument.95 Indeed, Persianate palace gardens and related visual culture are not only for recreation purposes, but they are also the product of transnational conversations due to their dynamic functions. Such gardens have left their trace in other Iranian visual cultures, particularly Persian carpets, which are traded across the world and act as enablers for cultural exchange. Concerning multifunctionality, Mohammad Gharipour discusses Persianate palace gardens as dynamic settings that hold several social and political functions.96 He argues that the crucial role of gardens in the cultural, social, and political context of Iranian cities has been overshadowed by their recreational features. According to his findings, Persianate medieval gardens encompass a range of activities and aspects such as administrative affairs, encampment, and pilgrimage. In the same vein, Mahvash Alemi shows how the design of Safavid gardens in Persia reflected the power of the Safavid dynasty and reinforced its legitimacy.97 94 Lisa Golombek and Ebba Koch, “The Mughals, Uzbeks, and the Timurid Legacy,” in A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture, edited by Finbarr Barry Flood and Gülru Necipoğlu, 1st ed. (Oxford: Wiley Blackwell, 2017), 811–45. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119069218.ch32. 95 Glenn D. Lowry, “Humayun’s Tomb: Form, Function, and Meaning in Early Mughal Architecture,” Muqarnas 4 (1987): 133. https://doi.org/10.2307/1523100. 96 Gharipour, “Transferring and Transforming the Boundaries of Pleasure: Multifunctionality of Gardens in Medieval Persia,” 249–62. 97 Mahvash Alemi, “Princely Safavid Gardens: Stage for Rituals of Imperial Display and Political Legitimacy,” in Middle East Garden Traditions: Unity and Diversity: Questions, Methods and Resources in a Multicultural Perspective, edited by Michel Conan (Washington, D.C. Cambridge, Mass.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection; Distributed by Harvard University Press, 2007), 113-38. 54 Various spiritual and materialistic elements have influenced the development of Persianate gardens.98 The study argues that the socio-political and cultural concepts behind the garden design can be similar in different geographical locations. The consistency of patrons’ mindsets resulted in the consistency of spatial qualities and architectural design of gardens, suggesting the transnational exchanges spanned over a cultural zone. Hence, these hidden concepts provide shared reference points through which one can follow transnational interactions. 2.4.1. Description and Typology The art of garden design, particularly across current countries of Central Asia, Persian, and Deccan plateaus, has an old history associated with different symbolic and functional concepts.99 In terms of symbolism, Persianate gardens can be seen as metaphorical locations, representing Paradise on Earth.100 The desire to live immortally in human-made heaven can be observed in Egyptian gardens and Mughal tomb gardens, designed for those in power. Elizabeth Moynihan uses the term "Paradise gardens" to refer to Persianate gardens, highlighting their association with Paradise and the related religious symbolism. The symbolism, which was embodied in the quadripartite design of Persianate gardens, is rooted in ancient Near Eastern tradition. The fourfold design also resonated with later Zoroastrian 98 Gharipour, “Transferring and Transforming the Boundaries of Pleasure: Multifunctionality of Gardens in Medieval Persia,” 249–62. 99 Amin Mahan and Reihaneh Khorramrouei, “European Gardening Style as a Vague Expression, Impact of Renaissance, Baroque and Romantic Styles on Construction of Tehran’s Gardens during Qajar Era,” Manzar, no. Online First (December 2020). https://doi.org/10.22034/manzar.2020.251711.2096. 100 Leila Mahmoudi Farahani, Bahareh Motamed, and Elmira Jamei. “Persian Gardens: Meanings, Symbolism, and Design.” Landscape Online 46 (January 31, 2016): 1–19. https://doi.org/10.3097/LO.201646. 55 and Islamic symbolism.101 In addition, gardens emerged from a mystical feeling for flowers and a love of gardening in ancient Persia.102 Persianate gardens can be distinguished through distinctive features that are common between them. The most significant characteristic of the Persianate gardens is the quadripartite structure (chahar bagh) created by perpendicular water channels and walkways.103 David Stronach’s archeological reports104 represent a quadripartite plan of the Persianate garden at Pasargadae (the origin of the fourfold garden). Inspired by David Stronach’s archeological reports, Fiona Kidd discusses that the second axial division at Pasargadae is not physical but shaped by an imaginary line to allow an uninterrupted view over the garden.105 The highly geometrical layout of Persianate gardens is enclosed by thick brick walls, which necessitates the presence of an entrance structure in line with the garden’s main axis at one end. On the other end of the axis, one can usually find the pavilion at the intersections of the two axes.106 The pavilion position varies from the center to the edge of the gardens.107 According to Mohammad Gharipour, pavilions were initially located on the edges of gardens in the pre-Islamic era.108 However, their location gradually changed toward 101 Elizabeth Moynihan, Paradise as a Garden in Persia and Mughal India (New York: George Braziller, 1978), 1-10. 102 Mahmoudi Farahani, Motamed, and Jamei. “Persian Gardens: Meanings, Symbolism, and Design.” 1–19. 103 Mahmoudi Farahani, Motamed, and Jamei. “Persian Gardens: Meanings, Symbolism, and Design.” 1–19. 104 Stronach, “Parterres and Stone Watercourses at Pasargadae: Notes on the Achaemenid Contribution to the Evolution of Garden Design,” 3-2. 105 Kidd, “Ideas of Empire: The ‘Royal Garden’ at Pasargadae.” 106 Mahmoudi Farahani, Motamed, and Jamei. “Persian Gardens: Meanings, Symbolism, and Design.” 1–19. 107 Alemi, “The Royal Gardens of the Safavid Period: Types and Models,” 72-96. 108 Mohammad Gharipour, “Pavilion Structure in Persianate Gardens Reflections in the Textual and Visual Media,” PhD diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008, xxvi-30, 3414686, 56 the center. Inside gardens, designers create spatial qualities by planting various types of vegetation, including evergreen and deciduous trees.109 While the design of Persianate gardens mostly follows a quadripartite structure, it shows a remarkable flexibility to adapt to various sites. According to D. Fairchild Ruggles, an Islamic Garden scholar, the hallmark of the Persianate (Islamic) garden is its four-fold design. However, she also believes that the types of Persianate gardens are not limited to the quadripartite model and using the chahar bagh terminology does not necessarily refer to a four-part layout. 110 In the same vein, Mahvash Alemi, an architect-scholar of Persianate gardens, acknowledges their distinctive features. However, she also points out that there is no place for stereotyped definitions of Persianate gardens, as they appear in a range of forms reflecting the adaption to different urban morphologies and topographical situations. Land topography is an important element in designing suburban gardens. These gardens, which were often designed on steep hillsides, follow the land morphology in the form of several terraces.111 In terraced gardens, the land slope was utilized for running water through water channels and small waterfalls. Indeed, irrigation systems and water management had influences on the structure of gardens.112 Moreover, the topographic conditions and slope of terraced gardens enhanced the existence of one prominent axis, while urban gardens in flat areas prompted the use of a secondary axis. https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/pavilion-structure-persianate-gardens-reflections/docview/610062846/se-2?accountid=14656. 109 Mahmoudi Farahani, Motamed, and Jamei. “Persian Gardens: Meanings, Symbolism, and Design.” 1–19. 110 D. Fairchild Ruggles, “Islamic Gardens and Landscapes,” (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008). 111 Alemi, “The Royal Gardens of the Safavid Period: Types and Models,” 72-96. 112 Mahmoudi Farahani, Motamed, and Jamei. “Persian Gardens: Meanings, Symbolism, and Design.” 1–19. 57 Furthermore, studies of the urban morphology of Safavid-era cities reveal the existence of long garden promenades. In other words, the connection between royal gardens and cities was created through two chief public spaces in the Safavid period, a plaza (maydan) and a four-fold-garden (chahar bagh) promenade, through which royal gardens and palaces expressed their urban facades. While the maydan acted as a vestibule from which different zones of the city could be accessed, including the court and the royal garden, the four-fold garden promenade was an elongated garden type that linked the city’s royal quarter to its suburban gardens. The promenade was not only an avenue creating a linear pattern of gardens, but it was also a garden itself lined with water channels, basins, and cypress trees.113 2.4.2. Origins and Early Gardens Taking a broader geographical and chronological perspective on Persian palace gardens is necessary to pursue a transnational approach and reveal the historical connections. A review of Persianate gardens literature shows these gardens emerged from the Ancient Near East garden traditions, unified and developed by various empires. As David Stronach’s archeological reports in the 1970s show, the royal garden of Cyrus (559–530 B.C.) at Pasargadae is the first mature expression of Persianate gardens, including four-fold gardens and architectural elements such as an entrance gate and pavilions.114 Before delving deeper into the royal garden of Pasargadae as the earliest four-fold garden prototype, the investigation of early civilization interactions contributes to illuminating how early gardens evolved to the quadripartite layout. 113 Alemi, “The Royal Gardens of the Safavid Period: Types and Models,” 72-96. 114 Stronach, “Parterres and Stone Watercourses at Pasargadae: Notes on the Achaemenid Contribution to the Evolution of Garden Design,” 2-3. 58 Like the geometrical structure of Persianate gardens, ancient Egyptian gardens were usually rectilinear and enclosed by high walls.115 As the unique tomb painting of Sennefer’s Garden in Egypt, dating from 1439-1413 BCE, shows (Figure 2.4), there are prominent elements such as a central courtyard, ponds, entrance, and buildings that were common in most early gardens of Egypt. Most of the ancient Egyptian gardens were practical spaces, and the pleasure gardens were limited to the court.116 Figure 2.4. A fresco plan of Sennefer’s Garden, found in the Tomb of the Vines near Luxor in Egypt, dating from 1439-1413 BCE, depicted in a copy by Ippolito Rosellini from the 19th century. Image from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Immagine_di_un_giardino.jpg. Note the a) central courtyard, b) ponds entrance and c) building on the right. Besides the rectangular and geometrical gardens of Egypt, Mesopotamian civilizations, particularly Assyrian Empire, constructed several gardens. The first reference to 115 Eva Iturbe, “The Uniqueness of Gardens in Ancient Egypt,” Med-O-Med (blog), March 23, 2020. https://medomed.org/2020/the-uniqueness-of-gardens-in-ancient-egypt/. 116 Iran Heritage Foundation, “Mohammad Gharipour: Gardens of Medieval Persia: From Patronage to Evolution.” 51:58. 59 temple gardens in Mesopotamia is a text from the third millennium BC in Sumer.117 In Figure 2.5, you can see a cylinder seal related to the Akkadian period which depicts the god of wisdom and fresh water, Enki. Enki was originally a Sumerian deity and patron of the city of Eridu, which Mesopotamians believed to be the first city built at the beginning of the world. Figure 2.5. The Adda Seal, 2300 BC. Greenstone, 2.55*1.50 centimeters, The British Museum, https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1891-0509-2553. It is worth noting that the city of Eridu, founded c. 5400 BCE, would function in stories and legends about a “golden period” in the same manner that later Hebrew writers would use the Garden of Eden. The importance of this image is the symbolic representation of water and trees. Enki, the Sumerian god of water, is the second figure from the right, enclosed by two trees in the shape of a female and a male. The streams flowing out from the Enki’s shoulders, which are interpreted as the Tigris and Euphrates, emphasize his association with life-giving water.118 Similarly, one of the oldest Assyrian reliefs (Figure 2.6) displays the god of water standing in the middle of two cypress trees that represent a garden. Moreover, four rivers are 117 Asian Art Museum, “Ancient Persian Gardens: Evolution and Legacy with Dr. David Stronach,” San Francisco, 2014. Lecture video, 48:27. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43kX_QWHy6M. 118 Joshua J. Mark, “Enki,” World History Encyclopedia, January 9, 2017. https://www.worldhistory.org/Enki/. 60 related to the story of Genesis running out from the water deity, dividing his territory into four parts. While the four-part structure of this relief continued to exist in later four-fold gardens in the whole region of the Iranian Plateau,119 the first embodiment of this relief in the form of landscape design emerged in the Royal Garden of Pasargadae. Figure 2.6. (Left-hand Image). Ivory plate. Assur, 1243-1207 B.C. Mountain with Water God, An Assyrian relief of the god of water flanked by two cypress tress, Flowing vases represent the four rivers of life, Staatliche Museum, Berlin, https://www.smb.museum/en/open-science/. Figure 2.7. (Right-hand Image). Water basin for ritual cleansing from the Temple of Ashur (Assur), excavated by Walter Andrae Assyrian reign of Sennacherib, 704-681 BCE, Photographed by Mary Harrsch, Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Water_basin_for_ritual_cleansing_from_the_Temple_of_Ashur_%28Assur%29_excavated_by_Walter_Andrae_Assyrian_reign_of_Sennacherib_704-681_BCE_%2832237774315%29.jpg. In addition to the spiritual aspects of early gardens, they demonstrate strong connections to power. In Mesopotamia, the concept of using a garden to demonstrate power and supremacy first emerged in the ninth century BC around Nineveh. Figure 2.8, a famous Assyrian relief, represents the Assyrian king, Sennacherib (704-681 BC), who honored his new capital at Nineveh by constructing gardens, palaces, and aqueducts in different locations. The importance of gardens and their connections to power is well-expressed in the words of 119 Iran Heritage Foundation, “Mohammad Gharipour: Gardens of Medieval Persia: From Patronage to Evolution,” 51:58. 61 David Stronach (2014), as he points out that every Mesopotamian king in the first millennium BC had a garden near his palace.120 Figure 2.8. (Left-hand Image). Wall Panel; Relief. 635BC 645. Gypsum, 132.08*58.42. British Museum, 124939, b, https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1856-0909-36. With the turn of the political force of the ancient world from Mesopotamia to Persia, it was necessary to maintain the imperial iconography and infrastructure familiar to the people of this new vast empire expanding from Central Asia to the Mediterranean (Figure 2.9). Hence, Neo-Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian, and Elamite traditions were kept alive and developed during the Achaemenid Empire (the first Persian Empire). As a power manifest, the idea of royal gardens, which reflects a Near Eastern imperial tradition, was adopted by Cyrus the Great in constructing his imperial capital and royal garden at Pasargadae near the scene of his victory over the Median Empire (550 BC). 121 & 122 120 Asian Art Museum, “Ancient Persian Gardens: Evolution and Legacy with Dr. David Stronach.” 48:27. 121 Kidd, “Ideas of Empire: The ‘Royal Garden’ at Pasargadae.” 122 The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Pasargadae | Ancient City, Iran | Britannica.” Britannica, Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/place/Pasargadae-ancient-city-Iran. 62 While the vast territory of Cyrus allowed ideas to flow across the whole region, Cyrus was a great architect as well, as he could express ideas in a novel way.123 His royal garden at Pasargadae, which is well-known as the first mature expression of fourfold gardens,124 had several features such as the following that differentiate it from its Near Eastern predecessors: the integration of the palace, which was opened on four sides by porticos125, and garden into a single focal area, the dressed-stone water channels that run through the royal garden, and its highly geometrical design that reinforces the formal and imperial symbolism of the site.126 Figure 2.9. (left-hand). The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest territorial extent under the rule of Darius I (522 BC–486 BC), Wikipedia, 8 December 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achaemenid_Empire#/media/File:Achaemenid_Empire_500_BCE.jpg Figure 2.10. (right-hand). The Plan of Royal Garden of Pasargadae, 2024, Redrawn by the author after: [David Stronach, 1978, Pasargadae: A Report on the Excavations, from https://www.metmuseum.org/articles/pasargadae]. 123 Asian Art Museum, “Ancient Persian Gardens: Evolution and Legacy with Dr. David Stronach.” 48:27. 124 David Stronach, “ČAHĀRBĀḠ,” Encyclopedia Iranica, December 15, 1990, https://iranicaonline.org/articles/caharbag-lit. 125 Alemi, “The Royal Gardens of the Safavid Period: Types and Models,” 72-96. 126 Kidd, “Ideas of Empire: The ‘Royal Garden’ at Pasargadae.” 63 More precisely, the excavations at Pasargadae reveal several stone channels outlining two parallel rectangular garden plots that were possibly bisected by another axis in line with the throne seat of the king within the “garden portico” of Palace P (Figure 2.10) as the site of power. The four-part design of the Royal Garden at Pasargadae continues to exist over centuries during the Islamic period in the whole region.127 Several hypotheses have been considered by scholars to justify the four-fold division of gardens. Some support the pre-Islamic division of the earth into four quarters inspired by the geometrical motifs of Mesopotamian civilizations.128 This idea is also obvious in the statement of Cyrus the Great, who called himself the king of the four quarters of the world.129 Some refer to the paradise myth, the spiritual value of water and trees, and the mountain of paradise along with the four rivers of life as the foundation of four-fold gardens.130 The quadripartite concept has also been supported by the Zoroastrian division of the universe into four parts, or the four sacred elements: water, wind, soil, and fire. The four-fold layout of Persianate gardens was reinforced in the Islamic period as it was in line with the image of heaven with four streams described in the Quran. Furthermore, the common irrigation system at that time is another functional factor that formed the geometric structure of the gardens, as the four-fold plan set an organized way of watering plants.131 127 Stronach, “ČAHĀRBĀḠ.” 128 Mahmoudi Farahani, Motamed, and Jamei. “Persian Gardens: Meanings, Symbolism, and Design.” 1–19. 129 Kidd, “Ideas of Empire: The ‘Royal Garden’ at Pasargadae.” 130 Moyniha, Paradise as a Garden in Persia and Mughal India. 1-10. 131 Mahmoudi Farahani, Motamed, and Jamei. “Persian Gardens: Meanings, Symbolism, and Design.” 1–19. 64 2.4.3. Islamic Era, Connections, and Conversations Scholars typically use dynasties or geographic regions to categorize gardens of the Islamic world. As Sussan Babaie and Talinn Grigor point out, kings often appropriate architectural design from diverse sources as an essential part of their strategy to legitimize their power, regardless of shifting political and religious perspectives.132 This view can also be seen in Mohammad Gharipour’s argument on the multifunctionality of Persian gardens. According to Gharipour, Persianate gardens were an important setting for social and political activities.133 In the same vein, Mahvash Alemi argues that Safavid kings developed gardens to exert some level of control over people and boost their legitimacy.134 Following this trend, the tradition of constructing royal gardens spans across pre-Islamic empires (Achaemenids and Sassanid) to the pre-modern Islamic era. 132 Sussan Babaie, and Talinn Grigor, Persian Kingship and Architecture: Strategies of Power in Iran from the Achaemenids to the Pahlavis (London: I.B. Tauris, 2015), Accessed July 12, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9780755611355. 133 Gharipour, “Transferring and Transforming The Boundaries Of Pleasure: Multifunctionality Of Gardens In Medieval Persia,” 249–62. 134 Alemi, “Princely Safavid Gardens: Stage for Rituals of Imperial Display and Political Legitimacy.” 113-38. 65 Figure 2.11. Chronology of Major Empires and Dynasties of the Islamic World, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Chronology,” Accessed July 19, 2022. https://www.metmuseum.org/learn/educators/curriculum-resources/art-of-the-islamic-world/introduction/chronology. The Sassanids further developed the connection between the pavilions and gardens along with the usage of water elements such as pools in the garden palace of Samarra (849 CE) and Firuzabad.135 Considering that cultural and artistic activities in any era are somehow influenced by the preceding one, it is undeniable that early Muslim rulers, such as Umayyad and Abbasid, drew inspiration from Achaemenid, and especially Sassanid design to express the concept of kingship. However, due to the lack of archeological evidence from Sasanian palaces and subtle adoptions, scholars have mostly focused on isolated features of palaces, including the four-iwan (portico) plan and the familiar combination of iwan and domed 135 Mohammad Gharipour, and Anitha Deshamudre, “Gardens of the Islamic World,” in Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures, edited by Helaine Selin (Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2014), 1964–68. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7747-7. 66 hall.136 Mohammad Gharipour discusses that the Umayyads (661–750 AD) and Abbasids (750–1258 AD) Islamic reigns adopted the pre-Islamic fourfold layout but changed the pavilion position in the garden.137 According to Antonio Almagro and D. Fairchild Ruggles, almost all Umayyad gardens included baths and audience halls, which were connected.138 This architectural model was used as an integral expression of power and dignity. The integration of an audience hall/bathhouse and garden demonstrates the close relationship between two types of social and personal pleasure that are constantly present in Islamic culture. In the ninth century, the Abbasid rulers built several palace gardens with courtyards in Samarra, in which the quadripartite plan with cross-axial walkways was evident. Since the Abbasids' revolution was a sociopolitical return to Persian cultural values, they followed the trend of Sassanids' gardens in which the connection between gardens and pavilions was enhanced.139 Meanwhile, one can see the full image of four-fold gardens in the Spanish Umayyad palace gardens, such as the Madinat al-Zahra (936 CE) near Cordoba, Spain (Figure 2.12). This fortified palace city was constructed due to politico-ideological reasons, demonstrating the ruler’s superiority over his great rivals. The city contains different functions, such as ceremonial reception halls, a mosque, administrative and government offices, baths, barracks, and gardens. The intriguing division of the city into different terraces, including 136 Lionel D. Bier, “Chapter 3. The Sasanian Palaces and Their Influence in Early Islam,” in Persian Kingship and Architecture: Strategies of Power in Iran from the Achaemenids to the Pahlavis, edited by Sussan Babaie and Talinn Grigor ( London: I.B. Tauris, 2015), 57-66, https://doi.org/10.5040/9780755611355. 137 Gharipour, “Pavilion Structure in Persianate Gardens Reflections in the Textual and Visual Media.” xxvi-30. 138 Antonio Almagro and D Fairchild Ruggles, “Early Islamic Gardens in Syria, Jordan, and Iraq,” n.d., 4. https://www.doaks.org/resources/middle-east-garden-traditions/introduction/introduction-to-early-islamic-gardens-of-greater-syria 139 Gharipour, “Pavilion Structure in Persianate Gardens Reflections in the Textual and Visual Media.” xxvi-30. 67 upper and lower gardens based on the social and political hierarchy, is worth noting,140 as it can be seen in later Persian and Mughal gardens such as Takht Garden in Iran (1100 AD) and Shalimar Bagh in Kashmir (1619 CE) (Figure 2.13). The construction of royal gardens continued to develop extensively under early Muslim empires, during which the famous complex of Alhambra was designed. The Palace Garden of Alhambra (12 century) in Granada (Spain) also follows the pre-Islamic four-fold pattern.141 Figure 2.12. (left-hand). Madinat Al-Zahra Plan, from Wikipedia, June 16, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Madinat_al-Zahra&oldid=1093436739. Figure 2.13. (right-hand). William J. Mitchell, Isometric View Showing Three Sections of the Shalimar Garden in Kashmir, Archnet, Accessed July 13, 2022. https://www.archnet.org/sites/5011?media_content_id=61305. 2.4.3.1. Timurid Gardens The Timurid dynasty, which was founded by Timur, the Turko‐Mongol warlord, ruled much of Iran and Central Asia for more than a century (c. 1307–1507).142 During the Timurid era, Central Asia witnessed a surge in public projects and garden complexes.143 While there are not any extant Timurid gardens, some archaeological evidence and historical 140 Ruggles, “Islamic Gardens and Landscapes.” 141 Gharipour, and Deshamudre, “Gardens of the Islamic World.” 1964–68. 142 Golombek and Koch, “The Mughals, Uzbeks, and the Timurid Legacy.” 811–45. 143 Gharipour, and Deshamudre, “Gardens of the Islamic World.” 1964–68. 68 texts help scholars gain insight into the Timurid gardens. Besides, the investigation of architectural monuments related to the Timurid era indirectly boosts our knowledge about these gardens. There were two types of Timurid royal gardens and both were physical representations of imperial power. First, the gardens outside the cities were used for different functions, including royal encampments, court events and celebrations. These types of gardens, which included both permanent built structures and temporary tents, stemmed from Timur’s nomadic lifestyle. Besides the dynamic gardens outside the city boundaries, more permanent gardens were built within the main city to provide agricultural and economic benefits. Similar to ancient Persian gardens, Timurid gardens were also walled quadripartite spaces, including cross‐axial water channels and a pavilion. Some pavilions were built at the intersection of water axes at the center of the gardens, while others were placed at one end. The pavilion entrance was defined by a high entrance portal called an iwan (portico), which was common in pre-Islamic Sassanid architecture. In some cases, a hypostyle hall, which is equivalent to talar in Achaemenid architecture, replaced the external iwan, as can be seen in Ulugh Beg’s Chehel Sotoun (lit. “Forty Columns”) at Samarqand and later in the Safavid Chehel Sotoun in Isfahan. As Lisa Golombek and Ebba Koch mention, the pavilions were often at least two stories. Their interior plans were divided into nine spaces, including a central domed chamber and surrounding eight rooms called hasht-behesht (eight heavens). In other words, the design was based on a cross‐in‐square plan and a domed space in its center, while vaulted halls were created out of the axial spaces. These halls typically opened onto gardens and designated a special place for the throne. One of the best examples of these types of design can be seen in the mausoleum of Abd al‐Razzaq, the son of Ulugh Beg, the 69 governor of Ghazni and Kabul (1501–1502). Since Abd al‐Razzaq was very young during his reign, the construction is often attributed to his father, Ulugh Beg (Figure 2.19).144 The hasht-behesht plan was later replicated in several famous Safavid and Mughal palace gardens, such as the Hasht Behesht in Iran (Figure 2.20) and the Taj Mahal in India (Figure 2.21). According to John D. Hoag, the Taj Mahal plan displays a notable return to the design principle of the tomb of Ulugh Beg.145 This type of planning dates back to the pre-Islamic era and the argument regarding its origin and development will be thoroughly discussed in Chapters 4 and 5. This type of planning possibly dates back to Sasanian palaces and fire temples. In this respect, the Sasanian Bishapur palace (241-272 AC), which some scholars recognize as the Anahita fire temple (the God of water),146 stands as excellent evidence (Figure 2.15). Considering the cruciform plan of the temple designed for water worship in line with the Assyrian relief of the God of water with four rivers (Figure 2.6), it is possible to see the big picture of how the hasht‐bihisht (eight heavens) plan was shaped. The earlier example of a cruciform plan covered by a dome over four axial arches (chahartaq or literally “four arches'') can be seen in the earlier cliff-top fortress of Qaleh Dukhtar (Palace of Anahita) erected by Ardasir in 209 AD (Figure 2.14). This kind of structure, which was used for both religious and secular buildings in pre-Islamic Iran,147 144 Golombek and Koch, “The Mughals, Uzbeks, and the Timurid Legacy.” 811–45. 145 John D. Hoag, “The Tomb of Ulugh Beg and Abdu Razzaq at Ghazni, A Model for the Taj Mahal,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 27, no. 4 (December 1, 1968): 234–48. https://doi.org/10.2307/988486. 146 Bier, “Chapter 3. The Sasanian Palaces and Their Influence in Early Islam,” 57-66. 147 Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation, “ČAHĀRṬĀQ: Four Arches,” in Encyclopaedia Iranica. Accessed July 18, 2022, https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cahartaq. 70 found its place in Islamic architecture in the design of mausoleums, mosques, and religious schools (madrasas). While funerary architecture has been forbidden in various periods and regions, the construction of tombs and mausoleums developed under the rule of Samanids, the Islamic-Iranian dynasty in Central Asia between 819 and 999 AD. The Samanid mausoleum in Uzbekistan represents a four-arch structure built in the Samanids era (Figure 2.16). Later, the Ilkhanids and Timurids constructed more monumental mausoleums with a double-dome roof structure. The mausoleum of the Ilkhanid Sultan Uljaytu near Zanjan in western Iran (c. 1314) and then the construction of Timur’s mausoleum (d. 1405) in Samarqand (Uzbekistan) are great examples in this respect.148 The cruciform plan can still be seen in Timur’s mausoleum and other Timurid buildings, such as the Madrasa of Ulugh Beg in Registan Square in Samarqand. According to Lisa Golombek and Ebba Koch (2017, 811-845), the madrasa of Ulugh Beg in Samarqand (1417–1421) also represents common characteristics in Timurid buildings: the huge contrast between the height of the iwan and facade, very tall minarets at the corner of buildings and fully ornamented exterior.149 Figures 2.14 to 2.21 represent the development of an architectural unit, i.e., chahartaq (“four arches”) over different places and times. 148 Mohammad Gharipour, and Patricia Blessing, “Mausoleums of the Islamic World,” in Encyclopaedia of the History of Science,Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures (New York: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2016), 1-6, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7747-7_10227. 149 Golombek and Koch, “The Mughals, Uzbeks, and the Timurid Legacy.” 811–45. 71 Figure 2.14. (Left-hand). Four Arches of Qaḷʿeh Dukhtar (The central hall of the early palace of Ardersir), Redrawn by the author after: [Encyclopedia Iranica. “ČAHĀRṬĀQ:‘Four Arches,’” Encyclopedia Iranica. Accessed July 18, 2022. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cahartaq.] Figure 2.15. (Middle). The so-called Palace of Sapur and Fire Temple at Bishapur, The so-called Palace of Sapur and Fire Temple at Bishapur, from Dietrich Huff, Bernard O’Kane, “ČAHĀRṬĀQ,” Encyclopædia Iranica, IV/6, pp. 634-642, In Encyclopaedia Iranica Online, (Brill, 2020) doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/2330-4804_EIRO_COM_7262. Figure 2.16. (Right-hand). Mausoleum Of the Samanids, Redrawn by the author after: [Arthur Upham Pope, Phyllis Ackerman, and Theodore Besterman. A Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric Times to the Present. London; New York; Oxford University Press, 1938.] Figure 2.17. (Left-hand). Antiquities of Samarkand, Mausoleum of Emir Timur Kuragan (Gur-Emir), Plan, 1868-1872, Architectural Drawing, Washington, D.C. USA. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, https://www.loc.gov/item/2007683366/. (Adapted and modified by author.) Figure 2.18. (Right-hand). Antiquities of Samarkand, Madrasa of Ulug Bek, Plan.1872-1868. Architectural Drawing, Washington, D.C. USA. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, https://www.loc.gov/item/2007682791/.(Adopted and modified by author.) 72 Figure 2.19. (Left-hand). Tomb of Ulugh Beg and Abdu Razzaq at Ghazni, plan and section, from John D. Hoag, “The Tomb of Ulugh Beg and Abdu Razzaq at Ghazni, A Model for the Taj Mahal,” in Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians Volume 27, Issue 4, (December 1968): 234–48, © 1968 by The Society of Architectural Historians. Published by the University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/988486. Figure 2.20. (Middle). Pascal Coste, Pavilion of Eight Paradise Plan (Hasht Behesht), 1840, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hasht_Behesht,_Plan_and_section_by_Pascal_Coste.jpg. Figure 2.21. (Right-hand). Taj Mahal, from John Murray (Firm), A Handbook for Travellers in India, Burma and Ceylon (London: Thakar, Spink & Co., and John Murray, 1920), 231, accessed May 17, 2024, https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c049725688?urlappend=%3Bseq=9. 2.4.3.2. Safavid Gardens Despite the fall of the Timurid dynasty in Central Asia, the coherent history of garden construction continued its evolution during the Safavid era (1502–1736) in Iran. While Lisa Golombek (historian and curator of Islamic art) primarily focused on Timurid gardens and their connection to Mughal architecture,150 Mahvash Alemi, landscape architect and historian, casts light on the Safavid era and their political lens to garden design.151 Alemi also used historical references such as Engelbert Kaempfer’s reports and documentation to demonstrate the typology and form of Safavid gardens. Although her work discusses the 150 Golombek and Koch, “The Mughals, Uzbeks, and the Timurid Legacy.” 811–45. 151 Mahvash Alemi, “A Catalogue of Known Gardens in Safavid Iran," in Middle East Garden Traditions, Dumbarton Oaks, 2007, https://www.archnet.org/publications/14843. 73 symbolic meaning of chahar Bagh and its form with an architectural and urban-expert lens, the transnational evidence was not mentioned.152 Mohammad Gharipour, the architectural scholar and historian, applies the cross-cultural framework to investigate Persianate gardens.153 However, his main argument is on Persianate gardens' multifunctionality and pavilion structure. Considering these dedicated scholars' studies, this section provides a review and background on Safavid gardens, trying to create a more explicit link between Timurid, Safavid, and Mughal gardens. The Safavid reign was founded by Ismail, who belonged to the Turcoman population of Ardabil and descended from the great Sufi Shaykh Safieddin. After a considerable period of turmoil due to the Mongol invasion, Safavid Iran witnessed a period of peace and stability in which much of Persian literature, arts, and architecture were brought back.154 Meanwhile, they distinguished their political territory as a centralized state, setting Shia as the country's official religion. Many Safavid religious traditions are still alive and impact the modern Iran identity.155 In other words, Safavids adopted Twelver Shiism as Iran's official religion to foster unified national consciousness.156 Hence, today's Iranian nationality has been impacted by the Safavids' policy of linking power with religion to spiritualize power and distinguish 152 Alemi, “The Royal Gardens of the Safavid Period: Types and Models,” 72-96. 153 Gharipour, “Transferring And Transforming The Boundaries Of Pleasure: Multifunctionality Of Gardens In Medieval Persia,” 249–62. 154 Zahra Ranjbari and Katharine Bartsch, “Poetic Landscapes, Reading the Early Safavid Garden City,” in the Heart of Tehran (Adelaide: The University of La Sapienza, 2016), 1-6. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318815369_Poetic_Landscapes_Reading_the_Early_Safavid_Garden_City 155 Institute for Advanced Study, “The Safavids and Modern Iranian Identity - Rudi Matthee,” 2020, educational video, 13:14, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JBMyHhEHo4. 156 The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Safavid Dynasty | History, Culture, Religion, & Facts | Britannica,” in Britannica, Accessed November 23, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Safavid-dynasty. 74 political territory. Moreover, the focal points of Safavids' political power were in current Iran, which necessitates thoroughly investigating their political and cultural perspectives. It is worth noting that whereas Safavids were the followers of the shāfa‘ī sect of Sunni Muslims, they gained political authority over the Sunni Turkomans by using the Shiite militants. Indeed, Safavids developed their territories and their political power using the following strategies: Firstly, they established Shi’i ideology as the main religion of their empire to undermine the power of Sunni clerics over public affairs and boost internal cohesion. Moreover, imposing a different split of Islam (Shiism) served as political propaganda against their external enemy, known as the Ottoman Empire. Secondly, the Safavids created new public spheres next to old city centers in which the vital levers of power, including religious, commercial, and leisure activities, were placed under their control. Last, they represented themselves as the legitimate successors of pre-Islamic Iranian empires (particularly Sassanid kings) by the revival of ancient pre-Islamic Persian traditions. For instance, Safavids revived the ancient practice of polo or chawgan in their public square to address the continuity between the Safavid and ancient royal power. This claim can also be observed in a poem of Shah Ismail (the first Safavid king), who introduced himself as Firaydun, Khusraw, Jamshid, and Zuhhak, Zal’s son, Rustam, and Alexander.157 Furthermore, Ismail represented himself as a follower and descendant of Ali, the first Imam, to evoke public religious emotions.158 Indeed, the Safavids established their political power 157 V. Minorsky, “The Poetry of Shah Ismail I,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 10, no. 4 (February 1942): 1006–29. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0041977X00090182. 158 Mahvash Alemi, PERSIAN GARDENS IN SAFAVID TIMES, Accessed August 10, 2022. https://www.academia.edu/31921080/GENIUS_LOCI_OF_GARDENS_3_docx. 7-9. 75 using the levers of religious and national identity of which the latter can also be seen in the last kingship of Iran, the modern Pahlavi dynasty. The above strategies, employed to enhance Safavid power, were also reflected in their garden, architecture, and urban structure. As Mohammad Gharipour mentions, the Safavids underscored their national identity by designing buildings and pavilions (in gardens), which resembled pre-Islamic architecture, particularly from the Achaemenid empire. However, he also points out that this view can be questioned, as Western archaeologists revealed their excavation and reports in the recent century (twentieth century). 159 Mahvash Alemi also asserts that Chihil Sutun palace, the favorite residence of Shah Abbas (Safavid king), resembles the hypostyle of Persepolis.160 According to Mohammad Gharipour, the Mughals in India pursued the Safavid attempt at garden design (1550–1750 AD), while they replaced pavilions with mausolea.161 The significant role of royal gardens in the representation of Safavid imperial power is well stated by Alemi in her following statement: “[T]he history of the Safavid kings passes through their gardens.” As she discusses, gardens played a significant role in fulfilling the Safavids' political purposes. They designed a network of royal gardens all over the country to increase their political influence in different provinces. The Safavids' nomadic lifestyle and the habit of hunting are other reasons for creating these royal gardens.162 To clarify the importance of political attitudes in constructing royal gardens and their connection with the 159 Gharipour, “Pavilion Structure in Persianate Gardens Reflections in the Textual and Visual Media.” xxvi-30. 160 Alemi, “The Royal Gardens of the Safavid Period: Types and Models,” 72-96. 161 Gharipour, “Pavilion Structure in Persianate Gardens Reflections in the Textual and Visual Media.” xxvi-30. 162 Alemi, PERSIAN GARDENS IN SAFAVID TIMES, 7-9. 76 urban fabric, one can refer to Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan (Naqsh-e Jahan maydan), which is a vestibule to royal gardens, mosques, and bazaars; each stands for a power lever, including religion, and commerce. Figures 2.22 and 2.23 illustrate the common urban fabric in the Safavid period, representing how political power, religion, and commerce are woven together. Figure 2.22. (Left-hand). Plan of Safavid Isfahan, mid-seventeenth century, edited by author, adopted from Farshid Emami,“Coffeehouses, Urban Spaces, and the Formation of a Public Sphere in Safavid Isfahan,” Muqarnas Online 33, no. 1 (November 14, 2016): 177–220. https://doi.org/10.1163/22118993_03301P008. Figure 2.23. (Right-hand). Plan of Safavid Qazvin, edited by the author, adopted from Ehsan Dizani, “Reimagining the Royal Safavid City of Qazvin, Using Historical Documents” 7, Hoviat Shahr, no. 14 (March 2013): 61–70, https://www.sid.ir/fa/journal/ViewPaper.aspx?id=199997. These figures also represent Safavids’ attempt to integrate the city and gardens by getting inspiration from ancient Persian gardens and Timurid gardens in Herat.163 As Heidi A. Walcher points out, one can even notice the four-fold garden layout of Safavid Isfahan in the scale of a city, 163 Gharipour, “Pavilion Structure in Persianate Gardens Reflections in the Textual and Visual Media.” xxvi-30. 77 generated by the perpendicular intersection of the Chahar Bagh promenade and Zayandeh Rud River. 164 Two main public spaces, which used to represent the kingship rituals, played a vital role in creating city gardens in the Safavid era: the public plaza (maydan) and garden promenade (bagh khiyaban). These two elements created an urban grid in which different city functions, such as the royal quarter and administrative section (in the form of royal gardens), single gardens, mosques, and bazaars, were arranged. While the maydan serves as a vestibule for different city functions, the garden promenade, as an elongated garden, arranged a linear pattern of residential and leisure functions, connecting the royal quarter to suburban fourfold gardens (Figure 2.24). Figure 2.24. (Left-hand). Chahar Bagh Promenade; Maydan and Royal Quarter of Isfahan, from Nader Ardalan and Laleh Bakhtiar, The Sense of Unity : The Sufi Tradition in Persian Architecture, translated by Hamid Shahrokh, 2000. Figure 2.25. (Right-hand). Amir Pashaei, Ali Qapu, in Wikipedia, July 22, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ali_Qapu&oldid=1099781147. 164 Heidi A. Walcher, “Between Paradise and Political Capital: The Semiotics of Safavid Isfahan,” in Middle Eastern Natural Environments, 330–48, n.d. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.570.5094. 78 As mentioned earlier in this section, the mature expression of maydan can be seen in Naqsh-e Jahan square, in which a splendid hypostyle building– the Aali Qapu– acts as a gate to the royal quarter (Figure 2.25).165 The Aali Qapu hypostyle (talar)166, which was used by the king to overlook maydan, manifests the hierarchy of power in Safavid architecture. The talar, with its wooden columns, can also be seen in Chehel Sotun palace garden as a part of the royal quarter (Figure 2.26). In the Safavid era, the talar, as a semi-open space, was often included in pavilions and palaces to link gardens to pavilions. As mentioned earlier, Mahvash Alemi argues there are strong similarities between surviving descriptions of the Achaemenid hypostyle halls of Persepolis and the Safavid talar of Chehel Sotun.167 While this argument is in line with the Safavid tendency to revive pre-Islamic traditions, Mohammad Gharipour (2008, 23) interrogates this claim, discussing most of our knowledge of pre-Islamic Persia is based on the work of twentieth-century Western archaeologists.168 165 Alemi, “The Royal Gardens of the Safavid Period: Types and Models,” 72-96. 166 Talar is a splendid hypostyle open on three sides, acting as a transitional space between interior and exterior. (Alemi, “The Royal Gardens of the Safavid Period: Types and Models,” 72-96.) 167 Mahvash Alemi, “Persian Gardens and Courtyards: An Approach to the Design of Contemporary Architecture,” in Understanding Islamic Architecture (London: Routledge, 2002), 75-81. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315028767. 168 Gharipour, “Pavilion Structure in Persianate Gardens Reflections in the Textual and Visual Media.” xxvi-30. 79 Figure 2.26. Chehel Sotoun, In Wikipedia, May 7, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chehel_Sotoun&oldid=1086633485. In addition to the talar, the iwan is another predominant architectural motif used by the Safavids that has a long history in Persian architecture and traces back to the Parthian Empire in Persia (247 BC- 224 AD). The layout of iwans169 plays a significant role in shaping the famous nine-part plans of garden pavilions called hasht‐bihisht. As discussed in Timurid gardens, the hasht-behesht plan was created by placing four iwans at the four arms of the cross layout. This layout, with its four corner rooms, is a fundamental plan of Persianate garden pavilions (Figure 2.27). The cruciform plan was also transformed into an octagonal plan in some cases, such as the Hasht Bihist in Isfahan (Figure 2.21). 169 Iwan is a high entrance portal enclosed on three sides (portico). 80 Figure 2.27. Pascal Coste, Garden, and pavilion Chehel Sotoun plan, 1840, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Garden_and_pavilion_Chehel_Sotoun,_map_by_Pascal_Coste.jpg, edited by the author. In terms of garden design, Safavid gardens' layout was influenced by various urban situations and land morphology. For instance, suburban gardens on steep hillsides were often designed as stepped gardens, following the land topography. While the main axis of the stepped garden was reinforced due to the land conditions, urban gardens usually had two main axes that generated a fourfold layout. Hizar Jarib's garden, which no longer exists, is a great example of stepped gardens in the Safavid era.170 In either Safavid urban or suburban gardens, there are aesthetic references to the pictorial imagery of Qur’anic paradise (rooted in the pre-Islamic Persian and Mesopotamian gardens), but their pragmatic goals seem largely disinterested in the implication of metaphysical and theological meanings. In this spirit, Heidi A. Walcher points out that the Safavid gardens’ names were largely inspired by political-secular concepts corresponding to 170 Alemi, “The Royal Gardens of the Safavid Period: Types and Models,” 72-96. 81 size, status, and the gardens’ function. As mentioned earlier in this section, Gharipour and Alemi’s studies also show that Safavids used religion and ancient nationalistic traditions to legitimize their politics and statehood. Hence, the fourfold gardens in the Safavid era implied the metaphysical divine order as far as it was in line with their political power.171 This is also applicable to Mughal gardens which will be discussed in the next section. As James Wescoat discusses, Mughal gardens display a “denotation but not the connotation of Islamic Paradise,” which means “[They] achieved the form, but not the meaning of paradise gardens.”172 2.4.3.3. Mughal Gardens Almost parallel with the Safavid era in Iran, the Mughals (1526-1858) established their dynasty in most parts of current India, some parts of Afghanistan and Central Asia, Pakistan, and Kashmir. The Mughals were the last pre-modern Indian empire that ran one of the largest centralized states in the pre-modern world. 173 Babur, the founder of the Mughal empire, was a descendant of Timur. As Lisa Golombek and Ebba Koch point out, Mughal kings came to India as Timurids, and Timuridity has always been essential to Mughal self-understanding.174 Looking proudly at the past as the source of comfort and inspiration, the Mughals’ identity was partly built upon their Timurid ancestors. Similarly, Safavids legitimized their reign by taking credit for being successors of pre-Islamic Iranian Empires, 171 Walcher, “Between Paradise and Political Capital: The Semiotics of Safavid Isfahan,” 330–48. 172 James Wescoat, “From the Gardens of the Qur`an to the Gardens of Lahore,” in Landscape Research 20, no. 1 (1995): 19-25. 173 Muhammad Ziauddin, “Role Of Persians At The Mughal Court: A Historical Study, During 1526 A.D. To 1707 A.D.,” University Of Balochistan, 2005, 2-13, https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Role-Of-Persians-At-The-Mughal-Court%3A-A-Historical-Ziauddin/df2bbda96a9ab1a393a003b4367c1b419c3276c8. 174 Golombek and Koch, “The Mughals, Uzbeks, and the Timurid Legacy.” 811–45. 82 particularly Sassanid kings. It is worth noting that while the trend of taking credit for the past can be seen in pre-modern regions, such as the Mughal and Safavid empires, Meir Litvak shows how modern Iranian nationalism is also partly built upon the past as a source of comfort.175 While Lisa Golombeck and Ebba Koch coherently show the role of Timurid architecture in shaping Mughal gardens, the paper's focus is not on the Persian origin of Timurid gardens. Their study also contains no hint of the connections between the Safavid architecture/landscape design with Timurid and Mughal Palace gardens.176 Mahvash Alemi briefly discusses how Timur constructed gardens after being inspired by some gardens in Shiraz (a city in current Iran). However, the main focus of the paper is not on these exchanges.177 Gharipour investigates the Persianate garden of the Timurid, Safavid and Mughal eras in a more chronological and transnational manner, but the main argument is about the gardens' multifunctionality and the pavilion architecture.178 Glenn D. Lowry examines the inspirations of Humayun's tomb (Mughal ruler) complex design, showing its pre-Mughal origin. He argues that Iranian, Central Asian and Indian references shape the tomb's design. Despite this cross-cultural perspective, the scope of the paper is limited to one architectural monument.179 Meanwhile, Muhammad Ziauddin displays the role of Persians in the Mughal court, art and visual culture. He also discusses the causes of Persian migration to 175 Litvak, Constructing Nationalism in Iran: From the Qajars to the Islamic Republic. 1-9. 176 Golombek and Koch, “The Mughals, Uzbeks, and the Timurid Legacy.” 811–45. 177 Alemi, “The Royal Gardens of the Safavid Period: Types and Models,” 72-96. 178 Gharipour, “Pavilion Structure in Persianate Gardens Reflections in the Textual and Visual Media.” xxvi-30. 179 Lowry, “Humayun’s Tomb: Form, Function, and Meaning in Early Mughal Architecture.” 133. 83 India to underline its impact on Mughal politics and art. However, the impact of Central Asian flows on Mughal art and architecture was not fully captured.180 The Mughals' awareness of their Timurid heritage can also be seen in Mughal art and architecture. They acted as curators of Timurid artworks and manuscripts in which Persianized style was evident. One can observe the flow of artistic ideas between Timurids, Safavids and Mughals, particularly in paintings, by tracking the trace of the famous Persian painter Behzad (c. 1450–1535) during Timurid, Safavid and Mughal reign. Behzad was the head of the royal ateliers in late Timurid Herat, early Safavid Tabriz, and a well-known model for Mughal painters. Besides art, architecture and gardening played a significant role in expressing the Mughal-Timurid connection.181 The main link between Timurid and Mughal architecture is evident through geometrical, symmetrical, and rational planning. Precisely, Mughals applied the Timurid cruciform plan (hasht‐bihisht) and four‐arch vault systems in their tombs and garden pavilions. Humayun Tomb at Delhi (1562–1571) is an outstanding example, representing the centralized and symmetrical nine parts layout (cruciform plan). 180 Ziauddin, “Role Of Persians At The Mughal Court: A Historical Study, During 1526 A.D. To 1707 A.D.,” 2-13. 181 Golombek and Koch, “The Mughals, Uzbeks, and the Timurid Legacy.” 811–45. 84 Figure 2.28. Tomb of Humayun, ground plan of the tomb structure on the platform. Source: John Murray (Firm), A Handbook for Travellers in India, Burma and Ceylon (London: Thakar, Spink & Co., and John Murray, 1920), 272, https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c049725688?urlappend=%3Bseq=9. Figure 2.29. The Tomb of Ulugh Beg and Abdu Razzaq at Ghazni, redrawn by the author after: [“Tomb of Ulugh Beg and Abdu Razzaq, Ghazni, plan and section”, Pg. 235, in Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Volume 27, Issue 4, December 1968 ©1968 by The Society of Architectural Historians. Published by the University of California Press.] The nine-fold plan and four‐arch vault system, which has a long history in Persianate architecture,182 iterated five times to shape the Humayun Tomb plan. Put differently, the tomb's plan, which itself follows the ninefold plan, is the result of merging four radially symmetrical hasht‐bihisht units at corners and one in the center. The building is in the center of a fourfold garden, and thus, the nine-fold layout of the tomb corresponds to the subdivisions of the fourfold garden. While one can see the cruciform plan in Timurid architecture, such as the mausoleum of Abd al‐Razzaq b. Ulugh Beg at Ghazni (1501–1502), the complex symmetrical plan of Humayun's Tomb broadened Timurid geometry's scope and advanced toward even more systematic planning principles (Figures 2.28 and 2.29).183 182 Please refer to the Timurid gardens Section for more information on the cruciform plan. 183 Golombek and Koch, “The Mughals, Uzbeks, and the Timurid Legacy.” 811–45. 85 In line with the systematic and symmetrical plan, the garden design also reflects the same iterative characteristics, shaped from a combination of several fourfold garden layouts. The landscape layout of Humayun’s Tomb offers a more symmetrical design compared to the later Safavid Chehel Sotoun fourfold design (Figures 2.30 and 2.31). Figure 2.30. Schematic drawing of Humāyūn's Tomb, “Humayun’s Tomb | Tomb, Delhi, India | Britannica.” Accessed November 17, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Humayuns-Tomb. Figure 2.31. The plan of Chehel Sotoun garden, Isfahan, by Khansari et al. 1998, from https://www.irantravelingcenter.com/persian-garden-unesco-iran/ While the plan of Humayun's tomb reflects inspirations from Timurid architecture, Glenn D. Lowry discusses how the facade materials (red sandstone and white marble) demonstrate the fourteenth-century Islamic architecture of the Delhi Sultanate in India (the last dynasty before the Mughals).184 The conscious revival of red sandstone and white marble became a standard means of finishing a building under the Mughal era to represent their control over India. Figures 2.32 and 2.33 compare Humayun's tomb and Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, showing how architecture was applied as the political language. 184 Lowry, “Humayun’s Tomb: Form, Function, and Meaning in Early Mughal Architecture.” 133. 86 Figure 2.32. Tomb of Ghayasuddin Tughluq Delhi, India, Wikimedia Foundation, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tomb_of_Ghayasuddin_Tughluq_-_Delhi.jpg. Figure 2.33. Huamyun’s tomb, Delhi, India, Wikimedia Foundation, Last modified April 22, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humayun%27s_Tomb In contrast to the size of Tughluq's Tomb, the enormous scale of Humayun's tomb reminds visitors of the tomb of Ilkhanid architecture, Uljaytu at Sultaniyya (Current Iran), and Timurid architecture of Gur-i Mir (Current Uzbekistan). As Glenn D. Lowry points out, Humayun visited Uljaytu's massive mausoleum during his exile in Iran, and it must have greatly impressed him to build a similar structure. Muhammad Ziauddin also points out that the impact of Humayun’s experience during his exile in Persia and the significance of Persian architecture in Mughal architectural style are well demonstrated by Humayun’s tomb in Delhi.185 The eclectic combination of architectural elements and characteristics from different regions not only signals Mughal kings’ aspirations and inspirations but also reflects the transnational thoughts of its architect. Mir Ghiyas Mirak, the Persian architect of Humayun’s tomb, played a significant role in representing an Indian interpretation of a 185 Ziauddin, “Role of Persians at the Mughal Court: A Historical Study, During 1526 A.D. To 1707 A.D.,” 2-13. 87 Persian conception through his design. Mir Ghiyas Mirak was a perfect candidate for Humayun’s tomb design, as he was familiar with the Timurid architectural style in Herat and Bukhara because of his Central Asian background. Furthermore, he had knowledge about the Sultanate buildings of India.186 This fact casts light on the role of individuals in the flow of cross-cultural ideas and inspirations. Muhammad Ziauddin asserts that Mughal India was a heaven for skilled migrants from Persia and Central Asia, as it provided them with better socio-political and economic situations.187 The following chart represents data on Persian artists and architects who migrated to India or were born there during different Mughal rulers (1530-1707 A.D.). Figure 2.34. The Number of Persian artists and architects who migrated to India or were born there during different Mughal rulers, by author. (The information used for this bar chart was gathered from (Muhammad Ziauddin, “Role of Persians at The Mughal Court: A Historical Study, During 1526 A.D. To 1707 A.D., University of Balochistan, 2005. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Role-Of-Persians-At-The-Mughal-Court%3A-A-Historical-Ziauddin/df2bbda96a9ab1a393a003b4367c1b419c3276c8. 186 Lowry, “Humayun’s Tomb: Form, Function, and Meaning in Early Mughal Architecture.” 133. 187 Ziauddin, “Role of Persians at the Mughal Court: A Historical Study, During 1526 A.D. To 1707 A.D.,” 2-13. 88 While the number of calligraphists was at its peak in Jahangir’s reign, the Shah Jahan era witnessed the most immigrant architects. Indeed, the Taj Mahal is a masterpiece built during Shah Jahan’s reign (1631–1643). Although Lisa Golombek and Ebba Koch discuss the Taj Mahal’s link to Timurid architecture,188 they do not particularly scope the role of Persian artists and architects in building this monument. According to Muhammad Ziauddin, many names were mentioned as Taj Mahal’s designers and artisans, of whom most are Persians or of Persian descent.189 As a result, one can notice the blend of architectural styles in the Taj Mahal monument. As mentioned earlier, the flow of Persians’ thoughts in India is also briefly discussed by Mahvash Alemi190. In examining Persianate garden types (particularly stepped gardens), Alemi mentions that Timur constructed four gardens near Samarqand that were designed after gardens in Shiraz and named after them. For instance, the Bagh-i Takht built by Timur was inspired by the Persian Bagh-i Takht in Shiraz (11th century) which was a stepped garden with its palace on the summit of the hill. These types of stepped gardens were then built by Mughal kings and modeled after those built in Iran and Central Asia. Bagh-e Babur in Kabul and Shalimar Gardens in Srinagar are some examples of these stepped gardens. Besides the flow from Central Asia and Iran to India, the Mughal architectural solutions influenced Central Asia in turn. As Lisa Golombek and Ebba Koch argue, the Shaybanid Khanqah of Qasim Shaykh in Central Asia was most likely constructed a few years after the 188 Golombek and Koch, “The Mughals, Uzbeks, and the Timurid Legacy.” 811–45. 189 Ziauddin, “Role of Persians at the Mughal Court: A Historical Study, During 1526 A.D. To 1707 A.D.,” 2-13. 190 Alemi, “The Royal Gardens of the Safavid Period: Types and Models,” 72-96. 89 tomb of Humayun with the commonly shared prototypes of Mughals.191 While there is not much scholarly work about the impact of Indian/Mughal architecture on Persian monuments, some work has explored India's artistic and cultural influence on Iran during the Qajar era. During the Qajar period (1796-1925), diverse trends in Indo-Persian cultural and intellectual interactions persisted. These exchanges, which were also increasingly impacted by European-influenced attributes, mainly flowed from India to Persia. The Mughal influence on the design of Qajar coinage is an example of this realm.192 2.5. Chapter Summary Finding possibilities and gaps in the framework of cultural heritage studies, especially the research argument on the transnational nature of Persianate gardens, requires a succinct review of the literature on the research themes. A review of current conversations on various areas of scholarship frames the study of UNESCO’s approach to Iranian built heritage and shows the degree to which transnationality is framed in the context of Persianate gardens’ perception and interpretation. To elaborate, Critical Heritage Studies and the Politics of Heritage, investigates the socio-political complexities that involve heritage through a critical lens. It unpacks how historical legacy and narrative can be utilized as a political means to foreground particular identities that fit into current social and cultural purposes. The section's literature highlights the role of UNESCO and state parties in developing selective heritage management and preservation policy. However, studies have not examined UNESCO's and state parties' 191 Golombek and Koch, “The Mughals, Uzbeks, and the Timurid Legacy.” 811–45. 192 Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation, “INDIA Viii. RELATIONS: QAJAR PERIOD, THE 19TH CENTURY,” in The Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation, Accessed November 18, 2022, https://iranicaonline.org. 90 policies on Persianate gardens. The second section, Transnational Heritage, focuses on the notion of shared heritage and interconnected history in the light of transnational conceptions of heritage. While this section questions the Eurocentric approach to cultural heritage, it also argues there needs to be more focus on Persianate culture and heritage using a transnational lens. The third section, Heritage Interpretation and Heritage Storytelling, casts light on the significance of inclusive narrative in heritage studies, analyzing different perspectives on heritage interpretation. However, there is a need to interrogate how the transnational approach to heritage interpretation contributes to developing inclusive and multiple interpretative lenses. Within the critical study of heritage interpretation sources, it is noted that UNESCO's policy demonstrates a similar limitation to conventional approaches, emphasizing a Eurocentric and hierarchical measurement of heritage by setting the criteria of "Outstanding Universal Value." Additionally, the importance of digital media is captured. However, the uneven state of digital data on heritage calls for the development of a diverse digital sphere. The research is motivated by the absence of a digital interpretation of Persianate gardens to create a multimodal interpretation of heritage on a digital platform. The fourth section investigates Persianate gardens in relation to their origins and designs developed across Iran, Central Asia, and South Asia. While the significant works of literature center around documentation and form, the section attempts to reveal the interconnected history of the palace gardens. It draws attention to the insufficient focus on the transnational exchange in Persianate palace gardens. Inspired by the multifaceted nature of Persianate gardens, I also put forward an argument that similar social and cultural contexts of gardens can result in consistency of design and act as a reference point to find transnational connections. 91 In summary, a literature review of research themes, namely Critical Heritage Studies, Transnational Heritage, Heritage Interpretation, and Persianate Palace Gardens, highlights the absence of a transnational perspective on the investigation of Persianate gardens. The prevailing nation-based outlook on heritage promoted by international organizations like UNESCO results in a fragmented perception and interpretation of heritage like Persianate gardens. Besides the identified gaps within specific themes, the current literature falls short of connecting various interlinked areas in the study of cultural heritage, such as Critical Heritage Studies and Heritage Interpretation. These gaps further prove a need for finding a method that could provide additional insights into the transnational nature of Persianate gardens that are missing from current literature. 92 3. Chapter 3: Methodology and Process UNESCO’s representation of tangible heritage was shown to be nation-based, which prompted a fragmented narrative and interpretation. In addition, it was observed that UNESCO’s documents and reports did not capture the significance of the visual-centered knowledge that could only be derived from visual data on Persianate gardens. In this regard, using the visual-centric methodology is critical in the context of cultural heritage, particularly this research on Persianate gardens that possess a significant visual and spatial dataset. As the intellectual path of research, the methodology reveals the significant role of visual-centered analysis and multimodal argumentation in perceiving the transnational nature of Persianate gardens and communicating this insight. Visual-centered methods rely on analyzing visual data, which assesses the similarity and consistency of architectural designs and spatial layouts in the context of this study. Multimodal argumentation indicates an argument delivered through using a combination of communicative modes, such as textual, pictorial, spatial, aural, etc. The chapter is divided into four parts to further comprehend the concepts of visual-centric analysis and multimodal argumentation. The first two sections provide a literature review and examples corresponding to the research methodology, i.e., visual-centric analysis and multimodal argumentation. The literature review offers a context for choosing visual-centric methods and multimodal communication. The last two sections cast light on the methods applied as visual-centric analysis, including cognitive mapping and content 93 analyses. Moreover, they briefly discuss the rationality behind choosing a web-based platform as the multimodal argumentation tool for research.193 Overall, the employed methods show how cognitive mapping as a visual-centric method further unfolds the nation-based outlook of UNESCO concerning Persianate gardens, while content analysis, with its embedded comparative evaluation, reveals the interconnections of palace gardens. Put differently, cognitive maps capture the current relationship between the concepts of nation-states and heritage in UNESCO's policy. Then, the initial textual map was converted into a visual comparison diagram that can be analyzed based on a new set of values, i.e., similar architectural forms and hidden concepts behind them, which are thoroughly discussed in Chapter 4. This new value set helps restructure the existing data, revealing the transnational connection of heritage. Finally, the last section discusses the web pages' potential in using multimodal arguments, demonstrating the transnational and visual findings of the research. The research methods and approaches show how the visual thinking and modes of analysis found in fields like art history, architectural history, heritage studies, and heritage interpretation can be extended. This study distinguishes itself by relying on visual, spatial, and architectural lenses. Visual thinking in this dissertation is not merely about the presence of visual and spatial elements, but rather concerned with the depth and extent to which these elements are active modes in analyzing and exploring transnational connections and creating argumentation. Hence, the arguments of this research cannot be fully captured and transmitted without visual components. This is while current works in academic 193 Please refer to Chapter 6 for a comprehensive discussion on the research journey between different tools and the discussion on website design. 94 environments depend on text and most argumentations in fields like art history can stand without visual elements. Moreover, visual analysis and multimodal argumentation are shaped based on the objective of research, which is revealing the connections to contextualize gardens in a network of interactions. Therefore, this research stands out by emphasizing the creation of interconnected visual diagrams and cognitive maps that highlight relationships and connections, rather than focusing solely on pictorial elements. 3.1. Background - Visual-centric Analysis Visual data arguably requires visual methods of analysis to reveal new layers of meaning that may not be possible to reach through conventional verbal and written methods.194 Visual elements are not solely illustrative or explanatory elements supporting a verbal argument but cognitive and analytical tools to establish and progress research.195 In visual research methods, visual elements are part of the research process and not necessarily research results. Visual research methods rely on visual components like photographs, videos, maps, spatial representations and layouts, and drawings to explore and answer research questions.196 In other words, researchers employ visual methodologies to comprehend and 194 Xanthe Glaw, Kerry Inder, Ashley Kable, and Michael Hazelton, “Visual Methodologies in Qualitative Research: Autophotography and Photo Elicitation Applied to Mental Health Research,” International Journal of Qualitative Methods 16, no. 1 (December 1, 2017): 1–8, https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917748215. 195 Hussein Keshani, “A Collage of Projections: Exploring an Awadhi Miniature Painting’s Pictorial Space through 3D Modelling,” In Inside/Outside Islamic Art and Architecture: A Cartography of Boundaries in and of the Field, edited by Saygin Salgirli (Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2021), 157–84, https://doi.org/10.5040/9781501341885. 196 Jenaya Webb and Shailoo Bedi, “A Brief Introduction to Visual Research Methods in Library and Information Studies,” In Visual Research Methods: An Introduction for Library and Information Studies, edited by Shailoo Bedi and Jenaya Webb (Facet, 2020), 1–27, https://doi.org/10.29085/9781783304585. 95 interpret the visual data of research.197 Jenaya Webb and Shailoo Bedi have categorized a range of visual research methods: cognitive mapping, content analysis, draw-and-write technique, photo elicitation, photo-narrative, and photovoice.198 Mary E. Thomas discusses auto-photography as another visual research method in which research subjects are asked to take photographs concerning the research subject. For instance, a researcher may ask children to take photographs of parks to analyze the children’s experiences of urban parks and their idealized play space. These photos along with a follow-up interview, which discusses the meaning of photos for children, help further reveal what sorts of environments, objects, and perspectives are important to kids. This self-representative method, containing photo analysis, allows researchers to see the world through the research participants' eyes and find the dominant patterns of interest.199 This section explains and reviews some of these methods through corresponding literature to illuminate the role of visual research methodologies in exploring new knowledge. Cognitive mapping, which is similar to mind mapping or conceptual mapping, is another common visual research method. A cognitive map is a graphical representation that reflects an in-depth understanding of an issue or situation. It contains nodes and links (arcs or 197 Glaw, Inder, Kable, and Hazelton, “Visual Methodologies in Qualitative Research: Autophotography and Photo Elicitation Applied to Mental Health Research,” 1–8. 198 Webb and Bedi, “A Brief Introduction to Visual Research Methods in Library and Information Studies,” 1–27. 199 Mary E. Thomas, “Auto-Photography,” In International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, edited by Rob Kitchin and Nigel Thrift (Oxford: Elsevier, 2009), 244–51, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-008044910-4.00406-5. 96 lines)200 to represent concepts and relationships between them.201 Its structuring capabilities help scholars perceive a complex situation, explore alternatives, and get insights into required actions.202 According to Michael Young, cognitive mapping is a helpful method for understanding and explaining the political behavior of participants in international affairs.203 Hence, this qualitative research method fits well with the study objectives, i.e., articulating the hidden UNESCO policy behind built heritage. Andy Priestner employs cognitive mapping to improve users' experience of library environments. In this study, library users were asked to draw a cognitive map or a mental model in response to research questions such as ‘What is the library?’ and ‘How does the library fit into your routine?’ Priestner argues that this methodology offers an in-depth understanding of what users said they wanted and what they required. Indeed, this approach reveals the unconscious perspective of users on the essential elements of libraries as drawing uses different parts of the brain that prompt spontaneous and creative thinking. As a result, 200 The similar visualization (nodes and links) of the cognitive mapping and network analysis may raise questions about their distinctions. Social network analysis is a quantitative method built upon mathematical and statistical techniques to discover the connection and pattern in a network of factors. It falls within the realm of data visualization, which is also a visual-centric method, but it is most useful in quantitative studies. On the other hand, cognitive mapping is a conceptual and qualitative method that reveals the belief system of an organization such as UNESCO and its policy-making behavioral pattern. In other words, nodes are conceptual and semantic in the cognitive mapping methodology. Since this research focuses on qualitative features such as similar spatial concepts, the cognitive mapping approach is more appropriate. (Inspired by Michael D. Young, “Cognitive Mapping Meets Semantic Networks,” The Journal of Conflict Resolution 40, no. 3 (September 1996): 395. and The University of Manchester. “Social Network Analysis.” Accessed June 16, 2023. https://www.methods.manchester.ac.uk/themes/survey-and-statistical-methods/social-network-analysis/.) 201 Webb and Bedi, “A Brief Introduction to Visual Research Methods in Library and Information Studies.” 1–27. 202 Richard Thorpe and Robin Holt, eds. “Cognitive Mapping,” in the SAGE Dictionary of Qualitative Management Research (London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2008), 1–4, https://doi.org/10.4135/9780857020109. 203 Young, “Cognitive Mapping Meets Semantic Networks.” 395. 97 cognitive mapping enhances connections between different ideas, uncovers the mindset of users, and reveals an honesty that is not always possible to attain through other methods.204 UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage205 is another excellent example that casts light on how cognitive mapping can be applied as a research method and as the final representation. If one compares UNESCO's approach to tangible (Figure 3.1) and intangible heritage (Figure 3.2), they can observe different mindsets resulting in distinct research methodologies and representations. Figure 3.1 shows the landing page of World Heritage List. The website's search system provides three categories of search: By properties, by state parties, and by regions. However, the default search system and the landing page are set on States Parties, showing the primary categorization of Heritage built upon nationalities. To better comprehend this subject matter, the tangible heritage list of UNESCO regarding Persianate gardens is converted into a cognitive map in the 3.3. Visual-centric Analysis Employed, revealing the organization's policy-making in connecting the concept of nationality with built heritage (Figure 3.8). While UNESCO's intangible heritage (Figure 3.2) is classified based on similar abstract conceptions, its tangible heritage is categorized based on geopolitical concepts of borders (Figures 3.1 and 3.8). In other words, UNESCO's intangible heritage is researched and structured around abstract ideas. However, its tangible heritage (Persianate Garden) is based on a nation-based outlook, and research is restricted by political borders. 204 Andy Priestner, “A Windows into Library Experience: The Value of Visual UX Research Methods,” In Visual Research Methods: An Introduction for Library and Information Studies, edited by Shailoo Bedi and Jenaya Webb (Facet, 2020), 127–151, https://doi.org/10.29085/9781783304585. 205 UNESCO World Heritage Center, “Dive into Intangible Cultural Heritage!” Please also refer to Chapter 2, Transnational Heritage, page 10, to find out more about UNESCO’s intangible heritage. 98 Figure 3.1. UNESCO World Heritage List, UNESCO’s Recorded Heritage List on Map, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Accessed Jan 10, 2023. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/. Figure 3.2. Dive into Intangible Cultural Heritage!, UNESCO, Intangible Cultural Heritage, accessed March 9, 2021, https://ich.unesco.org/en/dive. (©UNESCO, CC BY-SA 3.0) Content analysis is another visual research method that can be applied in quantitative and qualitative studies with visual or textual datasets. According to Webb and Bedi, content 99 analysis aims to find patterns or interpret meanings in a collection of images by developing a coding structure.206 Philip Bell describes content analysis as a research method that tends to create quantitative generalizations about the relative frequencies of visual and/or verbal representation using classification and observation. Researchers often use different variables and values to classify and compare the data sets. The content analysis starts with a research question or hypothesis and usually continues with comparative evaluations of a group of data sets to testify the argument. Bell illuminates his discussion on content analysis methodology by describing a study on Cleo magazine cover pages over two different periods (1972–74 and (1996–7). The study uses several variables such as gender, role, setting, and size of image or character to evaluate how frequently different kinds of photos and patterns are represented. Since Cleo magazine is aimed at female readers, this method reveals the policy of one of the mass media regarding gender and culture.207 3D visualization with the use of digital software is another visual method that scholars apply to analyze the architectural space of historical paintings. In his essay “A Collage of Projections,” Hussein Keshani challenges the common interpretation of Awadhi miniature painting’s pictorial space using 3D modeling as a heuristic tool. “A Collage of Projections” perfectly reveals how visual research methods like 3D visualizations help researchers reveal a more accurate narrative of transnational interactions in a colonial context. Awadhi miniature painting was created in mid-eighteenth-century South Asia, showing a palace complex with harem gardens. At first glance, the painting seems to be a 206 Webb and Bedi, “A Brief Introduction to Visual Research Methods in Library and Information Studies.” 1–27. 207 Philip Bell, “Content Analysis of Visual Images,” In The Handbook of Visual Analysis, edited by Theo Van Leeuwen and Carey Jewitt (London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2004), 10–34, https://doi.org/10.4135/9780857020062.n2. 100 combination of Persianate-Mughal miniatures and a misperformance of the European one-point perspective. However, the adoption of 3D modeling unfolds the painting’s innovative response to perspectival imagery due to the constraints of page proportions. The painter used a sophisticated collage of projections that were integrated as a unified pictorial space and formed as a curved nonidentical trapezoidal prism.208 Stephen H. Whiteman interrogates the role of digital humanities in the comprehension of pictorial space while challenging the Euro-centric metrics and standards in representing spatial information. Referring to the article “Bringing Pictorial Space to Life: Computer Techniques for the Analysis of Painting,”209 Whiteman comprehensively discusses the potentials and limitations of visual and digital tools in interpreting world art histories. While Whiteman employs digital visualization methods to reveal the rules of representation in the View of Rehe (A monumental hanging scroll produced in the Qing (1644–1912) court), he also draws scholars' attention to embedded biases in digital representational tools, which were built upon European linear perspective as the pictorial equivalent of universal sight. Put differently, digital visualization approaches help decentralize the paradigm of the European linear perspective as the global sight, showing the histories of encounters and connections between different methods of representation. However, one can still notice that 208 Keshani, “A Collage of Projections: Exploring an Awadhi Miniature Painting’s Pictorial Space through 3D Modeling,” 157–84. 209 Antonio Criminisi, Martin Kemp, and Andrew Zisserman, “Bringing Pictorial Space to Life: Computer Techniques for the Analysis of Paintings.” Computers and the History of Art Yearbook 2004 1 (2005): 77–99. 101 representational software, as a part of the digital world, has been largely designed based on the pervasive equation of perspective and natural human sight.210 3.2. Background - Multimodal Argumentation This section explores different views on multimodal argumentation. It first maps out various definitions of multimodality, casting light on social and philosophical aspects. The section also locates multimodal argumentation in the digital world while discussing its long history apart from digitization. Moreover, it discusses the capacity of modes in transnational research, arguing why multimodal argumentation is compatible with the visual-centered analysis of the study and its transnational themes. The choice of multimodality also addresses the heavy text-based interpretation of UNESCO’s document, adding an inclusive layer of interpretation to existing ones. Since the study methodology mainly benefits from visual mode, the section explicitly investigates visual perception and thinking. Finally, it reviews inspiring examples of multimodal argumentation in the academic world. 3.2.1. Multimodal Argumentation and Theoretical Framework Multimodality, as a method of argumentation, indicates using a combination of resources, namely still and animated images, writing, music, gesture, and speech, individually known as a mode.211 Gunther Kress describes modes as social semiotic codes for representation and meaning-making. According to Kress, modes are built upon each 210 Stephen H. Whiteman, “Beyond the Perspectival Paradigm: Early Modern Pictorial Space and Digital Challenges to the Field.” The Art Bulletin 103, no. 2 (April 3, 2021): 8–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/00043079.2021.1847575. 211 Yamada-Rice, “Traditional Theses and Multimodal Communication.” 157–76. 102 community's social-representational needs.212 Paul Van den Hoven adopts a more philosophical approach to define multimodal argumentation, discussing that mimetic and diegetic elements are inextricably mixed in multimodal narratives.213 In other words, mimesis, which is the way to show, integrates with diegesis, which is the way to tell.214 This multifaceted nature of multimodality has been rooted in human history. Modes such as gestures and images have been a part of human cultures over millennia.215 While multimodal rhetoric existed long before the digital age, digitizing multimodal argumentation through a digital platform accelerates the modalities' synergy on meaning-making (Figure 3.3). The increasing growth of digital technologies and practices enhances the potential for the emergence of new methodologies in creating arguments and representing research data. Indeed, the turn from traditional to multimodal and digital research helps scholars and educators integrate multiple modes in the main body of research and not solely in the appendices.216 Dylan Yamada-Rice challenges conventional research, discussing how digital theses cover the gap between current multimodal practices outside academia and scholarly works. According to her, using a monomodal lens to collect research data and 212 Gunther Kress, “Chapter 1: Where Meaning Is the Issue,” in Multimodality: A Social Semiotic Approach to Contemporary Communication (London; New York: Routledge, 2010), 1–15. 213 Paul Van den Hoven, “Cognitive Semiotics in Argumentation: A Theoretical Exploration,” Argumentation 29, no. 2 (May 2015): 157–76. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10503-014-9330-6. 214 Tim Ralphs, “Mimesis and Diegesis,” Tim Ralphs Storyteller, Accessed January 4, 2023. https://timralphs.com/mimesis-and-diegesis. 215 Kress, “Chapter 1: Where Meaning Is the Issue.” 1–15. 216 Richard Andrews, Erik Borg, Stephen Boyd Davis, Myrrh Domingo, and Jude England, “Introduction,” in The SAGE Handbook of Digital Dissertations and Theses (London: SAGE Publications, 2012), 1-8, https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446201039. 103 develop arguments will not only limit the knowledge borders but also is inconsistent with how meaning-making and communication are happening outside the academic world.217 Figure 3.3. Sepideh Saffari, Digitization and Multimodality, 2021. Dylan Yamada-Rice’s view on the conventional solely written format of thesis is inspired by Gunther Kress’s social semiotic approaches to multimodal representation. According to Kress, if one acknowledges that each mode implies a distinct meaning from other modes, language is no longer the dominant and central form of expression. Different modes provide unique opportunities and limitations for authors. The semiotic “reach” of modes – the affordance of modes– casts light on the partial capacity of each mode that differs from culture to culture. The unique capacity of each mode affects the process of their selection in specific instances of communication.218 Although the hierarchical view on mode capabilities flattens knowledge dimensions, multimodal research methodology acknowledges each mode's competency in producing, recording, and transmitting knowledge. 217 Yamada-Rice, “Traditional Theses and Multimodal Communication.” 157–76. 218 Gunther Kress, “Chapter 5: Mode,” in Multimodality: A Social Semiotic Approach to Contemporary Communication (London; New York: Routledge, 2010), 79–103. 104 Multimodal argumentation also accelerates linking creative and critical discourses in practice-based research, where the design of an experience or a product plays a vital role in progressing the study. Richard Andrews et al. highlight the connection between the rise of interest in practice-led research and multimodal digital dissertations, challenging a philosophical debate about the primacy of the word in academic environments. Multimodal discourse creates an inclusive experience involving several cognitive systems and preferences. The inherent feature of multimodal discourse, i.e., inclusivity, develops a more balanced version of research where authors put equal values on different mediums.219 The multimodal approach to scholarly communication also aligns with the different modalities of culture. This is evident in Kress’s description of modes as cultural and social semiotics that have been shaped over history to make meaning. Kress’s definition of modes has an inextricable link with its social and cultural dimensions. Modalities share commonalities at a very general level between different cultures and societies. However, cultural and social differences result in the development of different semiotic codes and the use of different representation resources. This means the “reach” of modes, which is what can be covered with each mode, also depends on cultural contexts and differs from one culture to another.220 Hence, using multimodal communication methodology further covers these cultural differences in a cross-cultural context. While this study employs a multimodal language in heritage interpretation, its primary focus will be on using the visual (pictorial) mode to explore and communicate the 219 Inspired by Sasha Costanza-Chock, “Introduction,” in Design Justice: Community-Led Practices to Build the Worlds We Need (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2020), 1-6, https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/43542/external_content.pdf. 220 Kress, “Chapter 1: Where Meaning Is the Issue.” 1–15. 105 transnational heritage discourse. As a result, examining the visual thinking in conducting academic practice would be helpful. 3.2.2. Visual Perception and Visual Thinking We constantly receive numerous visual signals that serve different purposes.221 The main question is whether this visual perception is a part of a cognitive process or just a passive reception limited to our visual sense. If we acknowledge that mental perception, which is built upon our visual sense, differs from the image of the world received by our eyes, we can claim that perception is a conscious choice of observation. As Rudolf Arnheim asserts, there is an intelligence embedded in visual perception that can be recognized as a cognitive process. Visual thinking is a part of visual perception based on active exploration. Hence, the cognitive process of thinking encompasses visual logic, and this logic can be expressed as an argument.222 While Patrick Edmonds contests the possibility of visual logic without verbal elements,223 Arnheim poses the question of whether we can think without images.224 Indeed, if we can think visually, there is no obstacle to hinder visual arguments and approaches to research. According to J. Anthony Blair, visual arguments do not dramatically differ from verbal arguments in essence. They follow the propositional structure of the argument, 221 Richard Nordquist, “Visual Rhetoric: The Persuasive Use of Images,” ThoughtCo, accessed January 6, 2021, https://www.thoughtco.com/visual-rhetoric-1692596. 222 Rudolf Arnheim, “The intelligence of Perception,” in Visual Thinking (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1969), 13-37. 223 Patrick Edmonds, “A Response to ‘The Rhetoric of Visual Arguments’,” Vociferous Euphoria (blog), September 23, 2015, https://vociferouseuphoria.wordpress.com/2015/09/23/a-response-to-the-rhetoric-of-visual-arguments/. 224 Arnheim, “The intelligence of Perception.” 13-37. 106 including explicable claims and supporting reasons. While the incredibly evocative power of visual arguments is not deniable, they might be vague and implicit.225 Moreover, visual arguments tend to be one-sided due to their specific structure. In other words, it might be challenging to encompass both dialectical viewpoints in visual arguments. Despite these features, it is worth noting that visual elements add another dimension to the argument. Verbal rhetoric cannot achieve the immediacy and tangibility of visual arguments. While Blair acknowledges the possibility of visual arguments, his discussion follows a cautious manner on this subject matter. Blair refers to the shortage of visual rhetoric in meeting the dialectical feature of argumentation.226 However, one can interrogate this aspect of arguments. The dialectical dimension implies a binary/dual view in which the truth of a statement relies on denying the other. Hence, the dialectical aspect of arguments focuses on providing false and true statements. This view, which is rooted in binary logic and the dualism of modern philosophy, implies a paradigm of monomodal expression. Alin Olteanu challenges the dualism of the Cartesian perspective on knowledge production. He asserts that the acceptance of dualism philosophy about knowledge results in viewing knowledge as a purely mental element. In the dualist view, scholars should avoid using the senses to create knowledge as it materializes knowledge. Dualism has prompted modern Western scholars to highly value monomodal 225 J. Anthony Blair, “The Possibility and Actuality of Visual Arguments,” in Groundwork in the Theory of Argumentation: Selected Papers of J. Anthony Blair, ed. J. Anthony Blair and Christopher W. Tindale, Argumentation Library (Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2012), 205–23, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2363-4_16. 226 J. Anthony Blair, “The Rhetoric of Visual Arguments,” in Groundwork in the Theory of Argumentation: Selected Papers of J. Anthony Blair, ed. J. Anthony Blair and Christopher W. Tindale, Argumentation Library (Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2012), 261–79, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2363-4_19. 107 expression of knowledge, particularly plain texts.227 However, the existence of multiple modes, such as verbal and visual, in knowledge production further illuminates the multifaceted version of argumentation in which multiple propositions and viewpoints can exist simultaneously, speaking to each other. This is also in line with the concept of shared and fuzzy intelligence inherited in the transnational conception of heritage. Hence, modes of expression are appropriate with the content and vice versa. 3.2.3. Inspiring Examples of Multimodal Practices and Scholarship There are several scholarly practices built upon the visual-centric methodology and multimodal approach. As an excellent example of a visual argument concerning cultural heritage, Kathleen Glenister Roberts examines the capability of folk art to create visual arguments in intercultural contexts. She depicts how the intercultural contact between the Anglo missionaries and Blackfeet in Montana resulted in the creation of beadwork embroidery as an argument against colonization. While cultural colonization impacts the process of creating Blackfeet beadwork, the continuous communal identity can still be seen in this folk art even to the present day. Indeed, Blackfeet folk artists argued in different ways. Although Blackfeet women were forced to abandon their traditional triangular design in favor of European floral motifs, they refused to design entirely based on the floral patterns. Instead, they employed triangular flowers, which are rarely seen in European folk. Hence, Blackfeet artists developed their own style to protest against the suppression of their 227 Alin Olteanu, “Chapter 6: An Embodied Approach to Intercultural Communication,” in Multiculturalism as Multimodal Communication: A Semiotic Perspective (Cham: Springer, 2019), 115–20. 108 traditional geometric motifs.228 This study presents how such artistic practices solidify the concept of visual argument in a cultural context. Blackfeet's beadwork was built upon fundamental argument aspects, including propositional claims and supportive reasons. Re-Imagining Heritage Interpretation is another inspiring source, particularly for displaying the use of multimodal languages in digital heritage interpretation. The fourth chapter, entitled Visual Cultures: Imagining and Knowing through Looking, focuses on the lack of visual thinking in heritage interpretation, pointing out how the names of places evoke an intellectual visualization. For instance, place names such as Venice or Moscow create a visual image in our minds, proving that places are iconic and have a pictorial power. The iconic imagery of heritage plays a significant role in heritage discourse and interpretation, as it involves visitors’ cognitive and sensory reactions. This cognition needs to be untangled and discussed through visual methods. This chapter also distinguishes a significant difference between vision and visuality. It recognizes visuality as a purposeful look associated with a question in mind. In other words, perception and comprehension are not necessarily language-based. Thus, it is crucial to acknowledge the role of visual interpretation in heritage subjects.229 The book Songlines, Tracking the Seven Sisters, which was published to accompany the exhibition at the Australian National Museum, is another example of multimodal practices in the interpretation of heritage. While the book generally devotes itself to the concept of “Songlines” and various indigenous artworks, Margo Neale specifically presents how the 228 Kathleen Glenister Roberts, “Visual Argument in Intercultural Contexts: Perspectives on Folk/Traditional Art,” Argumentation and Advocacy 43, no. 3-4: Special Issue on Visual Argumentation (2007): 152–63, https://doi.org/10.1080/00028533.2007.11821671 229 Russell Staiff, “4. Visual cultures: imagining and knowing through looking,” in Re-Imagining Heritage Interpretation : Enchanting the Past-Future, 1st Edition, (London: Routledge, 2016), 71-84, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315604558. 109 employment of multimedia and Aboriginal mythologies create an immersive exhibition in the chapter entitled: “Traveling Kungkarangkalpa (seven sisters).” According to Neale, two remarkable features of the exhibition are the use of a dome that provides an ideal spatial canvas to project the story; and the employment of the most recent technology to portray one of the most traditional and Aboriginal stories (Figure 3.4).230 Since the exhibition immerses visitors in art and Indigenous voices through innovative digital media, it is a great source to aid in considering how traditional narratives about heritage can be conveyed through digital and multimodal media. Figure 3.4. Margo Neale, Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters Exhibition, 2017, in Margo Neale, Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters (Canberra, Australia: National Museum of Australia Press, 2017), 83. 230 Margo Neale, “Travelling Kungkarangkalpa,” in Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters (Canberra, Australia: National Museum of Australia Press, 2017), 83. 110 Waterways, Past, Present, and Future, is another great example of using multimodal discourse in an academic project. This project integrates praxis and research in a museum exhibition format, using spatial design and multimodal argumentation as the methods of inquiry. In this sense, multimodality merges spatial, pictorial, verbal, and aural elements to draw an interaction of feeling and thoughts into Okanagan Valley’s waterway narrative. The multimodal exhibit not only features the nuanced interpretation of the fragile relationship between people and water in the Valley but also facilitates oral and visual knowledge transfer in a cross-cultural context (Figure 3.5).231 Figure 3.5. Waterways Exhibition, Okanagan Heritage Museum, September 2021 to March 2022, Photos by Sepideh Saffari. Aleksandra Dulic (Artistic Direction), Sepideh Saffari (Exhibition Design); and other team members listed in the Acknowledgment of (Sepideh Saffari and Aleksandra Dulic. 2024. "Waterways Exhibition Design: Crafting Cross-Cultural Narratives through Spatial Design." The International Journal of the Inclusive Museum 17 (2): 13-32. doi:10.18848/1835-2014/CGP/v17i02/13-32.)232 231 Sepideh Saffari and Aleksandra Dulic. 2024. "Waterways Exhibition Design: Crafting Cross-Cultural Narratives through Spatial Design." The International Journal of the Inclusive Museum 17 (2): 13-32. doi:10.18848/1835-2014/CGP/v17i02/13-32. 232 Please also visit the Waterways website for a complete list of credits and supplementary materials: https://waterways.ok.ubc.ca/Project/Contributions.html (accessed January 11, 2024). 111 Nick Sousanis’s comic dissertation, Unflattening, is another example of academic visual rhetoric. Unflattening aims to challenge the conventional forms of scholarly discourse to offer a visual argument as a serious discussion. Sousanis argues that visual thinking in teaching and learning should be considered as essential as the conventional methods of thinking. He presents how scholars can offer a fusion of words and images to create a more enriched context while providing new perspectives. In this sense, Sousanis describes words and images as equal partners to make meaning and construct knowledge. There is no primacy of words over images, and visual thinking acts as powerful as other types of thoughts. Indeed, visual elements are vital components in making inclusive and thorough arguments. Hence, implementing a visual-centric approach can disclose the parts of research that are impossible to unveil through conventional methodologies.233 Although Sousanis did not use digital media to express his ideas, digitizing visual arguments provides a more flexible and dynamic environment to convey the research message. In other words, it provides an excellent context to express the flow of thoughts and meander across different ideas (Figure 3.6). 233 Sousanis, Unflattening. 112 Figure 3.6. Nick Sousanis, Flatness, 2015, in Nick Sousanis, Unflattening (Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England: Harvard University Press, 2015), 9-10. In a visual article entitled The Shape of Our Thoughts, Sousanis discusses how our thoughts are non-linear, and each of them generates multiple sidetracks.234 In other words, they split into various verbal and visual digressions.235 In this respect, comics, as a fusion of visual and verbal argumentations, help narrate our thoughts like a crossword puzzle to display their overlaps and intersections. According to Sousanis, our thoughts are dynamic, fragmented, simultaneous, and multi-dimensional. Applying only one medium, either verbal or visual, will flatten some ideas. He argues that comics, with their juxtaposed language, bridge the gap between pictorial and verbal parts of thoughts.236 Last but not least, Anna Williams pioneers the first-ever dissertation in podcast form, challenging the conventional educational environment. In My Gothic Dissertation, she 234 Nick Sousanis, “The Shape of Our Thoughts: A Meditation on & in Comics,” Visual Arts Research 38, no. 1 (2012): 1–10, https://doi.org/10.5406/visuartsrese.38.1.0001. 235 Roger Todd Whitson and Anastasia Salter, “Introduction: Comics and the Digital Humanities,” Digital Humanities Quarterly 9, no. 4 (2015), http://www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/9/4/000210/000210.html. 236 Sousanis, “The Shape of Our Thoughts: A Meditation on & in Comics.” 1–10. 113 conducts an intertextual analysis of Gothic literature and contemporary graduate education in humanities. Building on her research into the science of learning, psychology, sociology, and pedagogical theory, she suggests providing a more student-centered pedagogy in humanities Ph.D. training. She dramatizes Grad School Gothic novels by mixing voice, music, and sound accompanied by textual transcripts.237 Since her dissertation is partly drawn from Gothic fiction that is categorized as Dark Romanticism, using multiple modes enhances emotional expression and gruesome narratives as the main characteristics of Gothic literature. The format is essential to the performance and communication of her scholarly analysis. 3.3. Visual-centric Analysis Employed Visual research methods play a significant role in the investigation of visual culture and environments in ways that cannot be replaced by verbal or textual methods. Considering the importance of visual datasets in this study, it is essential to use visual research methodology to unfold the transnational connections of Persianate gardens. This research applies multiple visual research methods, including cognitive mapping and content analysis (with a focus on comparative evaluation) using different pictorial and spatial datasets. This section illuminates the research’s process and methods that reveal connections and conversations of Timurid, Safavid, and Mughal palace gardens. 3.3.1. Methods and Processes Cognitive mapping, visual diagrams, and comparative analysis have been an integral part of this research from the initial steps. They helped me organize the ideas, analyze datasets, and clarify the research progress visually and systematically. These methods 237 Williams, “My Gothic Dissertation.” 114 contribute to acquiring new knowledge, structuring research chapters, reviewing existing literature, and weaving ideas together. The study uses the Milanote web app238 to organize subjects and themes into visual boards and create cognitive maps. The extensive and interactive workspace of Milanote fits well as a digital tool for the employment of visual-centered methods. The research took the following steps to investigate the transnational connections of Persianate gardens. 3.3.1.1. Data Collection and Organization The study’s initial data framework was established based on UNESCO’s World Heritage List239 and its nation-based classification on the tangible cultural heritage of Iran, India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan (Figure 3.7). The broad and general nature of all the initial data was gathered in an Excel spreadsheet, which ensured a fair and holistic lens. Then, the data was narrowed down to align with the research focus on the era of 1307-1858. Gardens from the Timurid, Safavid, and Mughal eras, along with related influential non-garden monuments, were selected and compiled in a separate refined spreadsheet. While UNESCO’s list seems comprehensive initially, the organization's list tends to cluster heritage as political property. Moreover, some influential monuments that could reveal historical connections and observe a bigger picture were not included in the list either because they no longer existed, or they were reshaped significantly. For instance, neither the Safavid fourfold promenade in Iran nor the Mughal Shahjahanabad city garden in India are 238 Milanote is a great tool for collecting and storing data and creating visual boards from ideas and projects. It also allows users real-time collaboration. “Milanote - the Tool for Organizing Creative Projects.” Accessed February 8, 2023. https://milanote.com/. 239 “World Heritage List,” UNESCO World Heritage Centre, accessed September 14, 2024, https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/. 115 currently listed as a permanent UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, their inclusion can reveal the role of Persianate gardens as royal quarters and urban structures. To augment UNESCO’s list, the study employed multiple ways. Firstly, I ensured that the most well-known monuments, which are either locally well-known or frequently cited in the existing scholarship on Persianate gardens, were included in the refined list. In other words, the study surveyed the literature on Timurid, Safavid, and Mughal gardens and showed that if one examines all of them together, they can uncover overlooked transnational connections. For instance, I could find the spatial connection between the Safavid fourfold promenade in Iran and Mughal Shahjahanabad in India after reviewing mostly cited sources such as The Royal Gardens of the Safavid Period: Types and Models by Mahvash Alemi and Shahjahanabad: The Sovereign City in Mughal India by Stephen P. Blake.240 In addition, the study considered the gardens and monuments in UNESCO’s tentative list and its appendices, such as the Persian Gardens’ Nomination document, which includes monuments descriptions, field-notes, maps, photographs, some plans and drawings. These helps restructure the hierarchy of data and foreground the overlooked monuments or historical artworks. In line with the research scope, the study also analyzed some relevant historical manuscripts and illustrations from sources such as Zafarnama, Baburnama, and Akbarnama. These historical illustrations were particularly important when the gardens no longer exist (such as the Timurid gardens) and as a result not included in UNESCO’s list. In this regard, 240 Please refer to the bibliography and Milanote datasets for a more comprehensive list of influential sources and literature. Scholars such as Glenn D. Lowry, Lisa Golombek, and Ebba Koch have done influential work on Timurid and Mughal heritage. 116 the research on the historical context and its diagram (Chapter 4, Fig. 4.8) helps to find missing threads of connections. Additionally, the similarity in the names of historical gardens across the Iranian plateau and Central Asia, along with related literature, helped guide the selection of historical illustrations.241 However, it is suggested that future studies consider a broader range of historical illustrations to create a more comprehensive list of gardens. Besides, extending the relevant chronological investigation was important to observe a bigger picture and augment the existing dataset. For instance, the study observed the quadripartite concept and semi-ninefold plan of the ancient palaces in the Garden of Pasargadae, which exists on UNESCO’s list. However, this example was not broad enough to show that nine-fold plans flowed across times and regions. Hence, it is important to broaden the observation by investigating monuments from different chronological eras. In this regard, the study investigated consistency in the monuments’ spatial compositions that may not necessarily be gardens such as Achaemenid royal palaces and Sassanid fire temples. Here, the study is inspired by the chronological structure of sources such as Pavilion Structure in Persianate Gardens Reflections in The Textual and Visual Media by Mohammad Gharipour and Paradise as a Garden in Persia and Mughal India by Elizabeth Moynihan. Finally, the study added visual elements to the initial framework using online sources and published architectural and spatial layouts. This helped observe the spatial and formal connections of the dataset.242 While the study seeks to provide a fair amount of data on well- 241 For example, the study compares the spatial composition of Timur’s Delgusha Garden (which no longer exists) from a folio of Zafarnama with a more ancient Delgusha Garden in Shiraz. It was observed that both had similar architectural compositions, including two-storied pavilions, semi-talar, and cruciform plans. Please refer to Chapter 4, Figure 4.9 and Chapter 5, Figures 5.24-5.26. 242 This will be thoroughly described in the following sections. 117 known monuments, there is still room for improvements, and this can be done in future studies. Figure 3.7. Sepideh Saffari, Data Collection: UNESCO’s Cultural Sites of Iran and India, 2022. This figure is only a part of a spreadsheet that shows UNESCO’s cultural heritage of Iran and India. Gardens and related monuments were highlighted in gray. 3.3.1.2. Identifying Current Categories: Cognitive Mapping The next step was to convert spreadsheet data into a basic cognitive map that includes UNESCO’s list of Persianate gardens from the Timurid, Safavid, and Mughal eras along with related monuments (Figure 3.8). Figure 3.8 was created using the cognitive mapping method to show UNESCO's classification of built heritage and reveal the organization's policy-making concerning the relationship of nationality with built heritage. In addition, some significant gardens, which were not on UNESCO’s permanent list, but essential for the study, are included. The resulting cognitive map groups Persianate gardens by country. To enrich the cognitive map, visual datasets for select garden complexes, including pictures and spatial data like floor plans and sections, were incorporated. In addition, digital 3D models were developed using a mixture of plans, sections, and 118 elevations. All of these contribute to creating a more comprehensive three-dimensional understanding of the sites. As a result, the basic cognitive map in Figure 3.8 was transformed into a visual comparison diagram (Figure 3.11) showing gardens built upon UNESCO’s categorization of heritage sites. Figure 3.8. Sepideh Saffari, Classification of tangible built heritage (Persianate gardens), This cognitive map represents UNESCO's classification of built heritage and reveals the organization's policymaking. The diagram is based on UNESCO’s categorization of tangible heritage using political borders, 2022. 119 3.3.1.3. Recategorization: Criteria Development, Content Analysis, and Visual Comparative Evaluation While cognitive mapping was useful for understanding the categories employed by UNESCO, it is requisite to redefine a new set of shared criteria to visualize the consistency of spatial logic in Persianate gardens across national lines. In other words, applying these criteria (Figure 3.10) to the dataset (Figure 3.11) redefines the organization of categories from ones that are nation-based to ones that are based on shared architectural conceptions instead. To facilitate a comparison of spatial design concepts, Persianate Gardens were first divided into their architectural and landscape elements (see Figure 3.9). Then, the study developed shared comparison criteria in the form of a tree diagram (Figure 3.10), which were built upon shared dominant concepts or thoughts, crystallized in similar forms and shapes. Figure 3.9. Sepideh Saffari, Tree Diagram 1: Shared Concepts and Form, 2023. The shared criteria243 are the outcome of the back-and-forth process between the analysis of gardens’ forms, spatial perception, and function, along with the hidden concepts 243 The shared comparison criteria are thoroughly discussed in Chapter 4. These criteria can also be referred to as shared vocabulary of architecture and landscape design, shared spatial logic, and concepts. 120 behind them; it embodies the iterative method employed. Following the content analysis method,244 patterns of similarities in the use of formal and spatial design elements were discerned to assess the breadth of the transnational network of Persianate garden design. The diagram helps reveal the big picture of the connective network between the Persianate gardens. 244 As discussed earlier in the Methodology Literature, content analysis often begins with a research question or hypothesis, comparing a group of visual datasets to examine the argument and find the frequent pattern. From (Philip Bell, “Content Analysis of Visual Images.” 10–34.) 121 Figure 3.10. Sepideh Saffari, Tree Diagram 2: Shared Concepts and Form, 2023. https://app.milanote.com/1RRnpH1G1fJ10P?p=Trli7QEbwlz. If you encounter a gray screen on Milanote, please zoom out to view all the content. Please note that the overarching shared concepts are: Hierarchical Order, Quadripartite Concept, Transparency of Pavilions, and Royal Quarter. While the comparison diagram was tagged based on coloured circles in the legend, the study only examines two tags as case studies, including stepped gardens and ninefold plans.122 Since the main aim of the tree diagram was to recategorize palace/tomb gardens based on shared architectural concepts, six colour tags were defined to code the similarities with corresponding colours. For instance, the royal quarter (a shared form in the tree diagram) was defined by purple colour and the same colour was used to tag the gardens having this characteristic (see the legend in Figure 3.10). If a specific shared concept (variable) is more significant in a particular palace garden, the size of the colour tag increases accordingly to highlight the related concept (Figure 3.11). For instance, while Fin Garden and Chehel Sotun are both royal city gardens, the tag of the Royal Quarter is larger in Chehel Sotun as this is more noticeable in its function and location. Hence, the prioritization of visual and spatial categories provides an opportunity to represent data in a multi-faceted way, in which the importance of a variable can be presented as larger by its size. 123 Figure 3.11. Sepideh Saffari, Visual Comparison diagram coded by color tags, 2023, https://app.milanote.com/1RRmV61G1fJ10F?p=Trli7QEbwlz. This diagram illustrates Persianate gardens spanning the modern nations of Iran, India, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The research developed the cognitive map of Figure 3.8 by adding visual and spatial layouts to each garden. The study also tagged gardens with the related color defined for each criterion or their sub-categories. If you encounter a gray screen on Milanote, please zoom out to view all the content. 124 3.3.1.4. Thematic Categorization Out of six shared forms tagged by colors, the study focuses on two: stepped gardens and nine-fold plans. All gardens from targeted countries, which were tagged as stepped gardens and nine-fold plans, were reorganized as two new visual diagrams entitled Stepped Gardens and Nine-fold Plans (Figures 3.12 and 3.13). 125 Figure 3.12. Sepideh Saffari, Visual Diagram of Stepped Gardens, 2023, https://app.milanote.com/1RRn131ruEhso5?p=Trli7QEbwlz. Tagging visual data and comparing them in Figure 3.11 results in observing shared spatiality, which helps recategorize the gardens and show their transnational network. Out of six shared concepts tagged by colors, the study focuses on two: stepped gardens and nine-fold plans. If you encounter a gray screen on Milanote, please zoom out to view all the content.126 Figure 3.13. Sepideh Saffari, Visual Diagram of Nine-fold Plans, 2023, https://app.milanote.com/1RRn131ruEhsrC?p=Trli7QEbwlz. Tagging visual data and comparing them in Figure 3.11 results in observing shared spatiality, which helps recategorize the gardens and show their transnational network. Out of six shared concepts tagged by colors, the study focuses on two: stepped gardens and nine-fold plans. If you encounter a gray screen on Milanote, please zoom out to view all the content.127 This shifts the classification of Persianate palace gardens accordingly, from nation-based criteria to shared architectural and spatial concepts. Afterward, a few gardens were selected out of Stepped Gardens and Nine-fold Plans diagrams to focus on the most significant case studies and make the scope of investigation feasible (Figures 3.14 and 3.15).245 While the number of tags and their size assigned to each garden affected the selection of gardens, at this stage, the more enriched and comprehensive version of this list can be found in Chapter 5, which particularly focuses on case studies examination. 245 The study expands the number of case studies in Chapter 5 to encompass a more comprehensive range of transnational gardens while retaining the list of the most significant gardens recognized in this chapter. The diagram of Historical Exchanges between Timurids, Safavids, and Mughals (Figure 4.8 in Chapter 4) and secondary sources inform the expansion of data provided in this chapter. 128 Figure 3.14. Sepideh Saffari, Visual Diagram of Selected Stepped gardens- Case Studies, 2023, https://app.milanote.com/1R5RIb1YEu8Igw?p=Trli7QEbwlz. 129 Figure 3.15. Sepideh Saffari, Visual Diagram of Selected Nine-fold Plan- Case Studies, 2023, https://app.milanote.com/1R5RIb1YEu8I6H?p=Trli7QEbwlz. After creating a list of stepped gardens and nine-fold plans, the next step was to analyze and interpret the network of connections using a multimodal argumentation. In other words, multimodal argumentation in the format of website wireframing was employed to restructure data representation and narrate the knowledge acquired through visual-centric methodologies. In this sense, the inherent interactivity of the digital interface allows for 130 multiple and alternate structuring of the data, unveiling a transnational picture of connection in Persianate Gardens. 3.4. Multimodal Argumentation Employed Inspired by the literature review provided earlier, this section further illuminates how multimodal argumentation is compatible with transnational and interdisciplinary research themes. Should one notice the inherent multimodal nature of heritage and culture, it is imperative for heritage studies to embrace multimodality as a means of representation. The section also elaborates on the techniques and strategies for communicating the research arguments and study outcomes, showing the capacity of website design in this subject matter. 3.4.1. Compatibility of Multimodal Argumentation with Research Themes This study adopts multimodal forms of argumentation to support a visual-centric methodology to communicate research arguments and findings. Several reasons prompt the use of multimodal argumentation in the content of this research. First, this study involves several realms that each demand the most compatible modes of expression. Secondly, our thoughts as human beings have multiple dimensions, such as verbal, pictorial, aural, and many others. Hence, the inclusive use of mediums in scholarly practices helps more precisely convey complex meanings, as each medium offers unique possibilities. Figure 3.16 displays how the multimodal approach to research facilitates the connection between the internal concepts of a scholar’s mind and the external representation of knowledge. 131 Figure 3.16. Sepideh Saffari, Internal Concepts and External Representation Exchange, 2021. Moreover, cultural heritage, as an embodiment of thoughts over history, is multimodal in nature too. Transnational exchanges reveal the communicational dimensions of cultural heritage in which the shared intelligence of different nations plays a key role in developing the concept. The communicational features of transnational heritage and the inherited multidimensional aspects of culture reflect the content and medium compatibility. In other words, multimodal argumentation can more thoroughly reflect the transnational character of the cultural heritage, as it provides layered critical lenses, including verbal and visual, to demonstrate the shared reference points and overlapping concepts. 3.4.2. Techniques, Tools, and Strategies for Multimodal Argumentation and Interpretation Multimodal and visual argumentation cover various genres and forms of expression such as exhibitions, folk art, fashion, websites, slide show presentations, architecture and 132 memorials, photography, flag waving, and even social protests.246 All of these formats reflect the flexibility of multimodal argumentation. Among these, websites and web apps are among the most popular formats in today’s digital world that offer a variety of strategies and options for representation. Several reasons prompt choosing websites as the format for multimodal argumentation, making it compatible with the research objectives.247 Wireframing a website, including different visual argumentations, quickly provides access to research results everywhere at any time. A web link can also be included as a hyperlink in digital research formats or/and as an additional layer of information to existing website pages. This format provides the interconnectedness between topics, disciplines, and scholarships.248 Hence, it establishes a strong network between several minds and socializes the process of knowledge production. In a nutshell, websites provide accessibility, searchability, and flexibility for including different formats, such as 3D modeling, animations, illustrations, and interpretative texts. Choosing website format as a means of representation, the study captures the network of connections that was largely unveiled, using the visual-centric methodology. Put differently, multimodal argumentation in the format of an interactive and multimodal website contributes to maintaining the visual dimension of knowledge. 246 Jens E. Kjeldsen, “The Study of Visual and Multimodal Argumentation,” Argumentation 29, no. 2 (May 2015): 115–32. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10503-015-9348-4. 247 This chapter mainly focuses on multimodal argumentation, but the comprehensive discussion on the rationality behind choosing the website as the format and tool of interpretation can be found in Chapter 6. 248 David Shorter, “On Multimodal Scholarship,” Ethnomusicology Review. Accessed December 21, 2022. https://ethnomusicologyreview.ucla.edu/journal/volume/16/piece/459. 133 3.5. Chapter Summary Visual-centric methods are essential in studying cultural heritage with multimodal and visual aspects. Persianate gardens' highly visual and spatial elements, which can prove the consistency of design and transnational concept, can not be thoroughly examined using only text-based resources. Moreover, the visual nature of research findings can be well represented using multimodal argumentation. Considering that, I show how the implemented methods contribute to investigating the transnational networks of Persianate gardens and reorganizing their national-based categorization. The defined methodology aligns with the study’s focus on the intersections of transnational heritage and multimodal argumentation. In other words, the research argues that transnational networks exist between the Persianate gardens of the Timurid, Safavid, and Mughal eras. Moreover, multimodal argumentation can properly represent these interconnections and conversations. To examine these arguments, the study applies visual-centric methods and employs multimodal argumentation in the format of web pages. Figure 3.17 outlines a holistic view of the research, locating the methodology and format in the study process and illuminating the research steps. The first column of Figure 3.17 shows the thematic categorization of the research title and its involved conceptions. Following that, the second and third columns (Research Gaps and Arguments) illustrate the gaps in each theme and their intersections, discussing feasible ways to cover the research gaps and reconsider UNESCO's nation-based interpretation of Persianate gardens. The fourth columns display the visual-centric analysis, including cognitive mapping, content analysis, and comparison evaluation, examining the possible ways through which heritage categorization can be reorganized. 134 Cognitive mapping captures UNESCO’s nation-based lens on tangible heritage, i.e., Persianate gardens, showing the connection between nation-state and garden categorization. Spatial data and visual elements convert the conceptual cognitive map into a visual dataset, in which the use of content analysis and comparative evaluation methods shows the transnational network between palace gardens. In this context, it is imperative to define a new set of values to reorganize the existing categories and show patterns of connections. Hence, two tree diagrams of shared concepts249 are defined to restructure Persianate gardens. These shared concepts and criteria, built upon similar architectural concepts,250 have roots in similar socio-political contexts. While this study observes the transnational flow of ideas in Persianate gardens through the flow of similar spatial qualities, the flow of humans in the form of immigration and socio-political interactions can be the subject of future studies. Focusing on shared forms and functions, Chapter 4 will thoroughly demonstrate that each is rooted in abstract and shared spatial qualities. For instance, the idea of the stepped garden reflects a shared concept, i.e., social class and hierarchical order. The quadripartite worldview, as another shared concept, creates shared spatial forms and structures such as nine-fold plans and four-fold garden layouts. Finally, the study selects two shared forms and explores them through several case studies in different countries of the Persian Plateau. The outcomes reflect the possibility of research arguments through the representation of ideas in 249 Please refer to Figures 3.5 and 3.6 to see these diagrams, which are embedded in the fourth column (methodology) of Figure 3.17. 250 The shared concepts and thoughts shaped and developed by different nations, over different times and locations. As Gerard Delanty points out, “[T]ransnational heritage has shared reference points. But, the actual interpretations, that people in different places at different times make of those reference points, are quite different”. from Delanty, “A Transnational Cultural Heritage: The Case of UNESCO”. 135 each case study using multimodal argumentation. Column five includes different wireframe designs of web pages with multimodal argumentation regarding transnational heritage. Figure 3.17. Sepideh Saffari, Research Map and Placement of Methodology in Research, 2021, https://app.milanote.com/1RCSSL10xePY09?p=Trli7QEbwlz. This figure provides an overview of the study, starting with research themes in column one and ending with the website in column 5. It situates the methodology within the study process while clarifying the progression of research steps. If you encounter a gray screen on Milanote, please zoom out to view all the content. 136 4. Chapter 4: Redrawing the Borders of the Persianate Gardens: From National Boundaries to Cultural Zone The critical question of how to demarcate the boundaries of the cultural zone defined by the presence of the Persianate gardens can be addressed by indicating a set of new criteria. Instead of using national borders as UNESCO does, the research explores the idea of a common cultural zone across Central Asia, the Iranian and Deccan plateaus, based on the prevalence of similar and shared architectural forms and concepts. Put differently, the Outstanding Universal Values set forth by UNESCO advocate national perspectives and competitive lenses among nations to establish authenticity in cultural heritage. Furthermore, these standards were imposed by a centralized Eurocentric authority that raises doubts about their applicability throughout the diverse world. Nonetheless, the research's criteria were developed using shared features inherited in the architecture of Persianate gardens and the hidden socio-cultural concepts. Hence, they highlight the fundamental similarities between the architectural legacy of the region and its people. The consistency in architectural design and hidden concepts is particularly evident in areas located in the same cultural zone251 with the most cultural exchanges. The interactions also influenced cultural heritage and its architecture, which, as embodiments of human thought, are inseparable from its context. In other words, built heritage is shaped by systems 251 Michele Espagne, one of the founders of the transnational approach, suggests using 'cultural zone' instead of 'nation/country.' Espagne rejects the concept of homogeneous national cultures and argues that cultural transfer with a focus on cross-mixing with other cultures prompts the idea of 'cultural zones.' Each cultural zone is the outcome of blending many cultural elements that have been transferred, transformed, rethought, and reinterpreted. In other words, cultural transfer, as a critical element in shaping a cultural zone, is not only the flow of ideas as they already are but their constant reinterpretation and rethinking. From (Cytlak, “Transculturation, Cultural Transfer, and the Colonial Matrix of Power on the Cold War Margins: East European Art Seen from Latin America.”) 137 of ideology and thoughts intertwined with multiple cultural, social, religious, and political dimensions. These systems, which might be similar or formed based on shared concepts and values in different geographical regions, also affected the design of buildings. As a result, investigating shared concepts and spatial qualities behind heritage helps redefine the transnational networks between historical monuments and redraw the border of Persianate gardens.252 The close connection between Iran, India, and Central Asia is particularly evident in the Timurid, Safavid, and Mughal Kings, during which Persianate art and architecture spread beyond national borders and bonded many communities. Marshall Hodgson describes the 'Persianate' world as all cultural traditions that were carried in Persian or reflected Persian inspiration to some extent.253 A range of historical manuscripts and literature highlight the existence of this cultural zone, discussing the flow of humans, along with the cultural, commercial, and political exchanges. This chapter will first review the historical background, highlighting the transnational exchange between these regions. It will then elaborate on the similar cultural and architectural concepts discussed in Chapter 3 as new comparison criteria. Considering the cultural mobility and flow, these criteria help map out the spatial extent of this cultural zone, investigating the formal and conceptual continuity in the architectural design of Persianate gardens. It is worth noting that while the chapter's first section provides evidence for the flow 252 The shared concepts or thoughts, which result in designing similar architectural forms and layouts, resonate with the shared reference points described by Gerard Delanty. According to him, cultural heritage was built upon shared reference points. However, people's interpretations of those reference points are quite different based on the time and location of interpretation. (Delanty, “A Transnational Cultural Heritage: The Case of UNESCO.”) 253 Hodgson, “VI. The Bloom of Persian Literary Culture and Its Times, c. 1111-1274.” 293–94. 138 of ideas through people's migration to help establish the context, this study focuses on the extent of the cultural zone in terms of gardens' spatial/architectural design and their hidden concepts. In this sense, this chapter clarifies the shared architectural concepts, and the following chapter offers tangible case studies to show the transnational nature of palace gardens. The usefulness of continuing to use national borders in relation to Persianate gardens will be challenged. Moreover, the validity of using the notion of a cultural zone will be reinforced with a more in-depth spatial and formal analysis. 4.1. Historical Context of Transnational Exchange Existing primary and secondary literature254 illuminate the historical exchange between Timurids, Safavids, and Mughals, using different lenses and perspectives. In terms of political relationships, the Mughals were the descendants of Timurids of Central Asia, and they always put effort into maintaining and developing the Timurid legacy.255 Timur, the Turco-Mongol founder of the Timurid reign, invaded Persia in 1383. Despite the barbarity of his conquests of Persia and India, he was soon impressed by these cultures, and as a result, Timurid arts and architecture built upon these cultural spheres.256 After Timur’s death, Iran was divided into several sectors, each belonging to Timur's sons and his descendants. In 254 Some of these sources are historical folios from Zafarnama, Baburnama, and Akbar-nama cited in the following paragraphs of the section. For instance, please look at the following: Timur Holding a Festival, Zafarnama, 1533. From the British Library Board, I.O. ISLAMIC 137, F60100-09, https://imagesonline.bl.uk/asset/8304/. and Bishndas and Nanha, Baburnama illustration, Babur supervising the laying out of a Kabul garden, ca. 1590. Painted in opaque watercolor on paper, Victoria & Albert Museum South & South East Asia Collection. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O17687/painting-bishndas/ and Abu’l Fazl, Akbar-nama, Volume 1, 1602-1603, f 98r from “The British Library MS Viewer.” https://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/Viewer.aspx?ref=or_12988_f098r#. 255 Golombek and Koch, “The Mughals, Uzbeks, and the Timurid Legacy.” 811–45. 256 The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Timur | Biography, Conquests, Empire, & Facts | Britannica,” June 28, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sharaf-ad-Din-Ali-Yazdi. 139 1510, Safavids, a religious sect from Azerbaijan with Kurdish origin, gained power and reunited the western and eastern halves of the Iranian plateau.257 Safavids in Persia were contemporary with the Mughals in India, establishing a political and cultural bond with each other. Even at the time that these powers were rivals over Kandahar, they ended up making deals with each other. Babur, the founder of the Mughal empire, benefited from Persian Support, and Humayun, the second Mughal King, regained his power through Safavid assistance. Figure 4.1 represents an illustration from "Akbarnameh," in which Safavid Shah Tahmasp of Persia receives Hamayun, the Mughal emperor (Figure 4.1).258 These facts created a shared political identity with Safavids for Mughal kings. 257 “Iran, The Rise of Safavids.” Accessed July 24, 2023. https://www.the-persians.co.uk/safavids1.htm. And Alexandria Brown-Hejazi. “The Safavids, an Introduction (Article).” Khan Academy. Accessed July 24, 2023. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-islam/chronological-periods-islamic/islamic-art-late-period/a/the-safavids-an-introduction. 258 Abu’l Fazl, Akbar-nama, describing his Timurid ancestry and the history of his grandfather Babur (1483-1530) and father Humayun (1508-56). 140 Figure 4.1. A folio from "Akbarnameh," Shah Tahmasp of Persia receives Hamayun, the Mughal emperor, surrounded by courtiers from Abu’l Fazl, Akbar-nama, Volume 1, 1602-1603, f98r, from “The British Library MS Viewer.” https://blogs.bl.uk/asian-and-african/2017/04/on-display-in-the-treasures-gallery-humayuns-meeting-with-shah-tahmasp.html. Muzaffar Alam examines this shared political bond and its effect on the adoption of the Persian Language in later Mughal court. While Persian was the language of the Muslim elite long before the Mughals, the notable achievement in Persian poetry is undeniable during the Mughal reign. The Mughals' political bond with Safavids influenced the rise of this Persianate atmosphere, as many Iranians accompanied Humayun on his return from Iran to India. Akbar, the third Mughal king, created a liberal and tolerant atmosphere, which attracted many Persian scholars to India. The conservative religious policy of Safavid and the generous Mughals’ patronage of art contributed to Akbar’s political manner. Moreover, Akbar was a fan of the Persian language, as he translated his grandfather’s book from Turkic into Persian. He was the founder of a formal position of malik-ush-shu'ara (poet laureate) at 141 the court devoted to Persian poems. All of these opened space for more immigration and creating a Persianate sphere through one of the most influential aspects of culture, i.e., language.259 The Persian language was used for almost a thousand years of Muslim rule in the Sub-continent. It was the official language of the administration, a major medium of instruction, and the basis of cultural exchange. 260 In addition to language, art, and architecture are important threads through which one can find mutual connections and cultural exchanges. Lisa Golombek and Ebba Koch investigate the Timurid inspiration for Mughals’ architecture, discussing that the most enduring expression of the Mughal–Timurid connection was architecture. As mentioned earlier, the Timurid dynasty reigned much of Iran and Central Asia for more than a century (c. 1370–1507), and thus, they benefited from talented human sources across their vast kingdom.261 For instance, Qawam al‐Din Shirazi, one of the well-known Timurid architects from Shiraz, Iran, was responsible for building several monuments such as Madrasa-i Ghiyathiyya, Masjid-i Gawhar Shad in Iran and Masjid-i Jami'-i Gawhar Shad in Afghanistan during Timurid era.262 Glenn David Lowry focuses on Humayun’s tomb (the second Mughal emperor) in his dissertation, placing its architecture within its pre-Mughal inspirations. He argues that the influence of pre-Mughal architecture in India and Iran can be seen in Humayun's tomb, 259 M. Siraj Anwar, “The Safavids and Mughal Relations with the Deccan States.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 52 (1991): 255–62. 260 Ziauddin, “Role of Persians at The Mughal Court: A Historical Study, During 1526 A.D. To 1707 A.D.,” 2-13. 261 Golombek and Koch, “The Mughals, Uzbeks, and the Timurid Legacy.” 811–45. 262 Archnet. “Archnet > Authority > Qavam Al-Din Shirazi.” Accessed July 25, 2023. https://www.archnet.org/authorities/1489. 142 which is a significant Mughal tomb garden and a dynastic center. This opens space for examining the transnational connection between North India and Greater Iran, particularly through the history of art and architecture. Pre-Mughal architecture, i.e., Delhi Sultanate’s monuments such as Alai Gate within Qutub Minar complex (1296- 1316) and the Tomb of Ghiyath-ud-Din Tughluq (1320 – 1325) had significant influence on the materials of Humayun’s Tomb, which is red sandstone and white marble. Moreover, Mirak Mir Ghiyas, the architect of Humayun's tomb, was of Iranian descent. While little is known about him, this fact is worth noting as it draws attention to the exchange of forms and ideas with pre-Mughal art and architecture in Greater Iran. This is evident in the radially symmetrical plan of Humayun's tomb, which has roots in Iran and Central Asia.263 The less developed version of this type of plan can be seen in Gur-i Mir (1404), and the Ishrat Khaneh (1464), both were visited by Mughals in the early sixteenth century and undoubtedly provided inspirations for Humayun’s tomb.264 John D. Hoag notes that the Tomb of Ulugh Beg and Abdu Razzaq (1501-1519) at Ghazni in Afghanistan, which was seen by the Mughals, had a similar plan layout. After taking Kabul in 1504 by Babur (the first Mughal Empire), Abdu Razzaq, who was the Timurid king and Babur’s cousin, was dethroned. Still, Ulugh Beg’s tomb remained a great source of inspiration for later Mughal architecture such as Humayun’s tomb and Taj Mahal.265 Indeed, cruciform plans with 263 Glenn David Lowry, “The Tomb of Nasir-Ud-Din Muhammad Humayun (India).” Ph.D., Harvard University. Accessed July 24, 2023. 86-100. https://www.proquest.com/docview/303225735/abstract/C1B1275476124B6APQ/1. 264 Lowry, “Humayun’s Tomb: Form, Function, and Meaning in Early Mughal Architecture.” 133. 265 The Tomb of Ulugh Beg and Abdu Razzaq at Ghazni, from Hoag, “The Tomb of Ulugh Beg and Abdu Razzaq at Ghazni, A Model for the Taj Mahal,” 234–48. 143 multiple chambers were first applied in Ulugh Beg's tomb. Moreover, Humayun himself visited Uljaytu's massive tomb (1282 – 1316) during his exile in Iran.266 While Lowry points out that Humayun was impressed by the huge size of Uljaytu's mausoleum, there is no reference to its similar radially symmetrical plan. Furthermore, the pre-Islamic origin of the cruciform plan known as Chahar Taq or four arches has not been noticed. In other words, this four arches layout developed later as a nine-fold plan in Timurid and Mughal architecture. In terms of the tomb's setting, expressed as a garden, Lowry points out to 1302 the Il Khanids’ four-fold gardens. In addition, the 15th-century Timur’s palace gardens at Shar-i Sabz and Samarkand, visited by Babur, had a noteworthy effect on the flow of this concept.267 For instance, Babur visited Bagh-I Maidan and its pavilion in current Pakistan, built by Timur’s grandson Ulugh Beg (1447–1449). According to Babur, the pavilion, named Chihil-Sutun (forty pillars), had two stories with four corner towers and minarets. “Everywhere there were stone pillars, some fluted, some twisted, and some many-sided.”268 A similar structure with the same name can be later seen in the Safavid royal palace in Isfahan, Iran, dated back to 1588-1629. While there is no extant evidence of Timurid gardens, Lowry tracks their features through historical manuscripts. For example, The Beggar before the King for Whom He Professed Love, in Farid al-Din Attar's Mantiq al-Tayr, copied at Herat in 1483, illustrates a 266 Lowry, “Humayun’s Tomb: Form, Function, and Meaning in Early Mughal Architecture.” 133. 267 Lowry, “The Tomb of Nasir-Ud-Din Muhammad Humayun (India).” 86-100. 268 Babur, “Babur-nama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor,” Translated from the Chagatai and annotated by W.M. Thackston (ed.). Washington, DC: Freer Gallery of Art. p. 80. 144 group of people seated in the pavilion in the center of a garden.269 This painting was commissioned by a Timurid ruler, Sultan Husain Baiqara (1470–1506), at Herat, and it was attributed to the well-known master Kamal al-din Bihzad (Figure 4.2).270 As another historical illustration attributed to Bihzad, one can refer to Iskandar in the likeness of Husayn Bayqara, which represents the Timurid gardens’ setting and pavilion in the miniature.271 Bihzad was a Persian painter who supervised the royal ateliers at Herat and Tabriz Throughout the late Timurid and early Safavid eras. His attendance as a skilled artist and head of the royal ateliers undoubtedly represented the exchange of ideas among Timurids, Safavids, and Mughals, as the Mughal ruler, Babur, was directly connected with Herat and introduced himself as the proud descendant of Timur. Later on, Bishandas, one of the most skilled Mughal portrait painters, was sent to Persia to paint portraits of the Safavid court.272 Inspired by earlier Timurids’ examples, Figure 4.3 shows one of Babur's garden layouts, with a tent as a pavilion and water streams that divide the landscape. This figure illustrates a ceremony of Humayun's Birth (Babur's son) in a fourfold garden (chahar bagh) in Kabul. 269 Lowry, “The Tomb of Nasir-Ud-Din Muhammad Humayun (India).” 86-100. 270 Kamal ud-Din Bihzad. “The Beggar Who Professed His Love for a Prince,” Folio 28r from a Mantiq al-Tayr (Language of the Birds) by Farid al‑Din 'Attar’s. dated 1486 CE. Ink, opaque watercolor, silver, and gold on paper. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/451729. 271 Kamal ud-Din Behzad, The five poems making up the Khamsah by Niẓāmī Ganjavī (1140 or 41-1202 or 3), f 214r, 1490-1499. From “The British Library MS Viewer.” Accessed July 25, 2023. https://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/Viewer.aspx?ref=or_6810_f214r. 272 The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Bishandas | Mughal Era, Miniature Art & Rajputs | Britannica.” Accessed July 25, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bishandas. 145 Figure 4.2. Kamal ul-Din Bihzad. “The Beggar Who Professed His Love for a Prince,” Folio 28r from a Mantiq al-Tayr (Language of the Birds) by Farid al‑Din 'Attar’s. dated 1486 CE. Ink, opaque watercolor, silver, and gold on paper. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/451729. Figure 4.3. Sur Gujarati, Celebrations in honor of the birth of Humayun in the Chahar Bagh of Kabul (1508), Baburnama illustration, From the British Library Board, 3714 Vol.2 f.295, F60100-09, https://imagesonline.bl.uk/asset/32361/. The painting of the Bagh-i Wafa from the Baburnama (history of Babur)273 is another significant manuscript that elaborates on the four-fold layout of Bagh-i Wafa in Kabul, Afghanistan (1598–1600) (Figure 4.4). The four-fold gardens date back to the Ancient Garden of Pasargadae, built by Cyrus the Great (559–530 b.c.) in Shiraz, Iran. 273 Bishndas and Nanha, Baburnama illustration. 146 Aside from illustrated manuscripts, one can see four-fold gardens in rug patterns. For instance, one can see the "four gardens" plan of Persian gardens in the "Wagner" Garden Carpet274 (17th century) in Kirman, Iran, and the Garden Carpet275 of the second half of the 18th century (Figure 4.5), which originated in Kurdistan, Iran (1622–32). Figure 4.4(Left). Bishndas and Nanha. Baburnama illustration, Babur supervising the laying out of a Kabul garden(Wafa Garden), ca. 1590. Painted in opaque watercolor on paper, Victoria & Albert Museum South & South East Asia Collection. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O17687/painting-bishndas/ Figure 4.5(Right). Garden Carpet. Second half 18th century. Cotton (warp and weft), wool (pile); asymmetrically knotted pile. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/447583. While the four-fold plan of the garden is not evident in all illustrations, the historical description of the chahar‐bagh model by Qasim b. Yusuf, who held an official position in the government of Sultan Husayn Bayqara (a Timurid ruler), clarified the image of the garden further. His description is noticeable as Qasim b. Yusuf also served in the Mughal court, and this fact opened space for the further transmission of ideas. Qasim b. Yusuf described 274 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Eternal Springtime: A Persian Garden Carpet from the Burrell Collection.” Accessed July 25, 2023. https://www3.metmuseum.org/blogs/now-at-the-met/2018/eternal-springtime-wagner-garden-carpet. 275 Garden Carpet. Second half 18th century. Cotton (warp and weft), wool (pile); asymmetrically knotted pile. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/447583. 147 Timurid gardens as a quadripartite garden with a pavilion, ornamental pool, and canals. His description casts light on the landscape layout of Timurid Gardens estate, like Sultan Husayn Bayqara Jahan‐araʾi garden in Herat. This Timurid garden was visited by Babur in 1506 and it was probably a source of inspiration for Mughal gardens.276 Moreover, Babur was the cousin of Sultan Husayn Bayqara, and this is even more evident proof of Timurd’s influences on Mughal gardens. Although Timurid gardens had a direct influence on later Mughal gardens, they were under the influence of earlier gardens in Iran. As Lisa Golombek discusses, Timur spent most of his lifetime in a tent and the nomadic lifestyle was undeniable in Timurid society. However, gardens are the product of a settled population, and considering the nomadic lifestyle of Timur, Golombek reveals the pre-Mongol roots of Timurid gardens in Iran. Aside from the pre-Islamic Achaemenid and Sassanid examples, garden construction had a long history after Islam in Iran, such as the gardens of Seljuks, Ghaznavids, and Bavandids. For instance, Husam al-Dawlah Ardashir, the Bavandid ruler of Mazandaran (North of Iran), constructed 52 garden estates (1172-1206).277 Mahvash Alemi points out that Timur created four gardens around Samarqand, modeled and named after the original gardens in Shiraz.278 These gardens’ names are Jahan Nama Garden, Eram Garden, Dilgusha Garden,279 and Takht-i Qarache Garden. Ahmad Bin Ab-el Kheir Zarkoob Shirazi, a well-known 14th-century author, writes about Atabak 276 Golombek and Koch, “The Mughals, Uzbeks, and the Timurid Legacy.” 811–45. 277 Lisa Golombek, “The Gardens of Timur: New Perspectives.” Muqarnas 12 (1995): 137–47. https://doi.org/10.2307/1523228. 278 Alemi, “The Royal Gardens of the Safavid Period: Types and Models,” 72-96. 279 Timur Holding a Festival, Zafarnama, 1533. 148 Qarache and his gardens. Atabak Qaracheh was appointed the governor of Fars by Sultan Sanjar the Seljukids (1117-1128 AC) and commissioned several gardens construction, including Bagh-e Eram, Takht garden in Shiraz, Iran.280 Takht garden does not exist anymore, but Eram Garden, with all the changes from the Seljukid period, is still a good source of investigation. Moreover, Dilgusha garden has a pre-Islamic origin, and its Zand-built palace was created inspired by the Sassanid palace of Bishapur, consisting of a hall and four alcoves.281 The cruciform plan is even more evident in the mansion of Jahan Nama Garden, which Ahmad Bin Ab-el Kheir Zarkoob Shirazi wrote about the mansion and the location of this garden.282 The cruciform plans of Jahan Nama and Dilgusha gardens, influenced by pre-Islamic monuments, affected the development of a nine-fold plan in Timurid pavilions. While Lisa Golombek and Ebba Koch well described the connection of the nine-fold plan (hasht‐bihisht or eight heavens) of Timurid and Mughal monuments,283 the influence of pre-Islamic layout was not captured at all. Lionel Bier, the art historian and archaeologist, investigates the influences of Sassanid Palace architecture on early Islamic monuments. While it is undeniable that architectural design in any period is affected by the preceding ones, the lack of archaeological evidence from the Sassanid era makes the conclusion vague. Still, the track of 280 Abul Abbas Ahmed Zarkoob Shirazi, Shiraznama, Edited by Ismaeal Vaez Javadi. Iranian Culture Foundation, 1931, p 84. http://archive.org/details/Shiraznama-AbulAbbasMueenuddinAhmadBinShihabuddinAbilKhairZarkoobShiraziFarsi. 281 Zeynab Rezaei, “Delgosha Garden | Middle Eastern Handicrafts | Shiraz.” Middle Eastern Handicrafts (blog). Accessed July 25, 2023. https://mehand.co.uk/delgosha-garden/. 282 Zarkoob Shirazi, Shiraznama, 84. 283 Golombek and Koch, “The Mughals, Uzbeks, and the Timurid Legacy.” 811–45. 149 isolated features from Sassanid architecture, including the four-iwan plan, cruciform groups of rooms, and the combination of iwan and domed hall, is evident in the early Islamic Period, i.e, the Abbasid and Umayyad eras.284 As a result, one can argue that the brilliant hasht‐bihisht plan, which was developed during the Timurid, Safavid, and Mughal eras, has roots in the pre-Islamic cruciform layout (chahar tagh) of Sassanid palaces and temples. Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive discussion in this realm; if so, it is brief and undeveloped. Furthermore, one can observe the adjacency of tombs and gardens in pre-Mongol gardens in Iran. For instance, Jahan Nama Garden in Shiraz is near Hafiz Tomb and Delgosha Garden is in the vicinity of Saadi, who both were well-known Iranian poets. This tradition can also be found in pre-Islamic Iran, as the tomb of Cyrus the Great is around his royal garden of Pasargadae. This tradition continued in the Timurid era and Mughal eras as well. However, the Mughals made the garden itself a setting for their tombs, as Golombek and Koch discuss.285 Golombek points out an interesting feature of Timurid gardens in her paper, The Garden of Timur, New Perspective, using gender as a category of analysis. According to her findings, Timur mostly built his gardens on the occasion of marriage, so each wife could have a garden.286 Mughals followed this tradition in India. This can be another source of investigation for ideas exchanges, as some Mughals’ queens were from Iran and they possibly affected the employment of specific architects and artists (The flow of humans). 284 Bier, “Chapter 3. The Sasanian Palaces and Their Influence in Early Islam,” 57-66. 285 Golombek and Koch, “The Mughals, Uzbeks, and the Timurid Legacy.” 811–45. 286 Golombek, “The Gardens of Timur: New Perspectives.” 137–47. 150 In this spirit, Muhammad Ziauddin examines the role of Persians at the Mughal court, casting light on Indo-Persian connections during the medieval era.287 Masashi Haneda categorizes the reasons for the immigration of Iranian elites to India, during the Mughal era, identifying the hidden political, religious, and commercial aspects. India was an asylum for Iranians who had no choice but to migrate, as they were accused of being a political or religious rebel by the Safavids. The second type of migration was with free will for Iranians, who saw themselves as unable to prosper in Safavid society.288 Among Persian immigrants, Itimad-ud-Daullah’s Family had a significant role in the Mughal court in India. Mirza Ghiyas Baig (Itimad-ud-Daullah), whose father had been in the service of Shah Tahmasp (Safavid King in Iran), was from a family of poets and high officials in Iran. After his father’s death, Mirza Ghiyas Baig had to migrate to India with the hope of a new future, regaining his lost fortune. Following that, he served Akbar, the third Mughal Empire, and then, in Jahangir’s reign, he became the fourth Mughal king’s Prime Minister. While the honesty and dedicated service of Itimad-ud-Daullah were not deniable in achieving this rank, the role of his daughter, Nur Jahan, is equally important. Nur Jahan's marriage to the Mughal king, Jahangir, opens space for more nobles from Persia in India. Moreover, her talent and skill extended her role well beyond politics and economics into art and architecture, gardening, and literature. She questioned the socio-cultural expectations of her era, acting as a joint ruler of the kingdom. Because of her, Jahangir ordered the construction of the famous gardens of Nishat 287 Ziauddin, “Role Of Persians At The Mughal Court: A Historical Study, During 1526 A.D. To 1707 A.D.,” 233-236. 288 Haneda, Masashi. “Emigration of Iranian Elites to India during the 16-18th Centuries.” Cahiers d’Asie Centrale, no. 3/4 (October 1, 1997): 129–43. 151 and Shalimar. Her artistic achievement also involved the construction of the tomb of her father, Itmad-ud-Daullah, in Agra in 1622 A.D (Figure 4.6). This tomb was the first example that used white marble, influencing the construction and materials of the Taj Mahal later (Figure 4.7).289 Figure 4.6. Photo by Muhammad Mahdi Karim, Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah, In Wikipedia, May 22, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tomb_of_I%27tim%C4%81d-ud-Daulah&oldid=1156299866. Figure 4.7. Taj Mahal, In Wikipedia, May 22, 2023. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Taj_Mahal,_Agra,_India_edit3.jpg. Taj Mahal, the brilliant Mughal tomb garden, is associated with the name Mumtaz Mahal, another impressive woman of Iranian descent in the Mughal court. Shah Jahan, the fifth influential Mughal Empire, ordered the construction of the Taj Mahal in memory of her. Mumtaz Mahal was Asaf Khan’s daughter, brother of Nur Jahan, and the Prime Minister of Jahangir's reign. While Mumtaz Mahal was not as interested in politics and power as her aunt, she was still a private consultant for Shah Jahan on state affairs. According to Muhammad Ziauddin, more than 30 percent of all provincial Mughals’ governors were Iranian during 1605-1627 A.D. The influence of Persians’ immigration in India was not limited to the Mughal court and political sphere, but it also involved many artists and 289 Ziauddin, “Role Of Persians At The Mughal Court: A Historical Study, During 1526 A.D. To 1707 A.D.,” 233-236. 152 architects. For instance, the construction of the Taj Mahal is associated with several names, either from Central Asia or Persia. Ustad Ahmad Lahauri, the principal Persian architect,290 Muhammad Sharif Samarqandi, a Turani architect, and Ustad Isa, the Persian master artisans are among those names.291 Altogether, one can see the influence of Persianate culture in Central Asia and North India, through multiple perspectives such as politics, culture, art and architecture. Built upon exchanges of ideas and concepts, Persianate art and architecture developed further beyond national borders and connected different societies. Figure 4.8 shows an abstract of these connections, providing different historical evidence. 290 “Taj Mahal Complex.” The Getty Research Institute databases on Cultural Objects Name Authority (CONA), 2004, ID: 700000214, https://www.getty.edu/cona/CONAFullSubject.aspx?subid=700000214. 291 Ziauddin, 83-84; 215-217. 153 Figure 4.8. Sepideh Saffari, The Historical Exchanges between Timurids and Safavids and Mughals, 2023, please see more details at https://app.milanote.com/1S0w7l1eYiNA9c?p=Trli7QEbwlz. The diagram shows historical exchanges, highlighting political, cultural, and familial connections during the Timurid (Top), pre-Safavid and Safavid (middle), and Mughal periods. If you encounter a gray screen on Milanote, please zoom out to view all the content. 154 Figure 4.9. Sepideh Saffari, The Historical Exchanges between Timurids and Safavids and Mughals, 2023, please see more details at https://app.milanote.com/1S0w7l1eYiNA9c?p=Trli7QEbwlz. These diagrams highlight diverse transfers and connections in Figure 4.8, such as family connections, art, and cultural connections. If you encounter a gray screen on Milanote, please zoom out to view all the content. 155 4.2. Comparison Criteria: Shared Vocabulary of Architecture and Landscape Design Building upon the historical exchanges discussed earlier, this section shows how similarities in forms, functions, and spatial qualities can reveal the extent of the ideas and hidden concepts of the Persianate garden that have been shared across the cultural zone. Put differently, if one observes the Persianate gardens of the Timurid, Safavid, and Mughal eras, the similarities in their forms and ideas are noticeable. Considering the existence of the cultural zone through primary and secondary sources, the similarities of form/function and spatiality are rooted in similar cultural and political approaches. Transnational lenses to Persianate gardens cast light on these interconnections, in which different societies developed shared conceptions and subsequently similar spatial designs. This section focuses on discussing a shared vocabulary of architecture and landscape design as well as its hidden cultural, and socio-political concepts. These concepts have been previously introduced in Chapter 3 as new comparison criteria, representing one of the research steps towards redrawing the extent of Persianate Gardens. By analyzing spatial features through a comparative lens, the study formulates criteria to demonstrate the coherent flow of thoughts and spatiality in Persianate gardens. Although these ideas were expressed as shared spatial qualities, they encompassed much more than merely formal elements. They emerged from similar social, political, and cultural settings that served to further reinforce the notion of a cultural zone. Using these criteria, the research investigates Persianate gardens through an architectural lens, highlighting the consistent design logic and vocabulary. Figure 4.10 shows the Comparison Criteria Diagram (also discussed in Chapter 3), in which the second and third columns represent the hidden concepts and similar spatial 156 designs, respectively. The overarching categories are entitled Hierarchical Order, Quadripartite Concept, Transparency of Pavilions, and Royal Quarter. Figure 4.10. Sepideh Saffari, Tree Diagram 2: Shared Concepts and Form, 2023. For instance, the terraced form of landscape can be seen in gardens of Iran and India, known as stepped gardens. Social classes and gender were influential in defining functions and spatial divisions of each step. Hence, the cultural and socio-political hidden concept behind the stepped gardens is shown as Hierarchical Order in Figure 4.10. Similarly, the four-fold landscape and nine-fold plan are rooted in the Quadripartite concept, prompted by religious and political beliefs in ancient gardens. As a more precise example, it is helpful to elaborate on the concept of the Royal Quarter. One can see that the urban structure of the 157 royal quarter in Shahjahanabad and Safavid Isfahan are similar. Both cities used religious and commercial elements as power leverage, centering the whole city around the king's royal gardens. According to Stephen Blake, "The controlling metaphor in the patrimonial state is the patriarchal family and the central element of the imperial household." He discusses that royal cities, as types of patrimonial-bureaucratic state, were the capitals of most Asian empires between 1400 and 1750.292 Hence, one can see the city gardens under the overarching category of the Royal Quarter in Figure 4.10. 4.2.1. Hierarchical Order Vision and visual perception play a significant role in art history and architecture. Vision can be politicized, and its power can be used to create a social hierarchy in architectural monuments. As Dede Fairchild Ruggles discusses, the power of vision is particularly important in pre-modern Islamic societies, where vision has been controlled and sometimes suppressed. In this context, the occasions in which the gaze and visions are emphasized and uncovered are highly meaningful.293 Ruggles's paper on using visual theory294 to investigate Islamic architecture is inspiring to observe Persianate gardens through visual order. However, applying vision as an element of power is not restricted to Islamic architecture. One can see the embodiment of visual order and the associated spatial 292 Stephen P. Blake, “Comparison and conclusion,” In Shahjahanabad: The Sovereign City in Mughal India 1639–1739, 195–99. Cambridge South Asian Studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511563225. 293 Dede Fairchild Ruggles, “Humayun’s Tomb and Garden: Typologies and Visual Order,” in Gardens in the Time of the Great Muslim Empires: Theory and Design, edited by Attilio Petruccioli (Leiden; New York: E.J. Brill., 1997), 173-186. 294 This theory focuses on the meaning of gaze and vision rather than material. (Ruggles, “Humayun’s Tomb and Garden: Typologies and Visual Order.” 173-186.) 158 hierarchy through several architectural elements of Persianate gardens within their pre-Islamic origin. For instance, the pavilion and axis are crucial in creating an optical hierarchy in Persianate gardens. In the Royal Garden of Pasargadae (550 BC), a stone throne, as an icon of power, was located at the center of the palace’s portico (iwan) in line with an axis that passes through the garden. This provides the ruler with an uninterrupted view of the garden.295 As Ruggles points out, axes and their intersections imply the visual hierarchy, serving the ruler as an institution. Pavilions and axes –waterways and walkways– define the garden's geometry, demonstrating the king's palace/tomb as the central element of the garden. These elements reify the act of vision and establish the dynastic sovereignty of the king.296 Mohammad Gharipour interrogates the spatial hierarchy in the miniature paintings of Persianate gardens. According to him, the vision in Persianate gardens is built upon three architectural elements: the iwan (portico), balcony, and roof. In many paintings, the king's throne is at the center of the iwan, usually the focal point in the gardens. However, balconies and roofs are secondary elements used by ladies of haram and male/female spectators, respectively. This spatial hierarchy also speaks to the privacy that offers less accessibility to a space. For instance, the king's throne and ladies' balcony were supposed to be the least accessible spaces to the public.297 Aside from architectural elements, the visual hierarchy of Persianate gardens was sometimes represented by their vertical design in the shape of multiple terraces reinforced by 295 Kidd, “Ideas of Empire: The ‘Royal Garden’ at Pasargadae.” 296 Ruggles, “Humayun’s Tomb and Garden: Typologies and Visual Order.” 173-186. 297 Gharipour, “Pavilion Structure in Persianate Gardens Reflections in the Textual and Visual Media.” 116-137. 159 land topography. As Mahvash Alemi discusses, land topography was an important factor in shaping stepped gardens.298 Gardens architects used the slope of the gardens’ site to imply the conception of social hierarchy. For instance, the plan of Madinat Al-Zahra Garden City (936 CE) in Spain represents the social and political hierarchy through the city's topography. The garden city includes three terraces of which the uppermost level was for the ruler’s residence and private palaces. The middle terrace housed high-ranking officials' houses and state administration buildings, while the lower level was for the common people and the army.299 In other words, the ruler’s position at the political and social center of the kingdom was expressed by his occupation of the highest level in the Madinat Al-Zahra garden city.300 The expression of power was more complicated in some cases, such as Shalimar Bagh in Kashmir. While the gardens of royal ladies occupied the highest level in this garden, the ruler’s garden is at the center, being present and visible at all levels (Figures 4.11 and 4.12). In other words, the centrality of the king as a sun who cast lights on his people was expressed through the devotion of the middle garden to the king in the Shalimar garden in Kashmir. Thus, the highest levels of gardens/pavilions were occupied by more private spaces for royal ladies in some cases. 298 Alemi, “The Royal Gardens of the Safavid Period: Types and Models,” 72-96. 299 Marianne Barrucand, and Achim Bednorz, “The Architecture of the 10th Century, Madinat Al-Zahra,” In Moorish Architecture in Andalusia (Köln; New York: Taschen, 1992), 60–70. 300 Ruggles, “Humayun’s Tomb and Garden: Typologies and Visual Order.” 173-186. 160 Figure 4.11. Plan and Section of Shalimar Bagh in Kashmir (The figure shows the spatial hierarchy concerning the social and gender divisions.) Modified by the author from [C. M. Villiers-Stuart, Gardens of the Great Mughals. London: A. and C. Black, 1913, p.165, https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.55753.] Figure 4.12. 3D view of Shalimar Bagh in Kashmir (The figure shows how the focal point of the spatial design was devoted to kings, giving them the dominant view over other levels of the garden.) Modified by the author from [William J. Mitchell, Isometric View Showing Three Sections of the Shalimar Garden in Kashmir, Archnet, Accessed July 13, 2022. https://www.archnet.org/sites/5011?media_content_id=61305.] According to Attilio Petruccioli, “Shalimar is a garden that has to be discovered step by step, one enclosure after the other.” He discusses the gardens’ scheme and attribution of spaces aligned with social hierarchy and privacy. This kind of spatial categorization had roots in Timurid encampment, and one can describe the Mughal gardens as stone camps in this regard.301 Indeed, the authority of royal courts was established through their position in a place, linking formal etiquette with visual orders. One can see this sequence in Akbarnama, as it stated: “When the king sits on the throne, all those present … remain standing in the place assigned on the basis of rank, their arms crossed, receiving the light from the Divine Countenance.”302 301 Petruccioli, Attilio. “Gardens and Religious Topography in Kashmir.” In Environmental Design: Journal of the Islamic Environmental Design Research Centre 1-2, edited by Attilo Petruccioli, 64-73. Rome: Dell’oca Editore, 1991, https://www.archnet.org/publications/3256. 302 Abu-l-Fazl. The Akbarnama of Abu-l-Fazl Vol.I. Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta, p.361, 1907. http://archive.org/details/dli.csl.7334. 161 Figure 4.13. Shalimar Bagh, Kashmir, Second terrace (king’s garden): view downstream from Diwan-i Khass platform toward the rear of Diwan-i Amm (Public audience). Photo by William J. Mitchell, from “Archnet > Site > Shalimar Bagh.” Accessed August 8, 2023. https://www.archnet.org/sites/5011?media_content_id=61322 Figure 4.14. Shalimar Bagh, Kashmir, View from king’s garden looking northeast showing the third terrace (ladies garden). Photo by Maryann Thompson, from “Archnet > Site > Shalimar Bagh.” Accessed August 8, 2023. https://www.archnet.org/sites/5011?media_content_id=3315 This hierarchical order devoted to different social classes can also be seen in Takht Garden in Iran (1100 CE), Babur Garden in Afghanistan (around 1528 CE), Shalimar Bagh in Kashmir (1619 CE), Shalimar Gardens in Pakistan (1641CE).303 According to Alemi, Timur built four gardens near Samarqand that were designed and named after the earlier gardens in Shiraz. One of these gardens was modeled after Takht Garden in Shiraz, characterized by accentuated terraces and a king’s palace on the summit of a hill.304 4.2.2. Quadripartite Concept As discussed in Chapter 2, the quadripartite layout of Persianate gardens, which first appeared in the Royal Garden of Pasargadae (around 546 BC), has roots in Ancient Near East traditions and mythology. These traditions reflect the appreciation of nature through worshiping several deities corresponding with natural elements such as water and trees. As 303 Please see Chapter 5 for a comprehensive discussion on case studies. 304 Alemi, “The Royal Gardens of the Safavid Period: Types and Models,” 72-96. 162 Elizabeth B. Moynihan points out, the reverence for water and trees was not only limited to early civilization’s belief but reflected in their landscape design as religious symbolism. Moreover, the notion of paradise as the ideal garden traces back to the Sumerian God of Water, Enki, who created a divine garden by providing fresh water and green fields of vegetation. This colorful and vivid image of Mesopotamian paradise continued its existence through Zoroastrian, Christian, and Islamic305 traditions.306 Indeed, the quadripartite concept is evident in Zoroastrian cosmology, where the universe is classified into four sacred elements: water, wind, soil, and fire. While Zoroastrians believe in a single god, they worship all aspects of nature, such as water, rivers, lands, and plants, acknowledging them as holy creatures.307 The image of paradise in the Quran as a garden with four rivers also resonates with the Mesopotamian beliefs in paradise and the symbolic division of the earth into quarters by the four rivers of life. Figure 4.15 is a wall painting from provincial Assyrian palaces (883–612 B.C.), showing a male/female figure with four streams of water flowing out from a jar held in his/her hand. 305 Ideas flow across time as well as space and as a result, the Persianate garden can't be limited to the Islamic period. However, while the forms and designs are repurposed it is not clear that the conceptual dimensions persist in later eras and there is room for further investigation. 306 Elizabeth B. Moynihan, Paradise as a Garden: In Persia and Mughal India,( New York: George Braziller, 1979), 1-10, http://afghandata.org:8080/xmlui/handle/azu/4754. 307 Zoroastrianism was an influential religion in the Middle East until the arrival of Islam. The religion's prophet, Zoroaster resided in eastern Iran between the thirteenth century B.C. and in the mid-sixth century B.C. (just before the rise of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great). From Mohammad Gharipour, “The Garden and Pavilion in Near Eastern Pre-Islamic Texts, the Qur’an and Persian Poetry” in Persian Gardens and Pavilions: Reflections in History, Poetry and the Arts, (London: I.B.Tauris, 2013), 11-38, https://doi.org/10.5040/9780755693580. 163 Figure 4.15. Figure with Streams of Water Flowing from Jars Held in His/Her Hand, 612 B.C 883. Painted or glazed terracotta, Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Ancient Near East Gallery (Gallery 110). https://collections.mfa.org/objects/45984/tile-figure-with-streams-of-water-flowing-from-jars-held-in. This Wall painting from provincial Assyrian palaces represents the four rivers flowing from jars held in the water deity’s hands. Figure 4.16. Plan of the Palace Area in the Royal Garden of Pasargadae, 546 BC, from (David Stronach and Hilary Gopnik, “PASARGADAE.” In Encyclopaedia Iranica Online. Brill, August 30, 2020. https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-iranica-online/pasargadae-COM_951.), modified by the author. In addition to religious and spiritual traditions, the four-quarter division has political and ownership aspects, as Akkadian kings and then Achaemenid kings proclaimed themselves as the kings of the four quarters of the world.308 Hence, one can conclude that spiritual and political cosmologies greatly influenced the quadripartite layout of Persianate gardens. Figure 4.16 represents the trace of the holy elements of nature (water and trees) along with their role in defining the geometry and layout of the Royal Garden of Pasargadae as the first mature architectural expression of fourfold gardens. This figure shows the composition of political and religious axes in the garden’s quadripartite layout. While waterways defined two similar rectangles, the walkways crossed them in the middle to 308 Moynihan, Paradise as a Garden: In Persia and Mughal India. 1-10. 164 highlight the view of power. The vertical space of walkways was probably accentuated by cypress trees, adding a vertical dimension309 to the 2D structure of the landscape. The quadripartite worldview also prompted the development of the ninefold plan (hasht-behesht Plan)310 in the spatial design of gardens’ pavilions. As discussed in the second chapter, the ninefold plan traces back to the architectural unit, i.e., Chahar Tagh (four arches) and it evolved to a nine-part plan over the course of millennia. Put differently, the quadripartite layout of plans, resulting in four arches (Chahar Tagh) in elevation, was a common architectural design for secular and religious elements during pre-Islamic Sassanid rulers in Iran. As Lionel Bier discusses, one can observe the influences of Sassanid architecture on early Islamic monuments. For instance, Sassanid architectural elements, such as the four-iwan plan, cruciform groups of rooms, and the combination of iwan and domed hall, continued their existence in the early Islamic Period, i.e., the Abbasid and Umayyad eras.311 Hence, one can argue that the brilliant hasht‐bihisht plan of the Timurid, Safavid, and Mughal eras was inspired by the pre-Islamic cruciform layout, such as (Chahar Tagh) of Sassanid palaces and temples. Figures 4.17 to 4.20 show this development of architectural form in two examples of pre-Islamic and Islamic architecture. Chapter 5 will provide more case studies to solidify the argument.312 309 This idea resonates with D. Fairchild Ruggles’ statement: “the cypresses in gardens might have provided vertical accents.” D. Fairchild Ruggles, “Prologue: Paradigm Problems: Islamic Gardens in an Expanding Field.” In Gardens of Renaissance Europe and the Islamic Empires : Encounters and Confluences, edited by Mohammad Gharipour, 1–10. University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University, 2017. 310 The hasht-behesht Plan is a result of dividing the interior plans of pavilions into nine spaces that include a central domed chamber, and surrounding eight rooms entitled hasht-behesh or eight heavens. 311 Bier, “Chapter 3. The Sasanian Palaces and Their Influence in Early Islam,” 57-66. 312 The more complete version of the Ninefold Plan development can be found in the following chapter, under the Nine-fold Plans Case Studies. This chapter mostly focuses on establishing the quadripartite concept and its association with the nine-fold plan of pavilions. 165 Figure 4.17. (Sassanid era, 240-272 AD), Bishapur Palace in Fars Province, Iran, Location on the map, “Google Maps.” Accessed July 25, 2023. Figure 4.18. (Sassanid era). The so-called Palace of Sapur and Fire Temple at Bishapur, from Dietrich Huff, Bernard O’Kane, “ČAHĀRṬĀQ,” Encyclopædia Iranica, IV/6, pp. 634-642, In Encyclopaedia Iranica Online, (Brill, 2020) doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/2330-4804_EIRO_COM_7262.This figure is modified by the author. Figure 4.19. (Mughal era,1583), Rani Ki Mahall Ground Plan in Allahabad Fort, India, Location on the map, “Google Maps.” Accessed Dec 19, 2023. Figure 4.20. (Mughal era). Rani Ki Mahall Ground Plan in Allahabad Fort, 1583, India, From Ebba Koch,“Akbar,” “Shah Jahan,” In Mughal Architecture: An Outline of Its History and Development, 1526-1858, 61-62, 62. München, Federal Republic of Germany : New York, NY, USA: Prestel ; Distributed in the USA and Canada on behalf of Prestel-Verlag by the Neues Pub. Co, 1991. Note: The background colour of Figures 4.17 to 4.20 signals the time; The further back in time, the row is lighter, and vice versa. Humayun’s Tomb is an excellent example of a self‐referential form (radially symmetrical plans) with smaller versions of itself, containing five iterative designs of a nine-166 fold plan.313 Agnès Patuano and M. Francisca Lima interpret the self‐referential concept as the fractal dimension of fourfold gardens, examining this characteristic in Isfahan’s garden city plan and the Taj Mahal Garden.314 The initial application of the four-fold pattern in Isfahan's city plan can be observed at the city level, where the intersection of the main street and the river is regarded as the first division into four parts.315 The layout of the Taj Mahal is also an excellent example of the fractal nature of fourfold gardens, as its plan resembles the Sierpinski carpet (a well-known fractal object). Figure 4.21 compares the Sierpinski carpet (the first row) with a rough layout of the Taj Mahal Garden (the second row). As Patuano and Lima discuss, a square split into nine equal squares serves as the initial iteration's fundamental unit for the Sierpinski carpet (the first row). The central square is eliminated at each scale. The same procedure was used to recreate a simpler version of the Taj Mahal's design (the second row), but the five center squares were eliminated this time. While the exact plan of the Taj Mahal is slightly different (the third row), one can still observe its fractal nature and the resemblance with the Sierpinski carpet.316 313 Golombek and Koch, “The Mughals, Uzbeks, and the Timurid Legacy.” 811–45. 314 Agnès Patuano and M. Francisca Lima, “The Fractal Dimension of Islamic and Persian Four-Folding Gardens.” Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 8, no. 1 (March 19, 2021): 86. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00766-1. 315 Walcher, “Between Paradise and Political Capital: The Semiotics of Safavid Isfahan,” 330–48. 316 Patuano and Lima, “The Fractal Dimension of Islamic and Persian Four-Folding Gardens.” 86. 167 Figure 4.21. There are similarities between the Sierpinski carpet (the top row) and the Taj Mahal layout (the bottom row). Image Source:Agnès Patuano and M. Francisca Lima, “The Fractal Dimension of Islamic and Persian Four-Folding Gardens.” Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 8, no. 1 (March 19, 2021): 86. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00766-1. The ninefold plan of pavilions corresponds with the four-fold landscape design of gardens to provide a more integrated built and natural environment. As a result, one can see the four-based cosmology both in the gardens' landscape design and the architectural space. While the functional purpose of the fourfold layout and stepped gardens, i.e., efficient irrigation317 is undeniable, these architectural layouts also represent the embodiment of spiritual and socio-political beliefs. These ideas flow across Mesopotamia, the Iranian Plateau, and the Indus Valley through mutual cultural influence and communication since 317 Please refer to Ladan Tajaddini, “Review of the Characteristics of Mahan Garden: One Type of Persian Gardens” 56 (January 1, 2011): 1581–84. 168 prehistoric times. As a result, a shared body of thoughts embodied in architectural forms shaped within these regions throughout history. 4.2.3. Transparency of Pavilions Architectural design, particularly concerning its surrounding spaces, is more than the configuration of forms and materials. It is also the phenomenon of visual connectivity and continuity that can be seen in the overflow of one space into another. This feature is more than using transparent materials such as glasses; it is a plurality of linked sceneries created through spatial composition, three-dimensional openings, and permeable layers of forms. The connection and interdependency of multiple spaces enhance the optical depth of place and social interaction, providing a dynamic spatial experience.318 Since the optical connection is an essential element in the concept of spatial transparency, one can define it as a relative characteristic relying on adjacent spaces and the environment. Hence, the consideration of transactions between multiple spaces through spatial transparency is a prerequisite in the perception of the full spirit of monuments. Transparency also speaks to the concept of optical order. Ruggles defines framed landscapes as part of the architectural design vocabulary, implying the discourse of power and authority. The visual hierarchy of axes, the axes’ intersection, and the centrality of pavilions319 direct and mediate the act of vision, serving the king as a focal point of power. In other words, optical order expressed through spatial transparency empowers the centrality of the king. As Ruggle points out, the application of visual theory opens space for a novel 318 Camilo Rosales, “Introduction Essays: Spatial Transparency in Architecture: Light, Layering, and Porosity.” In Spatial Transparency in Architecture: Light, Layering, and Porosity, 1–5. New York: Routledge, 2022. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003223399. 319 Pavilion here refers to any built environment within the garden. It can be a royal tent, a palace or a tomb. 169 discussion that focuses on the visual rather than the material.320 Hence, transparency can be described as a non-materialistic quality of architecture. Seyed Hadi Mirmiran, a contemporary Iranian architect, described transparency as a transition from a physical or material state to a spiritual state. In architectural terms, it refers to the reduction of physical materials and the expansion of space.321 In other words, transparency in architecture involves the penetration of light and vision.322 Mirmiran discusses that transparency can be seen either as an evolutionary process over the history of architecture or in an individual building.323 His argument on this subject matter was influenced by his conceptual view on the history of Iran’s architecture, aiming to reveal the mystical philosophy behind iterative forms. He examines several examples to show transparency as a consistent principle in Iranian architecture. Soltaniyeh Tomb, with several recessed arches and alcoves that increase at the higher levels of the monument, is one instance of Mirmiran’s transparency concept.324 Hasht Behesht and Ali Qapu in Isfahan are two other great examples of architectural transparency. Figure 4.22 represents the concept of transparency in Ali Qapu monument, in which the deduction from material at the higher level generates a hypostyle (talar) and 320 Ruggles, “Humayun’s Tomb and Garden: Typologies and Visual Order.” 173-186. 321 Hadi Mirmiran - A New Movement in the Architectural Tradition of Iran, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GY1oxTbTzWE. 322 Davoud Saadat, Iraj Etesam, and Mostafa Mokhtabad, “Studying the Effect of the Evolution of Dome Chamber on the Process of Lighting and transparency of Iranian Mosques Architecture”, Russian Journal of Building Construction and Architecture, 34 (January 1, 2017): 98. 323 Hadi Mirmiran, “A Journey from Material to Spirit,” Journal of Urban Construction and Architecture, 1999, no. 42-43. 324 Hadi Mirmiran, Transparency In Architecture, Lecture at the Faculty of Architecture, Islamic Azad University of Qazvin, 2001. 170 enhances optical connection. Put differently, the composition of spatial transparency, optical connections and political elements in Ali Qapu creates a transparent hypostyle hall (talar) that gives the king a superior view of the public plaza (maydan). Figure 4.22. Spatial Transparency in AliQapu, Iran. Modified by author, image Source: Diego Delso. “Aali Qapu (‘Great Gate’) Palace,” September 20, 2016. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Palacio_Aali_Qapu%2C_Isfah%C3%A1n%2C_Ir%C3%A1n%2C_2016-09-20%2C_DD_60.jpg. Within the garden context, the quadripartite feature of Persianate gardens facilitates the integrity of nature and built structure through the spatial connection between the ninefold plan of pavilions and the fourfold layout of gardens. Pavilions, as inseparable parts of Persianate gardens, were not only built structures but also transitional spaces in which the natural environment of gardens continued to exist. In other words, one can perceive pavilions within the gardens as a harmonic part of surrounding natural elements rather than isolated buildings without any connections to their context. The transitional space of the pavilion, which was expressed through the creation of a semi-closed structure, is the concrete representation of cultural, symbolic, and social values. Considering the private or public use 171 of pavilions, the levels of transparency and privacy of built structures enhance or lessen visual and physical connections between buildings and gardens.325 Figure 4.23. Spatial Transparency through a combination of a four-fold layout of the garden and a nine-fold plan of pavilion, Hasht Behesht, Isfahan. Image was modified by the author and the pavilion plan was enlarged for clarity., image Source: Mahdizadeh, Sara, “Historical Gardens in Transition in 20th Century Iran: A Critical Analysis of Garden Conservation.” Ph.D. diss., University of Sheffield (United Kingdom). Accessed May 8, 2023, https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/6634/. Figure 4.24. Spatial Transparency, Hasht Behesht, Isfahan, The green spaces show the reduction of material to decrease the level of solidity in pavilions. The image was modified by the author. Source: Ermac Kiyani. “Hasht Behesht Palace.” Wikidata. Accessed May 8, 2023. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1314130. Figure 4.25. Spatial Transparency, Hasht Behesht, Isfahan, The green spaces show the reduction of material to decrease the level of solidity in pavilions. Red lines represent the cruciform plan. The image was modified by the author, Source: Pedram Forouzanfar. “Hasht Behesht Palace.” Accessed May 8, 2023. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1314130. 325 Mohammad Gharipour, “Introduction.” in Persian Gardens and Pavilions: Reflections in History, Poetry and the Arts, (London: I.B.Tauris, 2013), 1–10, https://doi.org/10.5040/9780755693580. 172 In this sense, palace gardens’ architects create a negative space through the composition of material forms and shapes to express multi-layered social and cultural concepts. In other words, architects of palace gardens not only design the composition of form, but they also simultaneously create a configuration of negative space. They activate the negative space in several ways, such as creating an optical void of power326, a corridor to natural elements of gardens, and a place of interaction to shape the social aspects of architecture.327 4.2.4. Royal Quarter The integration of urban structures and gardens is another noticeable feature that can be seen in Persianate gardens. The arid natural environment of the Iranian Plateau necessitates the association of urban structures with green spaces. In this sense, Persianate gardens generated a microcosmic urban structure in the harsh landscape that allowed the flourishing of life. The image of the king turning a barren land into a fruitful garden, creating symmetry and order out of disorder, and replicating the "divine paradise on earth" conveys a message about legitimacy, fertility, and spiritual power.328 326 The axial view that starts from a royal pavilion, passing through a garden is an example of the optical void of power. This feature is evident in several Persianate gardens, including the Royal Garden of Pasargadae and Chehel Sotun Palace. In these cases, the kings' sight and presence at the “garden portico” extended through the gardens, and this axial view became more accentuated by surrounding tall trees. 327 Please refer to these sources for more information on negative spaces and active spaces. Infinite Dictionary, “Nothing Is Something: The Importance of Negative Space (Part 2).” Design: A Beginner’s Handbook (blog), July 25, 2015. http://infinitedictionary.com/blog/2015/07/25/nothing-is-something-the-importance-of-negative-space-part-2/. And Steven Bradley, “How To Activate Space In A Design.” Vanseo Design, December 13, 2010. https://vanseodesign.com/web-design/active-space/. 328 David Stronach, “The Garden as a Political Statement: Some Case Studies from the Near East in the First Millennium B.C.” Bulletin of the Asia Institute 4 (1990): 171–80. 173 The Royal Garden at Pasargadae is one of the first applications of four-fold gardens in the construction of a royal city.329 As Fiona Kidd points out, the Pasargadae Garden marked the shift of power from Mesopotamia to Iran.330 While the mature elements of city structure, such as avenues, public plazas, commercial structures, etc., are not completely obvious in the Royal garden at Pasargadae, one can still observe the existence of main pathways flanked by tall trees in the city garden. This spatial design can be perceived as an avenue passing through the garden and ending up at the king's pavilion, giving the king a superior view of the city and public interaction. The more developed version of this city-garden diagram can be seen in the Safavid city of Isfahan (1588-1629) and the Mughal city of Shahjahanabad (1639 and 1739). These cities are excellent examples of royal city gardens (the sovereign city). According to Stephen Blake, the sovereign cities, as types of patrimonial-bureaucratic state, were the capitals of most Asian empires between 1400 and 1750. The sovereign cities had a hierarchical socio-political order in which different life aspects, such as urban economy, social and cultural interaction, and spiritual beliefs, centered around the emperors and their families. The arrangement of mosques, shops, and gardens in the city represented the domination of power over the city landscape and citizens through socio-cultural, religious, commercial, and political leverages. The sovereign cities represent a miniature kingdom and its political structure.331 329 Hamed KhosravI. “The City as a Project | Geopolitics of Tabula Rasa: Persian Garden and the Idea of City.” Journal of Architecture and Urbanism, no. 38:1 (2014): 39–53. 330 Kidd, “Ideas of Empire: The ‘Royal Garden’ at Pasargadae.” 331 Stephen P. Blake, “Preface” In Shahjahanabad: The Sovereign City in Mughal India 1639–1739, 1–26. Cambridge South Asian Studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511563225. 174 The royal cities of Isfahan and Shahjahanabad share several similar features, shaping an integrated city layout with political, religious, and commercial elements. This is evident in the centrality of urban design around royal palaces, the existence of commercial promenades as the arteries of city structure, the unification of urban design with gardens, and the central role of religious structures i.e., mosques. Both cities were erected as a new urban development next to old towns, reflecting the emergence of new political power. These cities' layouts highlight the concept of materializing power relations through monumental environments, impacting the social ordering of a nation.332 In line with this concept, the political, economic, and social lives of the royal city of Isfahan were shaped around the Safavid Shahs’ and their nobles' royal palace gardens.333 In other words, court life and gardens were an inseparable part of Safavid cities in which the connection of palace gardens and urban layout were built upon two public spaces, namely maydan (public plaza) and four-fold garden promenade. These two elements generate order and shape the structure of the city garden as a royal center.334 Maydan, as the center of the city, has four gates, each leading to different power leverage. One of the gates connects maydan to Ali Qapu (palace of the Shah), giving the king a superior view of the plaza. The other gates in maydan led to the royal market and two mosques. To the southwest of maydan and next to royal garden palaces, a long garden avenue crosses the Zayanda-Rud River by the Allahvardi Khan Bridge, generating the primary residential and commercial part of the city.335 332 Santhi Kavuri-Bauer, “Introduction,” In Monumental Matters: The Power, Subjectivity, and Space of India’s Mughal Architecture, 1–18. Duke University Press, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822393764. 333 Blake, “Comparison and conclusion” 195–99. 334 Alemi, “The Royal Gardens of the Safavid Period: Types and Models,” 72-96. 335 Blake, “Comparison and conclusion.” 195–99. 175 In a similar vein, Shahjahanabad was shaped around the imperial palace fortress of Red Fort, multiple gardens, and the tree-lined boulevard of Chandni Chowk. This avenue was a commercial centerpiece, crossing the city and weaving together different city functions such as places, gardens, and mosques. It featured residences above the shopping malls on both sides, and multiple chowks (squares) intersected the avenue. 336 Figures 4.26 and 4.27 represent a visual comparison between Safavid Isfahan and Mughal Shahjahanabad, highlighting the promenade as the main linear urban structure that orders the city layout. 336 Sonali Bhagwati, Samir Mathur, Sonali Rastogi, Durga Shanker Mishra, and Vinod Kumar, “Chandni Chowk And Kashmere Gate, Guidelines and Redevelopment Strategies,” Delhi Urban Art Commission, https://duac.org.in/Upload/City%20Level%20Studies/Site%20specific%20design%20for%20wards/653950747044488.pdf. 176 Figure 4.26. Plan of Safavid Isfahan, mid-seventeenth century, modified by the author, adopted from Farshid Emami, “Coffeehouses, Urban Spaces, and the Formation of a Public Sphere in Safavid Isfahan,” Muqarnas Online 33, no. 1 (November 14, 2016): 177–220. https://doi.org/10.1163/22118993_03301P008. 177 Figure 4.27. Plan of Mughal Shahjahanabad, 1639-1739, edited by the author, adopted from William Mackenzie map, London, 1857-58, http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00maplinks/colonial/delhi1857/delhi1857max.jpg. (The map functions are Informed by the Delhi Urban Art Commission. “Rejuvenation of Shahjahanabad.” Delhi Urban Art Commission, October 2017. https://duac.org.in/Upload/City%20Level%20Studies/Site%20specific%20design%20for%20wards/653954173410426.pdf. and Stephen P. Blake, “City and Empire” In Shahjahanabad: The Sovereign City in Mughal India 1639–1739, 7-8. Cambridge South Asian Studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511563225.) 4.3. Chapter Summary The criteria thoroughly discussed here shift the nation-based perception of fourfold gardens and restructure it accordingly. They act as a new measuring tool to redraw the Persianate gardens' extent in the cultural zone of Central Asia, Iranian, and Deccan plateaus, as opposed to UNESCO's criteria with the nation-based outcome. Instead of employing a universal set of external standards for evaluating heritage, the shared comparison criteria suggest a novel framework emerged from the spatial qualities inherent in the gardens. The research criteria, embodied in similar forms and functions, transcend form-based features. 178 They emerged from comparable cultural, social, and political contexts that highlight the existence of a shared cultural zone. They not only foreground the consistent flow of thoughts and spatial logic found in Persianate gardens but also a close resemblance between the cultural and socio-political context in which the gardens were constructed. The social, political, and cultural interactions between Timurids, Safavids, and Mughals are shown in the first section of this chapter, Historical Context of Transnational Exchange. Considering the flow of thoughts and its impact on art and architecture, the chapter then discusses the spatial extent of this cultural zone through the formal and conceptual consistency in Persianate gardens’ designs. This is achieved through defining the shared vocabulary of architecture and landscape design within the framework of transnational exchange. (the tree diagram in Figure 4.10). The first shared concept, Hierarchical Order, represents the relationship between power and optical hierarchy in Persianate gardens. It discusses that spatial hierarchy, symbolized in forms such as stepped gardens, is not only the result of land morphology but also the political order of society. The second concept, the Quadripartite Concept, is built upon religious and political aspects, tending to rule over the whole world (four quarters of the world). In this context, the sacred number four, was reflected in both the gardens' layout and the ninefold plan of the pavilions, which is the iterative and self‐referential outcome of the four-arch structure. Transparency defines the interdependencies of multiple spaces through optical corridors, connecting different spatial scenarios and providing more dynamic space for social and environmental interaction. Transparency is about non-materialistic spatial criteria, decreasing the material of the built structure to enhance the space. This feature can also 179 highlight the superior power when a king gazes down upon the people in a public plaza from his privileged viewpoint on a balcony or third-story talar (gaze of power). Finally, the Royal Quarter discusses the socio-political aspects of gardens as urban artifacts, showing the intertwined connection between royal gardens and Islamic cities. This concept illuminates how architects arranged different commercial, religious, and administrative elements within the gardens' structure, highlighting them as the leverage of power. Informed by the criteria and shared concepts, the study will focus on two of them, including Hierarchical Order in the form of stepped gardens and Quadripartite Worldview in the form of a ninefold plan. The next chapter will discuss stepped gardens and ninefold plans by providing several case studies spread across the Persianate cultural zone to validate the reliability of shared criteria. 180 5. Chapter 5: Case Studies of Stepped Gardens and Nine-fold Plans For built heritage, form and function reflect the social, cultural, and political context of which they are a part. In a cultural zone, the consistency of forms and designs across political boundaries highlights the hidden layer of interaction and exchange. Built upon similar cultural and architectural concepts, a set of criteria was established to define the cultural zone.337 Still, it is crucial to provide tangible examples showing the reliability of these criteria in indicating the transnational extent of Persianate gardens. Hence, this chapter selects two criteria out of four, i.e., Hierarchical Order and The Quadripartite Concepts, to discuss their respective subdivisions further. This chapter elaborates precisely on stepped gardens and nine-fold plans, which are categorized under the shared idea of quadripartite concepts and hierarchical order in the comparison criteria (Figure 5.1).338 Figure 5.1. Sepideh Saffari, Tree Diagram of Shared Concepts and Form (A part of Comparison Criteria), 2023. 337 These criteria are defined as a new set of values, prioritizing cultural connections over political borders. They intend to rearrange UNESCO's classification of tangible heritage and emphasize the transnational significance of gardens. For further details, please see Chapter 3, Comparison Criteria, and Chapter 4, Comparison Criteria: Shared Vocabulary of Architecture and Landscape Design. 338 The complete version of this tree diagram can be found in the Chapter 3 and Chapter 4, under Comparison Criteria and A Shared Vocabulary of Landscape Design and Concepts. 181 Informed by Thematic Categorization in Chapter 3,339 this chapter provides several case studies over time and regions. The in-depth spatial analysis of forms and functions of the case studies crystallizes the shared criteria, acting as the proof for those concepts. To be more explicit, the transnationality of Persianate gardens is shown by providing several solid instances of stepped gardens and ninefold plans spread across different geographical locations (Figures 5.10 and 5.34). These case studies assert not only the validity of shared criteria to reorganize gardens but also show how these historical gardens shared the same sense of spatiality rooted in a close resemblance between their patrons' mindsets. 5.1. Stepped Gardens: Definition, Exchange, and Hidden Concepts Chapter 4 considers the hierarchical order in Persian gardens’ pavilions and landscapes. Stepped gardens are particularly interesting examples for observing the implication of hierarchical order in the landscape of four-fold gardens. Stepped gardens were shaped over several terraces given the topographic conditions while they reserved their axial compositions. A water channel crosses through the garden’s terraces (martaba), forming the main axis of the garden. The gardens’ entrance is typically at the lowest level,340 and they usually contain a royal pavilion at the highest step. Although one should not disregard the significance of natural slopes in irrigation and water flow, stepped gardens offer an excellent setting for the symbolic expression of royal power through architectural and landscape 339 Please refer to Chapter 3, Figure 3.8 and Figure 3.9. 340 Ebba Koch, “The Garden of Babur in Kabul: A Dynastic Project of the Mughal Dynasty and Its Survival,” International Journal of Islamic Architecture 12, no. 1 (January 1, 2023): 33–70. https://doi.org/10.1386/ijia_00094_1. 182 arrangements. Put differently, one can anticipate the emphasis on intertwined hierarchical order associated with dynastic functions considering the royal nature of these gardens. Different visual weights created by the architectural arrangement emphasized the importance of the king’s place. This is also evident in the names associated with each step, martaba, which also refers to religious and socio-political ranks. In addition, one can notice the hierarchical vocabularies that were common in defining different spaces with the same function in Islamic architecture, particularly in the Mughal era. For instance, Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audiences) and Khas Mahal refer to the Mughal emperor's private residence. However, Diwan-i-Amm is the Hall of Public Audiences, and zenana means women's quarters or women's space in Persian, Hindi, and Urdu. This kind of categorization and titles for spatial layout reflects the hidden hierarchical aspects of the garden design. Architects defined hierarchy and privacy using design concepts such as the level of access and view to a particular place. If designers designated private usage for a specific space, its visibility from other areas was restricted and its access was not immediate. This hierarchical design can be seen in multiple shapes speaking to topography and natural features of the garden’s site, particularly water sources. For instance, the highest spot, with a superior view, was devoted to the kings/queens’ pavilion/tombs in the stepped gardens over a hill. However, the view of the river was reserved for the king/queen’s pavilion/tomb in a riverfront garden topography (Figures 5.8 and 5.9). This is evident in the Taj Mahal tomb, which is a riverfront garden compared to hillside gardens; however, there is room for further exploration to investigate this argument. To visualize and examine the hierarchical concept in stepped gardens, this section refers to the Milanote spatial dataset, conducts online searches, and explores the historical 183 development of gardens by surveying related scholarship. The Milanote datasets consolidate diverse data types, such as plans, elevations, sections, and images from diverse sources (refer to Figures 3.12 and 3.14 in Chapter 3). The study conducts a broad online search to find the terraces’ heights, layouts, and functions of each garden. This search identifies a wider range of scholarship and cross-reference them by looking at their bibliographies. To be more precise, approximate height data comes from scrutinizing photographs of the sites obtained from online sources such as Archnet and Asian Historical Architecture websites, along with some plans, sections, and elevation drawings available from a range of online sources and scholarships such as the Encyclopaedia of Metropolitan Museum of Art Digital Collection of archeological excavation, Encyclopaedia of Iranica, Archnet, Wikimedia common sources, Persian published sources like A General Survey of Persian Gardens by Alireza Aryanpour and many others.341 The study compacts all 2D data into schematic 3D graphical analysis to show the visual weight of the stepped gardens' design considering the distribution of royal function. Schematic three-dimensional modeling is imperative for analyzing the influential factors (the height of terraces and their layout) that operate in diverse dimensions. Afterward, the study compares all graphics to show the consistency of the design, considering the shared criteria, i.e., the hierarchical order. It is worth noting that this section is also informed by secondary sources to find the functionality of each space in a royal context while maintaining attention to ideas exchanges and the consistent design over the cultural zone. In this sense, the 341 Please refer to sources of figures 5.2-5.10 and figures 5.16-5.34. 184 interconnected diagram of Figure 4.8 (Chapter 4), i.e., the historical context of transnational exchange, provides some insights into possible connections. One of the earliest recognized examples of stepped gardens342 was in Iran, named Takht Garden, which has almost a thousand years of history. Takht Garden (throne garden) was established by a local ruler of the 11th century, Atabak Qaracheh,343 It contains three major parts, namely Estakhr Garden (Lake Garden), Motabbaq Garden (Terraced Garden), and Khalvat Garden (Private Garden). The Private Garden reserved the highest part of the hill for the court family,344 having a superior view of the surroundings (Figure 5.2). The importance of this garden and its design is in revealing its transnational influence on the stepped gardens of the Timurid era in Central Asia. As discussed in the previous chapter, Timur erected four gardens in Samarkand, which were modeled and named after the previous gardens in Shiraz, including Takht Garden.345 These threads of connections between Shiraz and Central Asian gardens can also be seen in Figure 4.8, showing the historical exchanges between those regions. The gardens of Samarkand shared similar features that influenced later Mughal gardens. The most prominent characteristics of these gardens were inspired by the Persian prototypes of four-fold gardens while benefiting from a natural slope or the artificial hill to ensure the proper irrigation and flow of water.346 These features not only 342 Please refer to the Stepped Gardens diagram of Figure 3.8, in Chapter 3. 343 Donald Newton Wilber, “Shiraz: Home of Gardens and Poets.” In Persian Gardens & Garden Pavilions, 190–93. Rutland, Vt: C.E. Tuttle Co, 1962. 344 Hamid-Reza Khoei, and Mohammad Reza Garavandpoor, 2011. “The Architecture of ‘Baq Takht’ Garden in Shiraz.” Soffeh 20 (4–3): 5–22. 345 Alemi, “The Royal Gardens of the Safavid Period: Types and Models,” 72-96. 346 Donald Newton Wilber, “Timurid Gardens: From Tamerlane to Babur,” In Persian Gardens & Garden Pavilions, 64. Rutland, Vt: C.E. Tuttle Co, 1962. 185 created a similar design, but they also shared a similar power narrative, in which the best spot of the hill gardens was reserved for the ruler. In this regard, Figure 5.3 shows one of the Timurid Garden's reconstructed plans (Rose Garden), featuring the royal palaces over the hill and the fourfold layout structure. Timurid gardens had a significant impact on later Mughal gardens, which further developed the legacy of Persianate gardens, having a creative dialogue with local and beyond-border monuments. Babur, the founder of the Mughal empire and the descendant of Timur, was impressed by the terraced gardens of Samarkand, such as Darwish Muhammad Tarkhan’s Chahar Bagh, which were designed with regular terraces. Babur’s stepped gardens, such as the Bagh-i Wafa (Garden of Fidelity) near Jalalabad (1508–9) and Babur’s Garden (1504) in Kabul are examples of early Mughal hillside gardens inspired by Timurid features. Babur’s garden was later developed by his successors, particularly his grandson, Akabr into a grand terraced construction to demonstrate Akbar's status as the only legitimate heir to the Mughal throne.347 Akbar’s chief engineer, Muhammad Qasim Khan, was in charge of supervising the completion of the project. He was the nephew of Mirza Doost, an old servant of Timurids.348 Considering the royal and political aspects of the Babur Garden as a dynastic center, Jahangir, the fourth Mughal ruler, added a memorial stele with inscriptions to the tombstones of Babur, and Shah Jahan, the fifth ruler, ordered the construction of a mosque on the 14th terrace below the Babur Tomb (15th terrace). Shah Jahan also constructed an ornamental 347 Koch, “The Garden of Babur in Kabul: A Dynastic Project of the Mughal Dynasty and Its Survival.” 33–70. 348 Pratyay Nath, “Building the Empire: Military Infrastructure and the Career of Muhammad Qāsim Khān Mughal Commander.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 75 (2014): 270–74. 186 marble screen over the grave of Ruqaiya Begum to distinguish the tomb of his foster mother.349 This historical development unfolds the hidden concepts behind the design of the Babur Garden, as can be observed in Figure 5.4. This graphic represents the location of Shah Jahan Mosque, Babur, and Ruqaiya Begum tombs in the garden. One can notice the symbolic concept behind these elements' location, considering the dynastic nature of Babur’s Garden. The tomb of Babur (the founder of the dynasty) is on the 15th terrace as the symbol of royal power, while Shah Jahan's Mosque is on the 14th terrace as a religious symbol. This architectural arrangement added a hierarchical accent to the garden, showing the significance of royal power, even over a religious monument, i.e., Shah Jahan Mosque. Moreover, the later added constructions, such as the Queens’ Palace and the royal pavilion by Afghan kings, narrate other hierarchical stories. While the royal pavilion is at the main axis of the garden, providing a central view over the garden, the Queens’ Palace is at the top corner, out of the visual weight of the garden composition. Inspired by the stepped garden of Babur in Kabul, Jahangir ordered the construction of the Shalamar terraced garden near Srinagar Lake.350 Shalamar Garden at Srinagar was later completed by Jahangir’s successor, Shah Jahan, who added another step in the form of a fourfold garden to the existing one and constructed a pavilion in dark gray stone.351 The new garden was established for the royal ladies and was considered the women’s quarter 349 Koch, “The Garden of Babur in Kabul: A Dynastic Project of the Mughal Dynasty and Its Survival,” 33–70. 350 John Brookes, “Mughal India,” In Gardens of Paradise: The History and Design of the Great Islamic Gardens, 116–141. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1987. 351 Ebba Koch, “Shah Jahan,” In Mughal Architecture: An Outline of Its History and Development, 1526-1858, 116. München, Federal Republic of Germany: New York, NY, USA: Prestel; Distributed in the USA and Canada on behalf of Prestel-Verlag by the Neues Pub. Co, 1991. 187 (zenana). The water linked the three garden levels: Zenana Garden, Emperor’s Garden, and Public Garden. Figure 5.5 represents the hierarchical accent of Shalamar Garden design, unfolding how the level of privacy and social class speaks to the vertical functions’ distribution. This argument resonates with John Brooks’ discussion on the hierarchical accent behind the arrangement of Shalamar Garden’s levels, which follows a particular manner of rhythm and progression. The courtly aspect of Shalimar Garden is expressed through each level’s function, as one can notice the linear progression from the Hall of Public (the first level) to the Hall of Private Audience (the second level) and finally to the living and women quarter’s (the third level), to which only the emperor had access.352 Shah Jahan ordered the construction of another stepped garden in Lahore with the same name, Shalamar. The Shalamar Garden’s architect was a Persian noble, Ali Mardan Khan, whose knowledge of architecture prompted him as a member of Shah Jahan’s architectural council.353 Shalamar Garden at Lahore followed a similar hierarchical structure, including an upper terrace devoted to the residence of the empress and a hall for private audiences (Figure 5.6). Shah Jahan’s Persian father-in-law, Asaf Khan (Nur Jahan’s elder brother), followed the same order in building another garden, called Nishat Garden in Srinagar, in which the ultimate terrace354 was devoted to the women's quarter (Figure 5.7). 352 Brookes, “Mughal India.” 116–141. It is worth noting that Ebba Koch also discusses the hierarchical feature of Mughal gardens in general, highlighting the symbolic usage of color as a means of expressing this concept. (Ebba Koch, “Conclusion.” In Mughal Architecture: An Outline of Its History and Development, 1526-1858, 134-36 München, Federal Republic of Germany: New York, NY, USA: Prestel; Distributed in the USA and Canada on behalf of Prestel-Verlag by the Neues Pub. Co, 1991.) 353 Koch, “Shah Jahan.” 116-120. 354 Brookes, “Mughal India.” 143. 188 The step-based arrangement of Mughal gardens was sometimes subtle, as in the Taj Mahal tomb garden, constructed in Shah Jahan’s era (Figure 5.8). Ebba Koch discusses that if one considers the whole complex of the Taj Mahal, namely the riverfront garden, the bazaar, and the caravanserai complexes, the mausoleum at the riverfront garden is at the lowest terrace of a three-level composition. The mausoleum was designed over a white marble platform (5.6 meters high), inspired by funerary platforms in Central Asia, to counterbalance the lowest height and accentuate the tomb's significance. Due to the slight slope of Agra, this feature at the Taj Mahal is not as evident as other Mughal stepped gardens. Shah Jahan had already visited Babur Garden, in which a terrace garden was used as a dynastic funerary complex, and he ordered a similar design inspired by his previous observation.355 In line with the later Mughal rulers in India, Qajar kings (1789–1797) in Iran constructed several stepped gardens such as Mahan or Shahzadeh Garden (Prince’s Garden) and the Qasr-e Qajar (the castle of Qajar). In the early 1880s, Mahan Garden was built by the governor of Kerman, Naser ad-Duleh, the elder brother of Farman Farma, who was a powerful Qajar prince.356 The garden site is near Nematollah Vali's tomb, similar to the previous Persian Gardens in Shiraz, such as Delgosha Garden near Saadi Tomb and Jahan Nama Garden near Hafiz Tomb. It is worth noting that while the vicinity of the tomb and garden was evident in the early Islamic Garden in Iran, the mature combination of funerary sites with gardens occurred in the Mughal era. The entrance to the Mahan Garden was from the lowest terrace, while the residence of the Qajar governor of Kerman was at the top part of the terraced garden across the primary axis of the four-fold composition (Figure 5.9). 355 Koch, “The Garden of Babur in Kabul: A Dynastic Project of the Mughal Dynasty and Its Survival.” 33–70. 356 Penelope Hobhouse, and Erica Hunningher. “Mahan Garden.” In The Gardens of Persia, 134–40. San Diego: Kales Press, 2004. 189 These historical developments reveal the functionality of each terrace in a royal context. Moreover, it helps further complete the Milanote spatial dataset on stepped gardens, which was primarily built upon UNESCO’s dataset. For instance, some gardens, such as the Takht Garden of Shiraz and Takht Garden in Samarkand no longer exist and subsequently, they are not on UNESCO’s list. However, they play a significant role in comprehending the transnational flow between the pre-Safavid stepped gardens of Iran and the Timurid gardens of Central Asia. Furthermore, historical miniatures or manuscripts that fill the gap left by the absence of actual gardens are not included in the UNESCO’s dataset. Thus, a review of stepped garden literature to reveal functions and blind spots was as helpful as using the Millnote dataset, particularly Figure 4.8 in Chapter 4 and Figure 3.11 in Chapter 3. Informed by this subject matter, this chapter converts the dataset into a 3D visual analysis of functions and forms to reveal the hidden pattern and crystallize the shared concept of hierarchical order. A visual comparison between Figures 5.2 to 5.7 reveals the hierarchical patterns embedded in the function distribution of hillside gardens. The functional distribution was affected by factors such as gender and social class. In the hillside gardens, one can observe that the level of power hierarchy and privacy are directly connected to the height of the terrace. The highest terrace was usually reserved either for the king directly or for the queens. In either case, the focus of the power sphere was on a king who had access and superior power to the whole composition, including the queen’s quarter. Precisely, if the highest part of the garden was reserved for royal women, it was more because of privacy rather than power. Besides this pattern, cases such as the Taj Mahal reveal the connection between riverfront gardens and hillside stepped gardens. Figures 5.8 and 5.9 show how the level of 190 authority affects the definition of the function for each step corresponding to distinct natural elements, i.e., hills and rivers. Despite a hillside Garden, the lowest terrace near the river was the primary focus of architecture in a river-front garden. While there is a need to consider more riverside gardens for an accurate argument, the reverse hierarchical order between the Taj Mahal and other hillside stepped gardens, such as the Mahan Garden, is undeniable. Achieving a clear hierarchical order within stepped gardens involves consideration of multiple factors. These include the garden plan, which shows the layout and organization of various elements, as well as the section or elevation that accentuates height differences across the garden's terraces. The surrounding geographical elements, such as the terrain, also contribute significantly to the overall design. Moreover, historical development adds another layer of complexity and meaning to the gardens' structure by exploring the functionality of the terraces. To effectively convey the intricacies of these factors, a simple 3D visualization proves invaluable. Through this medium, the garden's plan, elevation, geographical context, and historical development can be seamlessly integrated, revealing hidden patterns and emphasizing the existence of these design concepts. In other words, it can create a holistic representation of the stepped garden that not only showcases its physical attributes but also communicates the underlying concepts and design principles. This approach can be valuable for conveying the shared principle and pattern of stepped gardens across different regions and cases. Figure 5.10 represents the stepped gardens across Iran, India, and Central Asia, highlighting an interconnected network of architecture and landscape design. It encompasses stepped gardens’ 3D analysis while placing them in the cultural zone. Hence, one can observe the flow of ideas expressed through sharing the same sense of spatiality in the design of stepped gardens. Put differently, 191 the resemblance between stepped gardens reveals not only the gardens' similar forms but also uncovers similar spatial logic. The geographical extent of this similar spatial reasoning can show the flow of ideas over investigated regions. Figure 5.2. Sepideh Saffari, The Plan of Takht Garden, Shiraz, Iran, exported from Illustrator 2023. The 2D plan was adopted from Alireza Aryanpour. A General Survey of Persian Gardens and an Investigation of Historical Gardens of Shiraz. Tehran: Golshan, 1986. P. 170. Figure 5.3. Sepideh Saffari, The Plan of Timurid Rose Garden, Samarkand, Uzbekistan, exported from Illustrator 2023. The 2D plan was adopted from John Brookes, Gardens of Paradise: The History and Design of the Great Islamic Gardens, 76. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1987. 192 Figure 5.4. Sepideh Saffari, The Plan of Babur Garden, Kabul, Afghanistan, exported from Illustrator 2023. Sepideh Saffari, The Plan of Babur Garden, Kabul, Afghanistan, exported from Illustrator 2023. The 2D plan was adopted from Asian Historical Architecture, Courtesy, redrawn and edited by Timothy M. Ciccone, accessed February 27, 2023. https://www.orientalarchitecture.com/sid/845/afghanistan/kabul/bagh-e-babur-garden. Figure 5.5. Sepideh Saffari, The Plan of Shalamar Garden, Srinagar, Kashmir, India, exported from Illustrator 2023. The 2D plan was adopted from C. M. Villiers-Stuart, Gardens of the Great Mughals. London: A. and C. Black, 1913, 165, https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.55753. 193 Figure 5.6. Sepideh Saffari, The Plan of Shalamar Garden, Lahore, Pakistan, exported from Illustrator 2023. The 2D plan was adopted from Asian Historical Architecture, Courtesy, redrawn and edited by Timothy M. Ciccone, accessed February 24, 2023. https://www.orientalarchitecture.com/sid/572/pakistan/lahore/shalamar-gardens. Figure 5.7. Sepideh Saffari, The Plan of Nishat Garden, Kashmir, built in 1632, exported from Illustrator 2023. The 2D plan was adopted from “Archnet > Site > Nishat Bagh.” Accessed October 26, 2023. https://www.archnet.org/sites/6339?media_content_id=105688. And Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, “Schematic Design Project Journal of Islamic Garden”, Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Canada, 09 February 2012. 194 Figure 5.8. Sepideh Saffari, The Complete Plan of Taj Mahal in India, exported from Illustrator 2023. The 2D plan was adopted from Mcginnly, “Interactive Plan of the Taj Mahal.” 2023. In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Origins_and_architecture_of_the_Taj_Mahal&oldid=1177076915 Figure 5.9. Sepideh Saffari, the Plan of Mahan Garden, Iran, exported from Illustrator 2023. The 2D plan was adopted from Penelope Hobhouse and Erica Hunningher, The Plan and the Entrance View of Mahan Garden, from Penelope Hobhouse and Erica Hunningher, “Mahan Garden.” In The Gardens of Persia, 134–40. San Diego: Kales Press, 2004. 195 Figure 5.10. Sepideh Saffari, the interactive and customized Google map of Stepped Garden Webpage, from my Dissertation’s Website, 2023, https://thearchiart.com/stepped-gardens/, accessed 7 Nov 2023. This figure shows a screenshot of the Dissertation’s Web page, including the discussed stepped gardens above. It is worth noting that the map on the website does not include the 3D analysis of stepped gardens.196 5.2. Ninefold Plans: Definition, Exchange, and Hidden Concepts Chapter 4 shows that landscapes and pavilions in Persianate gardens follow a similar concept, i.e., the quadripartite divisions, of which nine-fold layouts were created. Put differently, the study argues that UNESCO’s dataset can be restructured according to shared architectural concepts of which one is quadripartite divisions. It also argues that the ninefold design of architectural structure is connected to the quadripartite concept, developing upon four-fold division. Following that, this section provides a thorough discussion on the flow of the Nine-fold plan idea, using several case studies over different times and regions to investigate the connection of the fourfold structure to the ninefold pavilions of Persianate gardens. To accomplish that, this section draws insights from Figures 3.13 and 3.15 in Chapter 3 and Figure 4.8 in Chapter 4. They provide a general guide to dig deeper into each case. To further reveal the connections between those cases, this section focuses on analyzing the case studies’ plans, marking them within principal axial and diagonal spatial divisions. This helps highlight the study arguments on the flow of ideas through the lens of spatial layout analysis, illustrating a bigger picture of the ninefold plan development. A 3D analysis of a nine-fold plan considering the functionality of each space and its impact on hierarchical design can be the subject of future studies. The nine-fold plan concept is consistently applied in both introverted structures like mosques and residential units, as well as extroverted monuments like pavilions that offer views of the surrounding garden. For instance, a four-iwan mosque opening into a courtyard is an example of an introverted design inspired by the quadripartite concept. Depending on the building’s function, the quadripartite design works in reverse, providing views of the surrounding landscape. Brooks connects four-fold divisions to traditional Islamic 197 architecture, in which four inner-directed forces357 open views on a courtyard. In a garden layout, four outward-directed forces connect the pavilion and the surrounding gardens by creating four visual corridors (Figures 5.11 and 5.12).358 Figure 5.11. The online tour, Fin Garden in Iran, (This image shows the four outward-directed arrows towards the garden.) Edited by author, from 360 Google Map Street views, 2022. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Fin+garden. Figure 5.12. Global Digital Heritage, Bibi-Khanym Mosque in Uzbekistan, (The image shows the four inner-directed arrows towards the courtyard.) from Sketchfab, 2021. https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/bibi-khanym-mosque-samarkand-uzbekistan-dc8ec865fd0d480c8ae06196fd18d296. Aside from the ubiquitous usage of the quadripartite concept in the Islamic era, its roots are traced back to ancient Persian and Mesopotamian traditions. For instance, the Iranian decorative potteries359 back to 4000 B.C. show the cruciform plan of gardens, unfolding people’s beliefs regarding the division of the world into four quarters. (Figures 357 In this context, the force can be translated to iwans, a portico with a view to a courtyard or outer space. 358 John Brookes, “The Concept of the Paradise Garden.” In Gardens of Paradise: The History and Design of the Great Islamic Gardens, 21-23. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1987. 359 Please also see (Stan Jones. “Ceramic Development in the Middle East.” In Ceramics - Art or Science? 217, 2010. https://www.ceramicsartorscience.co.uk/EicBooks/bookpage.php?eicbookident=caoslive&eicbookpage=217. And Zohreh Hosseini and Giulia Caneva. “Lost Gardens: From Knowledge to Revitalization and Cultural Valorization of Natural Elements.” Sustainability 14, no. 5 (January 2022): 2956. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052956. ) 198 5.13 and 5.14).360 The investigation of the pre-Islamic quadripartite division clarifies the historical development of this concept, linking detached pieces of data together. Figure 5.13. Persian spouted vessel, Tepe Sialk, Kashan, Iran, 4,000 BC - source Iran National Museum, Tehran, photo by Fabian Dany. From “Ceramics Art or Science.” Accessed March 26, 2024. https://www.ceramicsartorscience.co.uk/EicBooks/bookpage.php?eicbookident=caoslive&eicbookpage=217. Figure 5.14. Pottery, Tepe Sialk, Kashan, Iran, 1000 BC - source Iran National Museum, Tehran, by Jona Lendering, Marco Prins. One can see the quadripartite layout created by two perpendicular axes (either walkways or water) and the triangle shapes that can represent cypress trees. Besides the landscape of the gardens, the four-fold idea appeared in buildings called CaharTaq, which means four arches. CaharTaq is a domed unit with four axial arches that has been continuously used in both religious and secular monuments since 1,500 years ago. Indeed, the pre-Islamic four-arched system and nine-fold plan are interrelated architectural strategies for dividing the space. The pre-Islamic four-arch layouts further developed into glorious Islamic ninefold plans in which two perpendicular and two diagonal axes divide a square/rectangle shape, ending up to eight rooms on each side. The ninth central space is at the intersections of perpendicular and two diagonal axes (Figure 5.15). 360 Donald Newton Wilber, “Persian Gardens and Paradise,” In Persian Gardens & Garden Pavilions, 19. Rutland, Vt: C.E. Tuttle Co, 1962. 199 Figure 5.15. Sepideh Saffari, The Development of Fourfold Plan into Nine-fold Plan, created by Illustrator, 2023. This kind of planning had structural and functional reasons that one can unfold by investigating the historical development of the ninefold plan. Since the Achaemenids, four-fold layouts have facilitated the attachment of two well-known Persian architectural elements, including Iwan (portico) and Talar (a hypostyle hall), to the main building. This is evident in the Royal Garden of Pasargadae, in which the attached Talars to pavilions open view to the garden and prompt a semi-four-arch layout (Figure 5.16). The Apadana Palace in Persepolis is another excellent example, in which one can observe the pre-Islamic nine-fold plan with attached hypostyle halls (Figure 5.17). The pre-Islamic version of the nine-fold plans in the form of four arches was also common in Sassanid architecture, during which the first fully developed version of CaharTaq 361 with a cruciform ground plan was created (Figure 5.18). Another great example of Sassanid architecture with the iwan attached to a four-fold plan is the Imarat-i Khusraw at Qasr-i Shirin (591-628 AD) (Figure 5.19). 361 Dietrich Huff and Bernard O’Kane, “ČAHĀRṬĀQ,” Encyclopaedia Iranica, IV/6, 634-642, available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cahartaq (accessed on 20 October 2023). 200 The influence of four-arched and semi-ninfold designs on Abbasid architecture in Iraq, Timurid in Central Asia, and Mughal India is not far from imagination, considering Persia at the crossroads of the ancient world. Figure 5.20, the Abbasid Bulkawara Palace Garden in Samarra, represents a very early Islamic example of a quadripartite layout in the pavilion and the garden (849 AD). The Bulkawara Palace Garden is also a river-front garden, a kind of garden that became popular during the Mughal era in India. The mausoleum of the Samanids in Bukhara is another instance that shows an elementary version of the four-arched concept (Figure 5.21). Despite the basic plan of this tomb, it can be a source of inspiration for later Timurid architecture, considering its location in Central Asia. The Ilkhanate mausoleum of Soltaniyeh in Iran reveals another significant thread of transnational exchange. The main building of the tomb was erected between 1302 and 1312 AD, showing a more symmetrical octagonal plan (Figure 5.22). According to Glenn D. Lowry, Humayun (the 2nd Mughal Empire) visited Uljaytu's massive tomb during his exile in Iran and it can be an important source of inspiration for later Timurid and Mughal tomb gardens.362 Moreover, one can discuss that the structural reason prompted this kind of planning in the Timurid era, as it facilitated the transition of the square plan into a circular baseline of the dome. The Timurid mosque of Panipat in Kabul shows this idea, i.e., using the intersecting arched ribs (arch-netted elements) to fill the transitional zone between the dome and the square chamber below.363 This can be interpreted as the projection of a four-fold structure on 362 Lowry, “Humayun’s Tomb: Form, Function, and Meaning in Early Mughal Architecture.” 137. 363 Ebba Koch, “Babur,” In Mughal Architecture: An Outline of Its History and Development, 1526-1858, 32. München, Federal Republic of Germany: New York, NY, USA: Prestel; Distributed in the USA and Canada on behalf of Prestel-Verlag by the Neues Pub. Co, 1991. 201 the roof. This innovative feature of Timurid architecture enhances the structural sustainability of domes compared to traditional squinches. In addition, the well-known Jahannama and Delgosha Gardens in Shiraz possibly affected the design of the Timurid Tomb Gardens with ninefold plans (Figures 5.23 to 5.29). Delgosha Garden has pre-Islamic origins, while most of its current construction occurred in the Zand era. Hence, the form of the pavilion was not clear when Timur visited them. However, the current building is a nine-fold plan inspired by Sasanian palaces. Alireza Aryanpour discusses that Jahannama and Delgosha Gardens shone in Shiraz during the Injuids (1335–1357) and Muzaffarids (1314–1393) before Timur invaded Shiraz. Timur was impressed by Shiraz Gardens, including Jahannama and Delgosha Gardens. Thus, he ordered the construction of similar gardens in the vicinity of Samarkand with the same name.364 This is evident in the miniature of the Delgusha Garden from a folio of Zafarnama showing Timur holding a festival in his garden (Figure 5.26). If one compares the current plan of Jahannama and Delgosha Gardens in Shiraz (Figures 5.23 and 5.24) with the Timurid miniature of Delgusha Garden in Samarkand (Figure 5.26), the similarity of the central octagon is noticeable. Moreover, the Timurid miniature shows a semi-section of a two-story design with the colonnade hall at the first level. One can relate this design to the two-story elevation of Jahannama Garden and the three-story elevation design of Delgusha Garden with similar colonnade halls (Figures 5.25 and 5.26). As another example of an octagonal version of a cross-in-square plan, one can refer to a miniature by Behzid that shows a royal Timurid tent (Figure 5.27). Ruy Gonzalez de 364 Aryanpour. A General Survey of Persian Gardens and an investigation of Historical Gardens of Shiraz. 225-259. 202 Clavijo, the ambassador of King Henry III to Timur, described the Royal Timurid pavilions that were erected for Timur’s great grandson's (Ulugh Beg) marriage ceremony: “ At the center of the area (a garden), the royal enclosure was surrounded by a wall of cloth… A single gateway bore above it a lofty square tower of canvas, and within (it) was the monarch’s pavilion.”365 Considering the miniature in Figure 5.27, the awning can be interpreted as the interior portal equivalent to iwan (portico) in a permanent Persian structure. In terms of the pavilion itself, Clavijo described it as: “It was four square(s) in shape. … The ceiling of the pavilion was made circular to form a dome and the poles supporting it… From each of these poles at its summit on the dome-shaped ceiling, there hangs one end of a great curtain in silk cloth… The outer tent walls of the four porticos … are supported by twenty-four small wooden masts.” The description and the miniature visual analysis reveal Persian architectural features that Timur applied in his tent garden. The four square(s) may refer to a semi-cruciform plan in an octagonal shape composed of four squares (Figure 5.28). This visualization is in line with Clavijo’s description of the inner and outer tents of the pavilion, a dome-shaped ceiling in its center, and the four porticos outside of the tent walls. This kind of design was not limited to Timurid tents, but it also applied to Timurid built structures, of which one of the most influential ones is the nine-fold plan of the tomb of Ulugh Beg and Abdu Razzaq at Ghazni (Figure 5.29). Ulugh Beg was the son of Shahrukh Mirza (Timur’s son), who moved the focal point of politics and culture from Samarkand to Herat.366 Hence, the architectural ideas were also moved following the shift of power. After Ulugh Beg’s death, his young son Abdu Razzaq was dethroned by his father’s cousin, Babur (the founder 365 Clavijo, Embassy to Tamerlane, 1403-1406. Translated from the Spanish by Guy Le Strange. London, 1928. 366 Wilber, “Timurid Gardens: From Tamerlane to Babur.” 64. 203 of the Mughal Empire). However, Babur and his successors followed the Timurid legacy in architecture. A visual comparison between the Timurid tomb of Ulugh Beg (Figure 5.29), the Mughal tombs of Humayun (Figure 5.30), and the Taj Mahal (Figure 5.31) shows the consistency in spatial design. It also reveals the development of plans and their modules, from cruciform rectangles to cruciform octagons in Mughal architecture. Humayun's tomb architects, Sayyid Muhammad and his father, Mirak Sayyid Ghiyath, were Persian and they had experience working with the Timurid ruler, Husayn Bayaqra, and for the Mughal rulers, Babur and Humayun.367 This historical evidence further supports the exchanges of ideas besides the architectural analysis. The nine-fold plan reaches its excellence in Contemporary to Mughal rulers, Safavids used the nine-fold plans (Hasht Behesht plans) to express the earthy concept of paradise. In 1598, Shah Abbas ordered the design of the Safavid Isfahan, of which a part was devoted to the Chehel Sotun Palace Garden. Shah Abbas II completed this splendid pavilion plan, which served as a ceremonial pavilion for state occasions like the reception of foreign embassies.368 While the initial layout of the Chehel Sotun was a symmetrical nine-fold plan, Shah Abbas II added additional structures, including two adjacent wings with a large iwan and a spacious talar in front of them (Figure 5.32).369 Safavid Hasht Behesht in Isfahan is another noteworthy case of a nine-fold plan, constructed by Shah Sulaiman I in 1670.370 The Hasht 367 Ebba Koch, “Akbar,” In Mughal Architecture: An Outline of Its History and Development, 1526-1858, 43-4. München, Federal Republic of Germany: New York, NY, USA: Prestel; Distributed in the USA and Canada on behalf of Prestel-Verlag by the Neues Pub. Co, 1991. 368 Brookes, “The Concept of the Paradise Garden.” 81. 369 Foundation, Encyclopaedia Iranica. “Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica” Accessed October 24, 2023. https://iranicaonline.org. 370 Brookes, “The Concept of the Paradise Garden.” 84. 204 Behesht plan is a combination of rectangular and octagonal ninefold plans. If one divides the layout into the two inner and outer spaces (Figure 5.33), they can observe that the inner layout with its octagonal corner rooms resonates with Humayun’s tomb design. However, the outer space is more in line with the rectangular design of the Mughal Rani ki Mahall in the fort of Allahabad or Safavid Chehel Sotun. Figure 5.34 represents the locations of several ninefold plans in the cultural zone, highlighting how the idea flows across current national boundaries. The map incorporates a series of nine-fold plans– marked with colour– to illustrate the consistency of a particular graphical layout across the researched countries over history. In other words, integrating the spatial analyses of ninefold plans with the map further unveils the impact of the quadripartite concept, simultaneously featuring the geographical flow of these interconnected ideas. As a result, one can see a cohesive example of the transnational nature of fourfold palace gardens, revealed by the shared spatial feature of ninefold layouts. Figure 5.16. The Plan of a Palace at Royal Garden of Pasargadae,559-530 BC, Iran. Drawn and Modified by the author. Figure 5.17. The Plan of Apadana Palace at Persepolis, 515- 485 BC, Iran. Modified by author. From Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation. “APADĀNA.” In Encyclopaedia Iranica. Accessed October 25, 2023. https://iranicaonline.org. 205 Figure 5.18. Plan and Section of Takht-i Nishin; a fire temple by Ardašīr, 180–242 AD, Iran. Modified by author. From Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation. “ČAHĀRṬĀQ” In Encyclopaedia Iranica. Accessed October 25, 2023. https://iranicaonline.org. Figure 5.19. Reconstructed View of Imarat-i Khusraw at qasr-i Shirin, 591-628 AD, Iran. Modified by author. From “Khosrow Palace,” in Wikipedia, Oct. 24, 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Khosrow_Palace&oldid=1117916438. Figure 5.20. Plan of Riverfront Bulkawara Palace at Samarra, 849-859 AD, Iraq. Modified by author. From Excavation of Samarra (Iraq): Balkuwara Palace, Architectural drawing, Metropolitan Museum of Art: (Drawings, Watercolors and Prints: Excavation of Samarra) Ernst Herzfeld, https://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16028coll11/id/7165/. Figure 5.21. Mausoleum Of the Samanids, Modified by author. From Arthur Upham Pope, Phyllis Ackerman, and Theodore Besterman. A Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric Times to the Present. London; New York; Oxford University Press, 1938. 206 Figure 5.22. Pascal-Xavier Coste, Oljeitu Tomb, Sultaniya. Iran, 1867. Print. The tomb was Built in 1313 AD. Plan Modified by author. From RIBA Collections, https://www.ribapix.com/oljeitu-tomb-sultaniya_riba16043. Figure 5.23. The 2nd Floor Plan of JahanNama Garden near The Hafiz Tomb, Shiraz, Iran This garden dates back to the 13th century CE. Much of the present design is related to the 18th century. Modified by author. From Alireza Aryanpour. A General Survey of Persian Gardens and an Investigation of Historical Gardens of Shiraz. Tehran: Golshan, 1986. P. 238. Figure 5.24. The 1st Floor Plan of Dilgusha Garden, (Near Saadi Tomb), in Shiraz, Iran. This garden dates back to three eras of Sassanid, Safavid, and Qajar. Modified by author. From Alireza Aryanpour. A General Survey of Persian Gardens and an Investigation of Historical Gardens of Shiraz. Tehran: Golshan, 1986. P. 258. Figure 5.25. Vahid Mali, Dilgusha Garden, Shiraz, Iran, January 2, 2017, From Wikimedia Commons, accessed October 25, 2023. https://commons.wikimedia.org/. 207 Figure 5.26. (Timurid). Timurid Garden entitled Dilgusha Garden, from a folio of Zafarnama. Timur Holding a Festival in Dilgusha Garden, 1533. Edited by author, From the British Library Board, I.O. ISLAMIC 137, F60100-09, https://imagesonline.bl.uk/asset/8304/. The location of this garden is not clear, it was probably in Central Asia, near Samarqand. Figure 5.27. (Timurid). Timur within a royal garden, Frontispiece of the Zafarnama by Sharaf ad-din Ali Yazdi, 1370. Edited by author, From John Work Garrett Library, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. https://islamic-pasts-futures.org/chapters/pasts-envisioned/beautiful-violence/. Figure 5.28. (Timurid). Sepideh Saffari, The Suggested Plan of Timur’s Royal Tent, according to Timur within a royal garden miniature in figure 5.42 and Clavijo’s description, Oct 2023. Figure 5.29. (Timurid). The Tomb of Ulugh Beg and Abdu Razzaq at Ghazni, 1501, from John D. Hoag, “The Tomb of Ulugh Beg and Abdu Razzaq at Ghazni, A Model for the Taj Mahal,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 27, no. 4 (December 1, 1968): 234–48. https://doi.org/10.2307/988486.This figure is modified by the author. 208 Figure 5.30. (Mughal era). Tomb of Humayun, ground plan, Modified by author. from John Murray (Firm), A Handbook for Travellers in India, Burma and Ceylon (London: Thakar, Spink & Co., and John Murray, 1920), 272, https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c049725688?urlappend=%3Bseq=9. Figure 5.31. (Mughal Era). The Plan and Section of the Taj Mahal, India. 1631 and 1648. Modified by author. From Taj Mahal, from John Murray (Firm), A Handbook for Travellers in India, Burma and Ceylon (London: Thakar, Spink & Co., and John Murray, 1920), 231, https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c049725688?urlappend=%3Bseq=9. Figure 5.32. (Safavid Era). Pascal Coste, Garden and pavilion Chehel Sotoun plan, 1840, Constructed in 1632-1666. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Garden_and_pavilion_Chehel_Sotoun,_map_by_Pascal_Coste.jpg, edited by the author. Figure 5.33. (Safavid era). Pascal Coste, Pavilion of Eight Paradise Plan (Hasht Behesht), 1840, Constructed in 1670. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hasht_Behesht,_Plan_and_section_by_Pascal_Coste.jpg. This figure is modified by the author. 209 Figure 5.34. Sepideh Saffari, the interactive and customized Google Map of Ninefold Pavilion Webpage, from the Dissertation’s Website, 2023, https://thearchiart.com/nine-fold-plans/, accessed 7 Nov 2023. 210 5.3. Chapter Summary Examining several case studies categorized based on the shared vocabulary of landscape design and concepts is necessary to prove these criteria' validity in redrawing the borders of Persianate gardens from a nation-based to a cultural zone structure. The investigation of case studies using an architectural lens provides tangible examples of the transnational extent of Persianate gardens, which had been previously obscured by national and political orientation. This chapter offers a detailed discussion of nine-fold plans and stepped gardens case studies, which are classified under the concepts of Quadripartite Worldview and Hierarchical Order. It explicitly demonstrates the transnational nature of Persianate gardens by presenting several examples of stepped gardens and ninefold plans dispersed across diverse geographical locations (Figures 5.10 and 5.34). These case studies confirm the applicability of shared criteria for restructuring gardens and show how fourfold gardens shared a similar spatial logic that flowed across the cultural zone. The in-depth spatial analysis of several stepped gardens' forms and functions illustrates the symbolic expression of royal power through architectural and landscape design. It is argued that gender and social classes affected the distribution of terraces' functions. This hierarchical layout also corresponds to the topography and natural characteristics of the garden's location. In hillside gardens, the highest spot was usually devoted to kings or queens. However, the story is different in a riverfront garden like the Taj Mahal. Overall, one can see the extent of hierarchical order as a shared criterion within several stepped gardens, highlighting similar architectural logic across national borders. It is worth noting that schematic 3D modeling is crucial in analyzing stepped gardens since impactful factors, such as the height and layout of terraces, operate in various dimensions. 211 Using the graphical analysis of architectural design, the chapter also solidifies the extent of the quadripartite concept as the origin of the ninefold plans. It shows the connections between several case studies on the cultural zone by analyzing their plans. To accomplish that, the study marks principal axial and diagonal spatial divisions with certain colors in order to show the consistency of nine-fold layouts in the discussed monuments. The investigation of stepped gardens and ninefold plans as case studies crystallize the research argument on the transnational nature of Persianate gardens. Chapter 6 explores how to deliver all these highly visual findings through a multimodal interpretation, in the form of a website. 212 6. Chapter 6: Website Design Investigating spatiality in stepped gardens and ninefold plans provides solid examples of consistency and connection in design and the underlying concepts of Persianate gardens. This consistency in the sense of spatiality crystallizes the transnational concept in fourfold gardens, providing solid instances for the core argument of research. In addition to the research argument on transnationality, the research intends to demonstrate the critical role of multimodal argumentation in delivering the transnational nature of Persianate gardens. Here, the study focuses on the prototype of research interpretation, i.e., the website,371 discussing the value of multimodal design choices in showing the research argument. The highly visual nature of research findings on the transnational nature of gardens demands an appropriate method of interpretation that could reserve its dimension. As a result, the chapter also casts light on the research journey and the transition from static written sections to digital and multimodal tools such as the Milanote web app372 and website. It provides insights into the logic of selecting each tool while foregrounding the role of digital media platforms in shifting the nation-based outlook toward Persianate gardens. In this scene, the chapter features how research tools shape the content and how content is impactful to select research tools.373 371 Saffari, “Home page.” Please also see the website’s pages such as Stepped Gardens, Ninefold plans (the case studies of the research), and Datasets and Diagrams at https://thearchiart.com/stepped-gardens/ and https://thearchiart.com/nine-fold-plans/ and https://thearchiart.com/datasets-and-diagrams/. 372 The study employs visual-centered methodologies using the Milanote web app. Milanote offers a user-friendly interface for structuring ideas and projects into visual boards and creating visual mind maps. 373 This discussion speaks to a border context of technological mediation, in which technological devices mediate humans' perceptions and actions. Peter-Paul Verbeek discusses the role of technology in human-world relations in a normative context. Technology is not a neutral element, meaning that it mediates the way human beings perceive reality and take action. Hence, it co-shapes humans' actions and interpretations of the world, 213 To be precise, the chapter discusses the comparability of research tools with the specific needs of research. It argues that the nature of those mediums, such as the size of the workspace they offer, the format of data, structuring capability, etc., impacts the research choices. Initially starting with a written format, the study encounters restrictions in analyzing visual data sets due to the primacy of text and the size of pages in a Word document. Hence, the research shifts the method of thinking by employing visual-centered methods on the Milanote web app. The tool’s enlarged and visually oriented workspace establishes connections among various concepts and contributes to a more in-depth understanding of the transnational connections of gardens. Since Milanote pages lack organization and accessibility, a complementary digital platform with interpretative capability seems imperative to represent findings and preserve multimodal data transmission. Thus, the website's interpretative tone and multimodal design simplify the complicated diagrams while offering links to visual-centered methods on the Milanote platform. This integration provides a transparent, cohesive, and process-oriented environment through which users can navigate the research phases. In addition, the multimodality and interactivity of the website offer diverse reasoning tools such as a slider bar, timeline story, image grid, and an interactive map (a geographical argumentation) for advanced comparative assessment, which is one of the central elements in observing transnational threads. In this sense, the website can be observed as the collage of diverse modalities and reasoning in an interactive way, which is not feasible in a conventional format of research. The chapter also discusses the collage technique in creating and as a result, it raises ethical questions. From (Verbeek, “Materializing Morality: Design Ethics and Technological Mediation,” 361–80.) Considering the concept of technological mediation, this chapter illustrates how digital platforms impact the interpretation of Persian gardens. 214 individual section composition that facilitates relating a range of visual cultures, restructuring the existing UNESCO appendix dataset, and shifting the perception of fourfold gardens. 6.1. The Journey of Research: Logic of Medium Choices Research on the transnational nature of Persianate gardens employs multiple formats for documenting thoughts and developing ideas. This section provides an overview of the dialogue between the written format of the dissertation, the Millanote pages, and web pages, connecting different phases of research and highlighting their role in the research progress. The study initiates with the written proposal and literature review to be informed of the current conversation and the existing gaps. Still, the Milanote web app plays a significant role in initial steps such as categorizing research sources, sorting data, and developing research ideas. The dissertation’s written part and Milanote pages have a back-and-forth conversation to shape the research structure. Figure 6.1 shows the relationship between different research mediums, highlighting their capacity and limitations, which prompts the study to implement them simultaneously. The conventional format of the dissertation in the written format possesses linear and static features. While the written format contains images, the primacy of text in this format limits the research to show the visual and spatial consistency of Persianate gardens' design. Moreover, the size of Word document pages has not been designed to contain extended and complicated visual datasets and diagrams. Hence, research requires another platform to unfold the connections and exchanges of Persianate gardens. The Milanote web app offers an expanded workspace where the research stores, sorts, and analyzes multimodal datasets. The expanded and visual workspace is particularly essential in capturing the complex connections between collected data, representing all links and 215 relations in one extensive page. The capacity of this tool to make links between several concepts helps further illuminate the transnational connection of gardens. For instance, the cognitive map, comparative diagram, and diagram of historical exchanges in figures, such as Figures 3.8, 3.11 (Chapter 3), and 4.8 (Chapter 4), contribute to developing ideas and structuring the written section of Chapters 3 and 4. Meanwhile, the written format articulates the complex diagrams created by Milanote, lessening the confusion prompted by complex diagrams or large visual datasets. 216 Figure 6.1. Sepideh Saffari, The Dialogue between Different Mediums of Research, i.e., Word document, Milanote app, and Website, 2023.217 Milanote also provides a great context for documenting the research's visual thoughts and mind maps that are unseen in the dissertation's written format. In other words, it captures the mind-based development of research. Moreover, the non-linear and interactive digital pages of Milanote shape non-hierarchical but cohesive content. In an interactive digital platform such as Milanote pages, hyperlinks maintain the cohesion of research content while offering additional information within it. However, the linear and static feature of textual research prompts a hierarchical cohesion, meaning that one cannot interrupt the discussion of a subject by less related titles or by providing extra information within the main subject. Alternatively, conventional research offers appendices to avoid any inconsistency. Milanote diagrams and cognitive maps provide a great context for the investigation of connections and exchanges between gardens and finding new outcomes through a transnational lens. However, the study creates complicated diagrams of connections that do not seem easy to digest. In other words, while Milanote acts great as a research tool, it is not as user-friendly as an interpretative website. Milanote pages of research are less organized and not easy for the public to access. It is more like a mind map with linked concepts and connecting lines to direct the research and reach new knowledge, but there are fewer options available for designing and interpreting the research findings. Moreover, websites provide limitless opportunities to add multimodal elements such as 3D analysis, augmented reality, and audio-video materials that enhance the capacity to convey messages. Websites are user-friendly, accessible, and responsive, which makes it easy for everyone to connect with the work on any device. The interpretive tone of the website simplifies the complicated diagrams of Milanote and facilitates its comprehension. Moreover, websites and Milanote web apps are both internet-based, meaning that the transmission of knowledge is enhanced in these 218 mediums. This feature also affects the capability of being updated over time, which may not be easily achievable in a conventional publication. Altogether, these three formats, i.e., written dissertation, Milanote web app, and website, are essential to optimize the research on palace gardens. The written part is accurate and articulate about the subject, while Milanote is more visual and creative, acting as a great research tool to make drafts of thoughts and findings. On the other hand, the website is more user-based and interpretative, making the subject available to the public. The multimodality, interactivity, and linkability of digital platforms, which are Milanote and website in this case, provide a chance to see gardens from different angles within multiple layers of information, analysis, and interpretations. While all research mediums possess the features of multimodality and linkability to some extent, the website shows the most capacities for the mentioned features as the research format of interpretation. The website users can easily access the research process and visual-centered methods using a link to the Milanote platform. This enhances the transparency of research and allows users to be involved in all research phases, not only the conclusion of data analysis. Figure 6.2. Sepideh Saffari, the Level of Multimodality and Interactivity in Mediums of Research, i.e., Word document, Milanote app, and Website, 2023. This diagram shows the levels of Multimodality and interactivity with a color spectrum, as the scale is not zero in a written document. It is also worth noting that this diagram does not show the primacy of any tools, but it tends to highlight how these features fit well with the nature of this research. 219 6.2. Website Design: A Multimodal Interpretation of Transnational Gardens As discussed earlier, the multimodality and interactivity of a website offer several capacities corresponding to multiple modes of research content. It provides a holistic lens through which several aspects of cultural heritage, such as pictorial and verbal, can be unfolded simultaneously. In other words, the multimodal nature of research themes (the interconnection in cultural heritage) was crucial in choosing the website as an interpretative tool for the research argument. Thus, the comparability of the research’s format and content facilitates the immediacy of message transformation and extends its impact on minds. Moreover, the multimodal and interactive website shifts the language of research and argument. It provides an environment that prompts a nonlinear narrative and interpretation, in which there is an interconnected network of several strings and concepts that can be reached through evocative call-to-action buttons and hyperlinks. Hence, the web wireframe is not only about different modalities, text, graphics, and styles but also about designing the connection of concepts and the hierarchy of comprehension to observe a bigger picture. In addition, the website’s multimodal elements, such as textual and pictorial information, aim to evoke thoughts and actions with an interpretative tone and style. The interpretive texts within the website framework should be clear and concise374 to maintain a balance between visual and textual elements. The briefness of text is also because of the multimodal nature of the websites and users' purposes. A website user usually expects an immediacy in message transmission, and thus, they are looking for a succinct text to 374 Please refer to “Creating Interpretive Text.” n.d. Museums Galleries Scotland. Accessed October 5, 2023. https://www.museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk/advice-article/creating-interpretive-text/. 220 accompany the multimodal elements of the website. Moreover, an effective web design considers the functionality of the website content as equally important as the endeavor to create a visually pleasing interface. Considering the above discussion, the following sections elaborate on the web pages’ design choices and their hidden argument. They demonstrate how the research argument benefits from the multimodal tools of the website to interpret the transnational nature of Persianate gardens. The sections mostly focus on multimodal visualizations and reasoning, showing how they affect the structure of content. The design choices and their rationality are structured according to the web pages of the research website, namely the home page, the case studies web pages (stepped gardens and nine-fold pans), and the datasets and diagrams web page. 6.2.1. Home Page: Design Choices and Argumentations The primary aim of the study’s creative part is to demonstrate the main research argument, which is the transnational exchange of Persianate palace/tomb gardens within Timurid, Safavid, and Mughal architecture, using an interactive and multimodal website format. This purpose partly speaks to visual communication design, i.e., how a message can be transferred considering the capacity of a visual and multimodal language of argumentation. In the context of Persianate gardens, the overall design of the website and its elements can imply the connections of investigated gardens by showing the relevancy of multiple monuments and their corresponding visual culture. The collage technique helps design and demonstrate several relevant ideas and elements in a visual composition. This method can be seen in some sections’ designs or in observing the whole website concept as the collage of different modalities within diverse tools. The collage of reasoning in an 221 interactive way with multiple tools and modalities is not feasible in a conventional format of research. Moreover, design employs hierarchy in arranging different sections of the web pages to enhance the efficiency of argumentation. Each web page is composed of multiple sections, following the hierarchical order of general to elaborate interpretation. In other words, each section gradually deepens the user’s comprehension of the transnational nature of four-fold gardens. This order is also prompted by using different modalities, such as textual and visual elements. Put differently, there is a link between the structure of web pages' sections and their employed modalities. This kind of arrangement in the web content and composition, which is influenced by the spatial design language of historical monuments in the Iranian plateau,375 provides different formats of reasoning in a hierarchical manner. The design emphasizes visual elements in the initial section of the webpage to introduce the research subject indirectly. Following the visualizations, it employs textual materials to enhance direct communication and articulation of the subject. To provide evidence for the textual argumentation, the web pages may apply diverse tools like an interactive map that demonstrates a similar design of fourfold gardens in different geographical locations. Hence, the website offers diverse tools and modalities to facilitate reasoning and argumentation. In the same vein, the hero section of the home page (the very top section of the website, Figure 6.3) provides an indirect exposure to the title, preparing the users' minds for the core concepts of the research. Within the architectural lens, one may interpret the hero sections as a hashti (an octagonal entrance space in Persian architecture) with a fakhr-O- 375 In Iranian traditional architecture, visitors were exposed to the primary spaces in a hierarchical manner. For instance, visitors may enter the building through the entrance portal, i.e., portico (iwan), pass through a semi-lobby space called (hashti), corridors, etc, and finally experience the main spaces. 222 madin (a mesh architectural element in historical monuments such as tombs and mosques).376 Fakhr-O-madin provides visitors with a preview of the upcoming spaces or sections (Figure 6.4). Figure 6.3. Sepideh Saffari, The Static Image of Home Page’s Hero Section, 2024. https://thearchiart.com/, accessed 4 Jan 2024. Figure 6.4. Rob Linrothe, Tomb of Humayun: Detail of Window with Jali Screen, in Faculty Collections at Northwestern University Libraries, Rob Linrothe Image Collection. Accessed Jan 18, 2024. https://dc.library.northwestern.edu/items/2b37e16b-d820-486a-828f-1824ab25ccb5. The home page’s hero section is the collage of well-known art and architecture corresponding to Persianate gardens and transnational exchange (Figure 6.3). The section is composed of an illustration from Baburnama, a Persian carpet entitled Garden Carpet, the Ardabil carpet used as the outline for Baburnama's illustration, and the Taj Mahal as the 376 Fakhr-O-madin are patterned bricked fences, also known as fakhr and madin in historical Iranian architecture. Jali screens are similar concepts which were used in Mughal architecture. 223 well-known four-fold tomb garden. The design tends to imply the relevancy of these elements, using a range of visual culture, including architectural monuments, illustrations from historical manuscripts, and crafts. This holistic approach of the hero section towards the visual heritage of Persianate gardens helps website users observe a bigger picture and recognize connections across various cultural heritage. In contrast, the UNESCO World Heritage Map focuses on architectural components and thereby obscures a part of the connections and exchanges between fourfold gardens that were expressed through other formats of visual culture. The section below the hero part uses textual modalities to provide an abstract of the research gaps, aims, and arguments. It is an introductory section that starts with an evocative question on the hidden connections between well-known fourfold gardens, which are familiar to non-expert users. The tone of the website texts is interpretative to engage users with the research themes and subjects. Hence, one can notice the distinction between the website and dissertation textual modalities. Following the introductory section, the homepage is supposed to provide a map with the plans and locations of well-known palace gardens in Iran, Central Asia, and India. Using a series of Persianate gardens’ plans highlights their similar quadripartite structure and further clarifies their connections. It is a tangible illustration of research transnational concepts, helping users see the extent of the cultural zone and comprehend the conceptual and architectural connections beyond borders. In other words, the map acts as a geographical reasoning for the textual argument in the previous section. The home page map also challenges UNESCO's arrangement of information by re-prioritizing necessary data, which had been shown as supplementary materials on UNESCO’s website. The study extracts Iranian gardens’ plans from the Nomination File in 224 UNESCO’s appendices,377 while using Milanote’s data (Chapter 3- Figure 3.11) on Indian and Central Asian gardens. This approach foregrounds essential data in the Nomination document, which was previously placed in UNESCO’s appendices. The combination of this data with the map helps users observe how similarities of gardens’ plans transcended the national borders. Figures 6.5 and 6.6 represent the hierarchy of access to the Persianate Gardens data on UNESCO's website and the research website, comparing how restructuring the access can be impactful in changing the perceptions of the gardens. Moreover, the comparison of the research website home page with the modified research map and UNESCO’s cultural heritage map of the Persian garden highlights how the nation-based mindset may affect the interpretation of heritage, as UNESCO’s website lumped all Persianate gardens in one spot. 377 Iran’s State Party. 2011. “Nomination File.” The UNESCO World Heritage Centre. https://whc.unesco.org/uploads/nominations/1372.pdf. 225 Figure 6.5. UNESCO World Heritage Center, the UNESCO’s cultural heritage map of The Persianate Gardens (page 1) and the subsequent pages, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Accessed October 05, 2023. https://whc.unesco.org/en/interactive-map/?search=&id_sites=1372&components=0 This image shows the search result for the Persian Gardens on UNESCO's cultural heritage map (page 1). The figure reveals two important facts about how UNESCO structures the information and designs the hierarchy of access. 1- UNESCO lumped all the Persian Gardens in one location. 2- The hierarchy of access to vital information (the Nomination file) is given on a sub-page (not the main page), on page 3 in appendices.226 Figure 6.6. Sepideh Saffari, The Static Illustration of Research Idea for the Website Home Page, The simple map without the plans can be found on the research website, Accessed October 05, 2023, https://thearchiart.com/. This image shows the actual idea of the map section for the research website’s homepage (the website's main page), showing the extent of the Persianate Gardens concept over the cultural zone of the Iranian, Deccan plateaus, and Central Asia. Using a call-to-action button, the website map and its complementary text section ask for shifting the perspective on gardens. Users may click or scroll down to reach the next section, which is supposed to be a transitional menu. The menu first displays a categorization of gardens based on countries. However, users can observe a transition from nationality to abstract architectural concepts by clicking on the initial menu appearance (Figure 6.7 and 227 6.8).378 This design concept tends to turn the nation-based lens into abstract architectural concepts.379 Users can navigate to the web pages featuring case studies, such as the Ninefold Plan and Stepped Gardens, by clicking on overarching architectural criteria—namely, the Quadripartite Concept and Hierarchical Order.380 Moreover, symbols and signs such as connecting lines further illuminate the concept of interconnection and interdependence. In this spirit, the involved countries in the research are arranged in a circular design, containing the image of a Persian carpet (one of the well-known motifs of Persianate culture) in the middle of a circle. The visual design aims to highlight the interconnections among diverse nations, discussing that these countries share a common cultural zone linked by Persianate culture. 378 Figures 6.7 and 6.8 display the static version of this idea in two wireframe designs. However, the website only contains the menu of abstract architectural concepts due to technical limitations. 379 The abstract architectural concepts, such as the Quadripartite Concept and Hierarchical Order with their subheadings Ninefold Plans and Stepped Gardens are comprehensively discussed in the section of Chapter 4, entitled “A Shared Vocabulary of Landscape Design and Concepts.” 380 The study does not focus on the Royal Quarter and Transparency of pavilion. Hence, providing examples of these subheadings are suggested for future studies. 228 Figure 6.7. Sepideh Saffari, The static image of Menu, 2023. This image shows a conceptual design of the home page’s section, including the transitional menu with a nation-based outlook (the initial look). Figure 6.8. Sepideh Saffari, The static image of Menu, 2023. This image shows a conceptual design of the home page’s section, including the transitional menu with abstract concepts (after the transition’s look). The Research Website Homepage, https://thearchiart.com/, accessed October 05, 2023. Below the menu, users can see the Taj Mahal’s silhouette, which is composed of multiple Persianate garden images, i.e., the Royal Garden of Pasargadae, Fin Garden, and Chehel Sotoon Palace Garden. Beneath the graphic, one can find a direct link to the Nine-fold plans of pavilions and stepped gardens that are the research case studies (Figure 6.9). This design communicates the hidden connection and history behind the Taj Mahal as a glorious instance of the Mughals’ mausoleum. The design links the Taj Mahal to Chehel Sotoon and Fin Garden (as examples of the Royal Safavid Gardens) and to the Ancient Garden of Pasargadae (the first mature expression of a fourfold garden). This kind of visual communication emphasizes the bigger picture and shows all pieces of information that are detached on UNESCO’s heritage web pages. 229 Figure 6.9. Sepideh Saffari, The Screenshot of Case Studies Menu, The Research Website Homepage, https://thearchiart.com/, accessed October 05, 2023. Subsequently, one can see an illustration from a Mughal court featuring Jahangir, the fourth Mughal Emperor, and Nur Jahan, Jahangir’s Persian wife. These figures were significantly impressive in developing the transnational networks of fourfold gardens between Iran and India. Finally, Figures 6.10 and 6.11 showcase the screenshots of the website’s homepage, providing a holistic view of different sections with implemented design elements and visual concepts explored in the preceding sections. 230 Figure 6.10. (Part 1- Home page). Sepideh Saffari, The static image of Home page, 2024. This image shows different sections of the home page. https://thearchiart.com/, accessed 29 Jan 2024. The difference between the actual website’s map and this image is because of technical limitations. 231 Figure 6.11. (Part 2-Home page). Sepideh Saffari, The static image of Home page, 2024. This image shows different sections of the home page.https://thearchiart.com/, accessed 29 Jan 2024. 232 6.2.2. Case Studies through Multimodal Framework The website’s home page provides users with two links to Stepped Gardens and Nine-fold Plans pages, each addressing several examples of stepped gardens and nine-fold plans spread over diverse geographical locations. The case studies provide a more tangible perception of the transnational nature of Persianate gardens through foregrounding the resemblance in spatial design and concepts. Informed by the similar spatial logic that flowed across the cultural zone, this section reflects on the Stepped Gardens and Nine-fold Plans web pages, discussing the language of interpretation, the rationale behind design choices, and their hidden arguments. The design of case studies’ web pages follows a back-and-forth dialogue between research and praxis. The research, particularly the spatial analysis of case studies in Chapter 5, informs the design about the concepts and ideas that should be visualized. Subsequently, the multimodal format of websites enriches the interpretation, providing an interactive language of argumentation that was not feasible through conventional means. To clarify, the website, as a multimodal and interactive platform, offers diverse tools, such as a slider bar, image grid, etc., for advanced comparative analysis, which is one of the key methods in observing transnational threads. Mirroring the structure of the homepage content, the overall design of the case studies web pages is divided into several sections, starting from general definitions into a more analytical interpretation of transnational exchange. The structure of content on the case studies web pages resonates with the spatial order of palace gardens, in which the visitor explores the architecture in a particular manner, starting from the entrance portico (Iwan) to the garden’s landscape and then to the focal point of the garden, the palace. In the same vein, 233 the initial sections evoke a thread of thought regarding the connections between diverse gardens, and the following sections deepen the argument. The overall design with all sections uses several tools to augment the transnational concept in Persianate gardens in line with the primary purpose of the research. The hero section of the Stepped Gardens web page represents a map with several concrete examples placed in the cultural zones of Iran, India, and Central Asia. This map contains stepped gardens’ 3D analysis that their resemblance signals the flow of ideas in the design of stepped gardens beyond political borders (please refer to Chapter 5, Figure 5.10). A similar strategy has been used for the hero section of the Ninefold Plans web page, i.e., using a map with the spatial assessment of ninefold plans (Figure 5.34). In contrast to the written format of case studies in Chapter 5, the case studies web pages offer diverse tools to enrich the interpretation of transnational concepts and enhance the pace of comprehension. Hence, the website format is specifically helpful for bridging the gap between interpretative and pedagogical aspects. The case studies web pages provide a story timeline with a few cases to emphasize the consistency of ideas over time and regions. The tool offers a hyperlink to each example, showing the connections between them. For instance, users can discover the relation between the pre-Islamic four-arch layout of well-known monuments such as Khusraw Palace and the Islamic nine-fold design of Humayun’s Tomb, Taj Mahal, and Chehel Sotoun Palace in the timeline section of Nine-fold Plans web page (Figures 6.12 and 6.13). 234 Figure 6.12. Sepideh Saffari, The Story Timeline in the Stepped Garden Webpage, from the Research Website, 2024, https://thearchiart.com/stepped-gardens/, accessed 7 Jan 2024. Figure 6.13. Sepideh Saffari, The Story Timeline on the Ninefold Plans Webpage, from the Research Website, 2024, https://thearchiart.com/stepped-gardens/, accessed 7 Jan 2024. As previously discussed, the interactive narrative of the web pages facilitates the comparison assessment between multiple cases through overlapping several layers of 235 information. On the Stepped Gardens web page, a slider bar gamifies the process of comparison between the 3D model of Babur Garden and Mahan Garden, inviting users to think about the shared logic of design. It also unfolds the similarity of power narrative expressed through forms and functions in these two stepped gardens (Figure 6.14). This multilayered comparative observation provides the user with a new vocabulary of exploration that was not achievable through a static conventional method of presentation. The section does not directly conclude, but one can refer to a flip box below the slider bar for further hints on the relevancy of these gardens. Hence, the section prompts users to ponder, analyze, and develop conclusions (Figure 6.15). The Stepped Gardens web page uses another slider bar with simplified diagrams to assess the relation of power narrative with natural features in a hillside garden compared to riverfront gardens (Figure 6.16). Figure 6.14. Sepideh Saffari, The Slider Bar on Stepped Gardens Webpage, from the Research Website, 2024, https://thearchiart.com/stepped-gardens/, accessed 7 Jan 2024. 236 Figure 6.15. Sepideh Saffari, The Evocative flip box(front and back sides) on Stepped Gardens Webpage, from the Research Website, 2024, https://thearchiart.com/stepped-gardens/, accessed 7 Jan 2024. 237 Figure 6.16. Sepideh Saffari, The Slider bar on Stepped Gardens Webpage, from the Research Website, 2024, https://thearchiart.com/stepped-gardens/, accessed 7 Jan 2024. This hierarchical layout speaks to the topography and natural characteristics of the garden's location. In gardens situated on hillsides, the elevated areas are typically reserved for kings or queens. In contrast, the narrative takes a distinct turn in a riverfront garden such as the Taj Mahal. The Nine-fold Plans web page also implements an interactive visualization to echo the relevance of ideas. Users can see an interactive flip box that displays the transition between an ancient four-arch layout and a nine-fold plan, showing how the quadripartite 238 concept prompted the division of pavilion plans into nine sections (eight axial spaces and one central domed chamber). The Nine-fold web page also illustrates the argument regarding the relevancy of the fourfold layout and ninefold pavilions using the collage technique. The illustration is composed of a Persian Garden Carpet (The "Wagner '' Garden Carpet, 17th century) with a fourfold structure. The carpet was used as the garden layout, while the ninefold plans of the Taj Mahal were placed at its center to show the connection between the fourfold layout and ninefold structures (Figure 6.17). Figure 6.17. Sepideh Saffari, the Relevancy of Fourfold Layout and Nine-fold Pavilions, from the Research Website, 2024, https://thearchiart.com/stepped-gardens/, accessed 7 Jan 2024. Both pages use an image grid tool to display the graphical analysis of several case studies and highlight the flow of ideas using an architectural lens. For instance, the Stepped Gardens page offers the 3D analysis of stepped gardens’ plans marked by royal functions. A comparison between hillside gardens shows the similarity in their function distribution and spatial design that echoes the consistent cultural, social, and political ideology in the cultural 239 zone. Below the section on Spatial Layout and Hidden Concepts, the interactive map shows the approximate extent of stepped gardens. Similarly, the Nine-fold Plans web page gradually deepens the users’ observation by providing the graphical analysis of nine-fold layouts, linking the ancient design of a Palace at the Royal Garden of Pasargadae (559-530 BC-Iran) and Apadana Palace at Persepolis (515- 485 BC- Iran) to Sassanid four-arch fire temple (180–242 AD, Iran), Samanids Mausoleum (Uzbekistan-10th century), Ilkhanate Sultaniya Tomb (Iran-1313), Injuids and Muzaffarids Jahan Nama and Dilgusha Gardens, the Timurid Tomb of Ulugh Beg and Abdu Razzaq (Afghanistan-1501), the Mughal Tomb of Humayun (India-1558), Rani Ki Mahall (1583-India), Taj Mahal (India-1631 and 1648), the Safavids’ Chehel Sotoun (Iran-1632-1666) and Safavids’ Hasht Behesht gardens (Iran-1670). To further illuminate the time span and locations, the web page provides a map of nine-fold pavilions showing the extent of this idea and its flow in the cultural zone. Altogether, the web pages use multiple tools to indicate the correlation among architectural ideas of Timurid, Safavid, and Mughal fourfold gardens, showcasing the transnational flows of corresponding concepts. Figures 6.18 to 6.21 feature the case studies web pages containing all sections. 240 Figure 6.18. (Part 1- Stepped Gardens Web page). Sepideh Saffari, The static image of Stepped Gardens Web page, 2024. https://thearchiart.com/stepped-gardens/, accessed 29 Jan 2024. Figure 6.19. (Part 2- Stepped Gardens Web page). Sepideh Saffari, The static image of Stepped Gardens Web page, 2024. https://thearchiart.com/stepped-gardens/, accessed 29 Jan 2024. 241 Figure 6.20. (Part 1- Nine-fold Plans Web page). Sepideh Saffari, The static image of Nine-fold Plans Web page, 2024. https://thearchiart.com/nine-fold-plans/, accessed 29 Jan 2024. Figure 6.21. (Part 2- Nine-fold Plans Web page). Sepideh Saffari, The static image of Nine-fold Plans Web page, 2024. https://thearchiart.com/nine-fold-plans/, accessed 29 Jan 2024. 242 6.2.3. Behind the Scene: Datasets and Diagrams The website provides a stand-alone multimodal interpretation of Persianate Gardens on the digital platform through the home page and case studies web pages. While the web pages provide a user-friendly and interpretative discussion of the research findings and arguments, one can still explore the comprehensive version of research datasets and diagrams (created by the Milanote web app) on the Datasets and Diagrams web page (Figure 6.22). This web page contains two main sections, namely a hero section and a primary section with a window to Milanote documents. The very top section employs a comparable approach to other hero sections. It uses diverse formats of visual culture that were previously placed in the appendices files of UNESCO on the Persian gardens. This strategy is helpful as it foregrounds the connections expressed through diverse sources of visual culture, not only built structure. Moreover, restructuring the existing data on UNESCO’s supplementary documents serves to shift the political outlook on Persianate gardens. Precisely, the hero section is a collage of a Persian Garden Carpet (dates from about 1800), a sketch of the Royal Garden at Pasargadae, and a folio from "Akbarnameh" showing Shah Tahmasp of Persia receives Hamayun, the Mughal emperor, surrounded by courtiers.381 Through the primary section of the Datasets and Diagrams web page, users can be interactively involved with the research process rather than just observing the research findings and conclusion. They can explore different phases of research in the form of tree charts and pictorial tables of contents. Hence, it creates a more collaborative and process- 381 The Persian Garden Carpet (dates from about 1800) and a sketch of the Royal Garden at Pasargadae can be found in the UNESCO’s appendices document, pages 73 and 91. (Iran’s State Party. “Nomination File.”) 243 based atmosphere, inviting users to unfold the unseen parts of research that shape the writing section of the dissertation. They can access the research visual diagrams, including the visual comparison charts of research methodology and the historical context of transnational exchange. These diagrams elaborate on the historical interactions and the consistency in spatial and architectural datasets. The research interactive diagrams and boards allow users to notice several layers of information in an expanded frame of the Millanote page, capturing the bigger picture created by multiple interconnected pieces of information. Furthermore, the Datasets and Diagrams web page creates a link between different mediums of research, shaping a more cohesive piece of articulation regarding the transnational nature of fourfold gardens. 244 Figure 6.22. Sepideh Saffari, The static image of Datasets and Diagrams Web page, 2024. https://thearchiart.com/datasets-and-diagrams/, accessed 29 Jan 2024. 245 6.3. Chapter Summary The research methodology discussed the limitation of the logocentric approach in the context of visual culture, arguing that the visual dimension of a shared cultural heritage like Persianate gardens cannot be fully covered using conventional methods. This limitation could even be seen in the illegibility of visual diagrams of research included as figures within the framework of static written sections. The visual-centric research methods and visual findings of research require multimodal interpretation and method of delivery. Here, the reflection on website design as the multimodal prototype of research crystallizes these discussions, addressing the objective of the dissertation on enriching the interpretation and perception of transnational gardens through multimodal argumentation. In other words, this chapter critically reflects on the website design and its hidden concepts, exploring its multimodal and interactive capacity to extend the language of argumentation and communicate the transnational connections inherent in Persianate gardens. The comparability of the research’s format and content enhances the immediacy and impact of message transmission as well as the pace of comprehension. Moreover, the chapter elaborates on the conversation between different mediums of research, namely the conventional written document, the Milanote web app, and webpages. It discusses the necessity of these mediums and their relation to each other to form a cohesive argumentation on fourfold gardens. It particularly augments the role of digital tools, i.e., the Milanote web app and the website, in shifting the nation-based outlook toward Persian gardens and enriching the transnational gardens' interpretation and perception. It is argued that the interactive and multimodal capabilities of digital tools like Milanote and the website facilitate the fundamental methods of study, which are conducting comparative assessments 246 and constructing cognitive maps of connections. In this sense, the chapter discusses that the written part of the research is precise and articulate. However, Milanote, with its extensive visual workspace, offers a great chance to capture the intricate links and relations within collected multimodal datasets on a comprehensive page. The tool's ability to establish connections between diverse concepts sheds light on gardens' transnational connections. In contrast to Milanote pages, the website provides a more user-friendly, accessible, and interpretative environment to share the research findings in a public context. Considering the website as the format of multimodal argumentation and research interpretation, the chapter then discusses the overall design of web pages and their individual sections, aligning them with the core argument of the research. The web pages benefit from visual and interactive elements such as a comparative slider bar, 3D modeling, spatial and visual assessment, interpretive texts, transnational maps, and hyperlinks to visual datasets on Milanote pages. These interactive elements provide a multilayer possibility of observation, enhancing the immediacy of comprehension and increasing the transparency of research. For instance, the interactive narrative of the slider bar simplifies the comparative analysis of case studies by overlaying various layers of information. The hyperlink to visual datasets on Milanote pages weaves all tools of research, providing a cohesive, collaborative, and process-based atmosphere for users. Furthermore, the chapter reveals the link between the structure of a website and its different modalities. It discusses that there is a hierarchy of reasoning in the website structure that is affected by corresponding modes of argumentation. Website design prioritizes visual elements in the initial section to indirectly introduce the research themes, followed by texts for direct articulation. The website may use elements like interactive maps to support the 247 textual arguments. Hence, while the argumentation can be textual, a tangible reasoning for that argumentation can be an interactive map collaged with the gardens’ spatial analysis. Finally, the chapter unfolds the hidden concepts and strategies that augment the transnational nature of Persianate gardens. For instance, the collage technique of hero sections helps users comprehend several relevant ideas and elements in a visual composition. Moreover, the website uses various forms of visual culture, sourced from UNESCO's appendices files on Persian gardens. This method is beneficial as it reveals the connections conveyed through a range of visual sources, extending beyond the focus solely on built monuments. Furthermore, reorganizing the available information within UNESCO's website supplementary documents challenges UNESCO’s nation-based perspective on Persianate gardens. In other words, one can shift the political perception of Persianate gardens by questioning the hierarchy of data structure defined on UNESCO's website. 248 7. Chapter 7: Conclusion A shared cultural heritage, the Persianate gardens as a whole can be seen as an interconnected entity, narrating the story of diverse communities and their intricate web of interactions and exchanges. Together, they reflect the enduring spirit of sharing, collaboration, and conflict across political divides that shaped their development. This research into their collective nature and representation challenged the fragmented interpretation of heritage, prompted by the modern construct of nation. Alternatively, it offered a holistic view, in a multi-modal way, through which one can see the consistency of Persianate gardens’ design in the Persianate cultural zone. I concluded this research into three sections: Insights and Reflections on the Research, Concluding Remarks, and Statement of Contributions. The visual diagram in Figure 7.1 helps further observe the dissertation's flow before digging into these sections. It depicts the research structure in terms of themes, gaps, arguments, methodology, and objectives. 249 Figure 7.1. Sepideh Saffari, The structure of Research: Arguments, Methodology and Objectives, 2024, https://app.milanote.com/1RYZT616yJD5fq?p=Trli7QEbwlz. 250 7.1. Insights and Reflections on the Research The scope of the dissertation encompasses the conceptual frames and modes of representation used by UNESCO for fourfold gardens of current countries in the Central Asia, Persian, and Deccan plateaus built during the Timurid, Safavid, and Mughal eras. This was situated within a consideration of the significant impact of this international organization on the perception and preservation of heritage and the underlying politics of heritage. While UNESCO’s efforts have significantly contributed to preserving Persianate gardens, its nation-based outlook in documents and reports has resulted in a fragmented representation of these gardens. In addition, UNESCO sees Persianate gardens more as material forms and less as a highly mobile collection of abstract spatial concepts and logic. This was also evident in UNESCO’s categorization of heritage into tangible properties and intangible heritage. However, the interwoven layers of physical components and abstract concepts in cultural heritage, particularly Persianate gardens, feature the flow of ideas and cultural transfers embodied as a consistent spatial logic and architectural design. While the tangible body of cultural heritage is situated within specific geographical boundaries defined by modern political borders, the intangible layer possesses a dialogic nature, placing it into a more complex network of connections and community interactions. Hence, perceiving heritage solely as an isolated material object conceals the complicated narrative behind its development. The research aims to reconceptualize UNESCO’s nation-based representations of Iranian gardens, using the intersection of transnational theory and digital multimodal argumentation. Thus, it put forward the argument - one inspired by a transnational conception of heritage - that Persianate gardens of the Timurid, Safavid, and Mughal eras, and palace/tomb gardens in 251 particular, can be understood as a set of concepts, logic, and forms dispersed across a transnational network of connection and conversation, demarcating the extent of a distinctive cultural zone. At the same time, the barriers of the conventional linear and logocentric mode of argumentation were discussed, suggesting new visual-centric and interactive modalities afforded by digital media and tools. In this sense, the dissertation proposed that investigating transnational visual phenomena would be better served by the greater use of visual forms of analysis and a multimodal approach to scholarly communication to illuminate interconnections further. Hence, the focus of the study was set out on the overlap of the two overarching concepts, i.e., the transnational conception of heritage and multimodal argumentation, through which a transformative way of comprehending fourfold gardens’ connections is achievable. The literature on various research areas provides an in-depth scholarly context for the central research themes. The body of literature can be divided into four sections, namely 1) Critical Heritage Studies and the Politics of Heritage, 2) Transnational Heritage, 3) Heritage Interpretation and Heritage Storytelling, and 4) Persianate Palace and Tomb Gardens. The scholarly works on multimodal argumentation and visual-centric methods of inquiry were reviewed in research methodology, as they fit well into that discussion. The first body of scholarship generally employed a critical lens to examine the socio-political complexities that involve heritage; UNESCO’s representation of heritage and national identity falls within this category. While the investigated literature highlighted the role of historical legacy and narrative in foregrounding particular socio-political identities, it was observed that UNESCO’s and state parties’ policies regarding Persianate gardens, in particular, have not been examined. The second theme, Transnational Heritage, included 252 literature on how cultural legacies have been viewed in the light of transnational conceptions of heritage, but still, there was a lack of focus on Persianate culture and heritage using a transnational lens. The third theme, Heritage Interpretation and Heritage Storytelling, encompassed subjects such as the inclusive narrative (encompassing multiple voices and viewpoints) in heritage studies, digital heritage, and multimodal interpretation. In these studies, there was a lack of transnational perspectives. Lastly, the fourth section reviewed key scholarship on Persianate gardens, as it was the primary focus of this research, and summarized the thinking on their origins and design development across Iran, Central Asia, and South Asia. A significant part of the literature was observed to focus on documentation and form but not spatial concepts and hidden logic, underscoring the inadequate emphasis on transnational exchanges and spatiality within Persianate palace/tomb garden discourse. Art and architectural historians have categorized the Persianate gardens based on political dynasties, but this approach is not sufficient in showing the interconnected nature of these gardens. Overall, the literature review of research themes revealed the predominant nation-based outlook on heritage prompted by international organizations like UNESCO, highlighting the absence of a transnational perspective in the analysis of Persianate gardens within the current literature. It was observed that UNESCO’s representation of Persianate gardens fosters a scattered image of these gardens due to both its content and presentation format. This observation does not seek to downplay UNESCO’s tremendous work but rather highlights the need to better align its intentions with its actual contributions. While the organization’s criteria aim to transcend national boundaries, there is room to further solidify this important goal. Moreover, the research underscored a gap in existing literature that fails to integrate 253 several interconnected areas in heritage studies and interpretation. Therefore, the study demonstrates how the field of Critical Heritage Studies and Heritage Interpretation, combined with Persianate gardens, can redefine the notion of heritage. The gaps are addressed through the research methodology, which laid out the visual-centric approaches and deliberated on multimodal argumentation. The research methodology highlighted the necessity of visual-centric methods, namely cognitive mapping and content analysis, with embedded visual comparative evaluation. It also emphasized the affordances that a digital platform offers for the multimodal form of argumentation. The research into the transnational nature of Persianate gardens centered around visual and spatial datasets such as the gardens' layouts, gardens' palaces/tombs plans, sections, elevations, photos, semi-3D modeling, and graphical assessment of case studies. The analysis of these visual data was imperative in the context of the Persianate garden, which encompasses multimodal and visual aspects. In other words, the visual nature of the gardens’ data demands compatible visual-centric methods to unveil the current dominant pattern, analyze its hidden policy, and redefine a new perspective for comprehending Persianate gardens built upon interconnections and transnational exchanges. In addition to the visual nature of research data, the visual-centric methodology, with a series of cognitive maps and interconnected visual diagrams, could feature the link between different concepts and visual datasets. It proved advantageous in revealing the connections and exchanges in the shared cultural heritage like Persianate gardens. In this sense, the chapter illuminated how visual diagrams helped unfold the visual dimension inherent in the cultural heritage of Persianate gardens and redefine the connections of distinctive concepts. Furthermore, the 254 employment of visual-centric methods addresses the gap in UNESCO’s documents and reports and predominantly text-based interpretations. More specifically, cognitive mapping was selected as a visual-centric method to uncover the outlook of UNESCO on Persianate gardens, revealing the organization’s policy concerning the relationship of nationality with built heritage. Cognitive mapping, built upon creating a series of connections between distinct ideas, served as a vital visual-centered method for this purpose. In other words, it showed how the association of different ideas constructs an organization's policy, highlighting its implications. For instance, if one compares UNESCO's cognitive map of fourfold gardens, built upon its current categorization of tangible heritage, with the organization's cognitive map of intangible heritage, a notable difference in its perspective on tangible and intangible heritage becomes evident. UNESCO perceives and interprets tangible heritage as a material property specific to each state party. However, it categorizes and represents intangible heritage based on abstract concepts. Therefore, the employment of a visual-centered method, such as cognitive mapping, revealed how nation-based outlook politicized the shared heritage of Persianate gardens. This categorization boosts national biases, hindering the acknowledgment of interaction and interdependencies among the fourfold gardens. The cognitive mapping method is also in line with the central theme of the research, the transnational nature of Persianate gardens, as it facilitated highlighting the connections and cultural transfer. The structuring capabilities of cognitive mapping clarify complex data while demonstrating the dominant pattern behind the structure. Additionally, the visual content analysis method, with its embedded comparative evaluation, established an architectural network of connections between the palace/tomb gardens of Iran, India, and 255 Central Asia. Put differently, the method would allow for an initial cognitive map to be built upon UNESCO’s data on the gardens, which could then be transformed into a visual dataset, using spatial and visual elements. To accomplish that, the study introduced a new set of criteria in the format of tree diagrams inspired by the shared architectural forms and concepts. While the methodology discussed in Chapter 3 only introduced the shared criteria as a part of the way to redefine existing nation-based visual data sets, the discussion on the Comparison Criteria in Chapter 4 delved deeper into defining each shared criterion. The research applied content analysis and comparative evaluation methods while using new values to reveal the transnational connections between palace gardens and redefine the existing national-oriented categories of heritage. Built upon visual-centric methods, it was suggested that web-based multimodal argumentation offers a compatible format through which the visual dimension of research findings could be maintained. The multimodal interpretation of Persianate gardens with a focus on visual findings proved its potential for this purpose. Considering the semiotic “reach” of modes, a multimodal expression can benefit from different modes’ affordances in delivering accurate concepts. In addition, multimodal argumentation proved advantageous for transnational heritage interpretation, as the shared intelligence behind their construction has a communicational feature. The communicational feature of shared heritage possesses multimodal aspects. Moreover, mode capacities differ from culture to culture, meaning that individual, social, and cultural differences result in developing different semiotic codes and using distinctive representation resources. Hence, the multimodal argumentation further covers the cultural differences and overlaps in a transnational setting while providing a more inclusive interpretation based on individual cognition potential for pedagogical aspects. The 256 multimodal argumentation challenges the logocentric view of knowledge transmission, providing multiple reasoning and perception opportunities based on each mode’s affordances. Additionally, the adoption of multimodality is necessary for heritage studies as a method of representation, considering that heritage and culture inherently have multimodal characteristics. For instance, Persianate gardens' visual aspects and spatial qualities could not be fully translated into textual documents. Hence, modes of expression were selected in line with the content and vice versa. The employment of a multimodal format on a digital platform such as a website would add interactivity to argumentation and shift the reasoning structure from linear to nonlinear format, which is essential for accompanying complex data and multimodal layers of reasoning. The interactive tools of the website could also support the comparative visual analysis that is central to the perception of transnational exchanges. A website would not only preserve the multimodal dimension of research findings but also make it accessible, easy to follow, and immediate to comprehend. The website design, as a collage of various modalities and rationalities, was thoroughly discussed in Chapter 6, Website Design. To redraw the borders of Persianate gardens, I elaborated on shared comparison criteria to shift and restructure the nation-based perception of fourfold gardens. I defined a shared vocabulary of architecture and landscape design within a context of transnational exchange to determine the extent of the cultural zone demarcated by their use. Within an architectural lens, the study gained insight from the comparative analysis of spatial qualities to shape these criteria that demonstrated the flow of consistent spatial logic and concepts in Persianate gardens. These concepts were embodied in similar forms and spaces, but they were far more than only formal aspects. They arose from similar cultural, social, and political contexts that 257 further reinforced the existence of a cultural zone. In other words, they revealed a close resemblance between the gardens’ cultural and socio-political settings, highlighting the flow of ideas across national boundaries. Viewing Persianate gardens in terms of shared architectural vocabularies and spatial qualities demonstrated the misleading nature of using national and political borders as a means of categorization. In other words, UNESCO’s criteria, recognized as Outstanding Universal Values, unintentionally boost nation-based outlook and competition for claiming the authenticity of cultural heritage. Moreover, these criteria were imposed by an external force of an international agency, which may challenge their accuracy. However, the research’s criteria emerged within an architectural lens on Persianate gardens, and thus, they foreground the inherent shared features in the body of cultural heritage and its architecture. I established the historical context of transnational exchange by highlighting the multifaceted interplay between the Timurids of Central Asia, the Safavids of Iran, and the Mughals of India. To accomplish that, the study investigated scholarship and art documents that clarify the nobles’ migration, political conflicts, and exchanges, along with family bonds and blood relations. The flow of people, goods, and ideas helped set the transnational context in which spatial concepts, logic, and forms of Persianate gardens were exchanged. Hence, one could see the hidden historical narrative and connected network of gardens to redraw the extent of the cultural zone through an architectural lens. It also dissociated the concept of heritage from political divisions, linking heritage interpretation to cultural aspects like architecture. This can provide a more accurate and less politicized version of a fourfold garden perception and representation. 258 The shared comparison criteria, built upon the architectural lens, were grouped into four categories: Hierarchical Order, The Quadripartite Concept, Transparency of Pavilions, and Royal Quarter. These categories are the outcome of the back-and-forth visual comparative analysis between the gardens' forms, functions, and spatial features, along with investigating their hidden cultural, social, and political aspects. Thus, the shared criteria encompass overarching concepts extracted from analyzing and generalizing similar and repetitive spatial, formal, and functional qualities. Recognizing that cultural heritage is a dynamic and live element, the chapter discussed these criteria to redefine the geographic extent of the cultural zone based on the formal and conceptual consistency in the architectural design of Persianate gardens. The Hierarchical Order refers to hidden cultural and socio-political concepts behind the spatial hierarchy in Persianate gardens. One can observe the similarity of Persianate gardens through the same definition of visual order and spatial accessibility. Stepped gardens are excellent examples of this shared concept, which was discussed thoroughly in Chapter 5. The Quadripartite Concept is about the four-fold design of landscape and the nine-fold design of Pavilions, rooted in Mesopotamian and Persian’s ancient beliefs. The pre-Islamic quadripartite worldview of landscape design prompted the development of the ninefold pavilions in Persianate gardens. Transparency is about the level of solidity and spatial connections of multiple spaces. This concept also relates to the optical order and the level of visibility. It creates an interdependent scenario happening in a range of multiple connected spaces. In the context of Persianate gardens, one can see transparency in the extension of natural elements of gardens into pavilion design. For instance, a semi-closed ninefold pavilion in a fourfold garden 259 integrates the natural and built spaces. The concept of the Royal Quarter connects urban planning to garden design, showing how four-fold gardens also acted as royal cities. This concept defines the Royal City Gardens as a multifaceted layout centered around multiple power leverages, i.e., administrative and royal structures (Royal Palace Gardens), religious structures (mosques), and commercial structures (Bazaar). The royal cities of Isfahan and Shahjahanabad are great examples of Islamic royal city gardens, sharing several similar features. After defining the overarching shared comparison criteria, a granular view of their subcategories was taken by examining one element from Hierarchical Order - stepped gardens- and another from The Quadripartite Concept - nine-fold plans. Put differently and briefly, first, I unfolded the visual-centric methodology and introduced the shared criteria as a part of the steps for the recategorization of fourfold gardens in Chapter 3. Then, I offered a detailed discussion of each criterion definition in the research context in Chapter 4. Following that, I provided several concrete case studies of two shared criteria in Chapter 5. The close examination of the dispersal of these case studies, i.e., nine-fold plans and stepped garden designs, made the transnational scope of Persianate gardens tangible. These case studies proved the validity of shared criteria in redrawing the borders of fourfold gardens from national boundaries into the cultural zone. In other words, the flow of shared architectural and spatial concepts (the comparison criteria) within case studies across the cultural zone demonstrated the reliability of shared criteria to reorganize gardens and measure the transnational exchange of architectural concepts. It additionally showed how these historical gardens shared the same logic of spatiality, reflecting a close resemblance in their patrons’ worldviews. 260 To elaborate, the use of hierarchical order was evident in several stepped gardens, showing a consistent spatial logic transcending current political boundaries. A detailed architectural analysis of multiple Persianate gardens employing stepped garden design using 3D modeling as a method indicated a shared expression of royal power through symbolic landscape design. The allocation of terrace functions in stepped gardens was affected by gender and social classes. The topography and natural characteristics of the garden's location also impacted the direction of this hierarchical arrangement. Although the highest terrace was reserved for kings and queens in a hillside garden, the lowest terrace of riverfront gardens like the Taj Mahal was devoted to the royal family. These observations were made possible by employing schematic 3D analytical modeling of stepped gardens since factors such as terraces’ height and layout operate in different dimensions. Using the graphical analysis of architectural plans, the study also thoroughly examined the flow of the nine-fold plan design, showing the consistent use of spatial divisions. In other words, it marked the discussed monuments through the graphical language of three distinct colors, devoted to principal axial, diagonal rooms, and central rooms. Thus, if someone places all these colour-marked plans side by side in a nine-fold plan set, one can see the consistency in using similar patterns, demonstrating the occurrence of multiple examples across times and regions. The investigation of shared criteria within the case studies of nine-fold plans and stepped gardens designs further crystallized the transnational nature of Persianate gardens. In addition to the argument on the transnational nature of gardens, it is critical to address the research objective regarding the role of multimodal argumentation in delivering the transnational nature of Persianate gardens. In this sense, I elaborated on the website 261 design as the prototype of research interpretation in a multimodal and interactive way. Through the website prototype, the study explored the potential of multimodal scholarly communication, transcending the barriers of linear, text-based, and book-based modes predominantly used in the academic world. The limitation of text-based research and the necessity of multimodal argumentation in the context of visual culture were thoroughly discussed in Chapter 3. The visual dimension of a shared cultural heritage like Persianate gardens is obscured by using a logocentric approach to research, as the visual-centric research methodology and visual findings demand multimodal interpretation. These discussions were crystallized in Chapter 6 to feature how website design, as a tool for multimodal argumentation, enriched the interpretation and perception of transnational gardens. I discussed the website’s endless potential in foregrounding visual comparative analysis, as the central element of research, to showcase the flow of ideas in the form of consistent spatial logic beyond political borders. I critically reflected on the design of the home page, case studies, and datasets web pages, evaluating how multimodal language contributes to observing a bigger picture of gardens. Furthermore, I illuminated the relationship among research mediums (tools), highlighting the transition from traditional static written sections to dynamic digital and multimodal tools such as the Milanote web app and website. In this sense, this discussion partly speaks to the methodology of research, but it focuses on the essence of research tools. The nature of these tools and factors like required workspace size, data format, and the comparative nature of research data assessment are crucial in selecting each tool at different stages of research. It was necessary to unfold the rationale behind the medium's choices, featuring the role of digital media platforms in shifting the existing nation-based outlook and 262 constructing a coherent argument regarding the transnational nature of fourfold gardens. The medium selection at each stage was affected by their corresponding capabilities, such as the size of the workspace, the format of data, its structure, etc. While the traditional written format of study provided accurate articulations of the research subject, the primacy of text and the size of pages in a Word document limited the capacity of research to analyze visual data sets. As a result, the research used an enlarged and visually oriented workspace of the Milanote web app. Using visual-centered methods on the Milanote web app established connections among various concepts, contributing to a more in-depth comprehension of the transnational connections of gardens. Still, Milanote pages lacked organization and availability to the public, which prompted the need for a complementary digital platform. Therefore, it was crucial to design an interactive website with interpretative capabilities to simplify complicated diagrams while reserving the multimodal nature of findings. In addition, the website offers links to visual-centered methods on the Milanote pages, integrating the digital tools of research. Merging the website and Milanote page on the dataset and diagrams of the website offered a transparent, cohesive, and process-based context to navigate through the whole research phase. It should be emphasized that the interactive and multimodal characteristics of these digital tools, namely Milanote and the website, facilitated the essential methods of study, i.e., conducting comparative analysis and constructing cognitive maps of exchanges. For instance, the website provides several reasoning tools, such as a slider bar, 3D modeling, a timeline story, an image grid, and an interactive map (a geographical argumentation). All these components enhanced the comparative evaluation, one of the key methods in observing transnational threads. They provided a layered critical assessment of case 263 studies within a single framework to improve the immediacy of observation. In this context, the website can be seen as an interactive collage of various modalities and rationales. In contrast to the conventional written format, the website structure and the hierarchy of reasoning were influenced by multiple modes of argumentation. The initial section of the website design prioritized visual elements to indirectly immerse users in the research themes. The following sections emphasized texts for direct articulation of research arguments. Interactive maps collaged with the gardens’ spatial analysis (or similar elements) act as supportive reasoning for textual claims. Some sections’ compositions benefited from the collage technique to show the relevancy of multiple ideas and augment the transnational concept in gardens. Within this approach, a range of visual culture sourced from UNESCO's appendices files and Milanote pages of research were foregrounded on the main page. This was beneficial as it highlights the connections expressed through a diverse range of visual art, not only built gardens. Additionally, the approach restructured the existing data on UNESCO's website supplementary documents and shifted the political perception of Persianate gardens. Hence, it showed how the hierarchy of access to specific information can obscure or foreground a certain viewpoint of Persianate gardens. There are different ways to ensure the sustainability of digital research platforms, including the Milanote web application, website, and affiliated digital components. The research suggests providing backups of essential data to retrieve the information when needed. Creating a layered backup at different endpoints of data streaming can further help maintain data longevity. Backups can be either documented and saved on local drives or 264 stored online. Moreover, the research selected reliable digital tools with secure accessibility to preserve the research contents. Milanote datasets will remain accessible to users as per the software company’s policies. They can also be converted to PDFs for sharing with libraries and universities. Additionally, there is an option to share the Milanote datasets via HTML embed codes, as demonstrated on the dissertation website's Dataset and Diagram page. The research intends to back up datasets and website elements on an additional GitHub repository linked to the DARC website, Digital Art History Research Collective, at the University of British Columbia. This additional digital archive in addition to the research’s Milanote and the primary website 382 will assure long-term sustainability. Meanwhile, choosing affordable, reliable hosting plans and maintaining a full backup of designs, databases, and interactive elements will minimize the risk of data loss. 7.2. Concluding Remarks Altogether, the study examined the possibility of deprioritizing the national and political classification of Persianate gardens by UNESCO, as the current outlook unconsciously prompted a fragmented perception and obscured the dynamic and dialogic nature of culture. Alternatively, it offered a new set of criteria, built upon the architectural lens and hidden socio-cultural concepts, to restructure the categorization of Timurid, Safavid, and Mughal fourfold gardens in Central Asia, Iranian, and Deccan plateaus. This recategorization highlighted the insufficiency of nation-based structure to demonstrate the interconnections of 382 Please refer to the research website at https://thearchiart.com/, and Milanote dataset at https://app.milanote.com/1R5RIa12bcgUbG?p=Trli7QEbwlz, and additional digital archive on DARC website at https://blogs.ubc.ca/darc/. 265 these gardens in the Persianate cultural zone. The interconnected image of Persianate gardens provided an excellent counterexample of shared heritage that could help decentralize UNESCO’s predominantly Eurocentric perception and interpretation of cultural heritage. Put differently, the employment of visual-centered methods of research revealed how UNESCO’s policies may inadvertently associate a set of concepts such as race, nation, and geopolitical divisions with cultural heritage like Persianate gardens. One can see how the association of these concepts fosters biases, exclusion, and inaccuracy in heritage selection, interpretation, and preservation. The Eurocentric view on cultural heritage is more evident in the so-called Global South countries' cultural heritage (exemplified by the Persianate gardens in this dissertation), considering that influential organizations like UNESCO are based in Global North. On the other hand, the illustration of Persianate gardens' interdependencies regarding their historical context casts light on these gardens' collaborative and shared nature. As a result, conceiving heritage like Persianate gardens as a shared entity foregrounds similarities between societies rather than prompting conflict, tension, and divisions. Overall, one can see how the nation-oriented mindset and the transnational mindset of this research resulted in creating diverse criteria to investigate heritage. The former defines originality and authenticity built upon divisions and differences. However, the latter highlights similarity and collaboration, investigated through criteria that are the result of linking cultural and architectural concepts. Additionally, this dissertation demonstrated the significance of considering heritage context in the investigation of individual historical monuments, i.e., palace/tomb gardens. It featured Persianate gardens as interwoven layers of physical components and abstract concepts, showcasing the flow of ideas materialized in consistent spatial logic and architectural design. 266 This is while UNESCO’s current approach to tangible heritage shows Persianate gardens as isolated material objects and not as live, dynamic, and dialogic concepts that can be placed in a fluid context of interactions and exchanges. Figure 7.2 illustrates the above observations by overlapping three layers of visual information: The Global North and South division in the background image, the nation-oriented outlook on heritage in the middle, and the transnational lens to heritage in the foreground layer. The overlap of these layers reveals how the former layer shaped the middle one, as UNESCO’s perspective on heritage is rooted in the geopolitical segmentation of the world. The research challenges these divisions and suggests a new perspective to observe heritage by emphasizing the cultural overlaps. To further elaborate, the background picture illustrates the division of the world into Global North and South, showcasing the supremacy of one over the others (center over the margin). This binary division as the legacy of colonialism further promotes the Eurocentric and monologic lens to cultural heritage. The middle layer shows how UNESCO’s national outlook centralized heritage perception and authenticity around the Eurocentric criteria of Global North’s determining power. The foreground layer shows the dissertation approach toward heritage, clarifying how a transnational lens to heritage prompts the existence of cultural zones, their overlaps, and the interdependency of different societies' cultural heritage. As a result, this dissertation places fourfold gardens in a more dialogic and fuzzy setting, offering an alternative to the more monologic and Eurocentric version of World Heritage. 267 Figure 7.2. Sepideh Saffari, The Eurocentric structure of UNESCO, 2024. This figure encompasses three layers: the first layer represents the hierarchical division of the world into Global South and North (The background layer was adopted from Braff, Lara, and Katie Nelson. “Chapter 15: The Global North: Introducing the Region.” In Gendered Lives: Global Issues. MILNE Open Textbooks, 2021. https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/genderedlives/chapter/chapter-15-the-global-north-introducing-the-region/.) The second layer shows UNESCO’s Eurocentric view on the World heritage. The third layer illustrates the transnational approach to cultural heritage with a fuzzy lens on political divisions. This monologic lens on the content of World Heritage can also be observed in UNESCO’s format of interpretation, which is highly text-centered. The study examined the logocentric format of UNESCO's documents and records, noting that visual data are often used as ornamental and supplementary materials. It was observed that the linear and logocentric modalities employed further reinforced the nation-based and form-centered approach to Persianate gardens. This approach conceals a hidden pattern and narrative that can be solely perceived through a holistic investigation of cultural heritage, including visual and multimodal aspects. In contrast, the dissertation acknowledged all modes' capacities in knowledge perception and transfer in the context of Persianate gardens. Cultural similarities and differences in a transnational setting could be further covered by multimodal 268 argumentation. Multimodality also offers a more inclusive interpretation to address the pedagogical needs of individuals with diverse cognition potential. Using visual-centered analysis and multimodal argumentation, the research sought to explore non-conventional ways in which the multifaceted nature of cultural heritage, like Persianate gardens, can be further unfolded. The study foregrounded the vital role of visual-centered pondering in the perception of fourfold gardens and multimodal interpretation as an enriched format of representation. It discussed that translating the multimodal aspects of Persianate gardens, rooted in their dialogic, communicational, and transnational nature, is impossible using solely textual material, as it diminishes the knowledge dimension. It demonstrated the advantage of using visual-centric methods such as cognitive mapping and comparative evaluation in uncovering politicized perspective on Persianate gardens. The visual and interlinked cognitive maps and diagrams of research also cast light on the connected scenarios in designs and hidden concepts of these gardens. In this sense, the modes of research and expression were selected to be compatible with the content. In addition, using digital and web-based platforms such as the Milanote web app and the research website added interactivity, endless editing possibilities, and accessibility to visual methods and multimodal format of interpretation. It turned the reasoning structure from linear to non-linear and layered analysis, which is imperative to showcase complex data achieved through comparative visual analysis. They offered multiple reasoning opportunities to maintain visual-centered methods of research and its findings that are central to the perception of transnational exchanges. These digital platforms, particularly the research website, provided a unique opportunity to integrate all stages of research, incorporating the written component, 269 assessment of visual data, and multimodal representations of the gardens beyond borders within a unified framework. Built upon the above insights gained from the research, future studies could expand their investigation of the transnational nature of Persianate gardens beyond the architectural lens both in terms of content and form. The multimodal and interactive research format could explore various visual cultures. For instance, the transnational maps of fourfold gardens (Figures 5.10 and 5.34), which were thoroughly discussed in Chapter 5, can be further developed as a multilayered and interactive map of cultural transfers and exchanges, encompassing a range of cultural heritage such as handcrafts, illustrations, historical manuscripts, the evidence of human flow and socio-political connections, etc. While Chapter 4 briefly establishes the historical context of transnational exchanges based on sources beyond architecture, it primarily focuses on spatiality and architectural analysis to characterize the transnational nature of Persianate gardens. Hence, a shift into observing and analyzing diverse visual cultures, individual migrations, communities' interactions, and human-based statistics can extend the language of Persianate gardens' transnational nature. 7.3. Statement of Contributions The contribution of this dissertation is multi-fold, considering the interdisciplinary and multifaceted nature of research arguments and outcomes. I challenged the material-centred lens to the cultural heritage of Persianate gardens, that results in perceiving and interpreting heritage strictly as tangible heritage. This material-centered view overlooks the interdependencies between the intangible spatial design concepts and the tangible instances of Persianate gardens, leading to the perception of such heritage merely as material property within modern geopolitical divisions. To address that, the study offered new criteria to show 270 the collaborative and shared intelligence behind the development of the Persianate garden, emphasizing that the very nature of culture is built upon interactions and interdependencies. Put differently, I used an architectural lens to augment the transnational flow of sociocultural concepts and consistent spatial logic across borders. The study’s new criteria, built upon architectural quality and spatiality, prioritize shared historical contexts over national classifications. Reconceptualizing Persianate gardens within the notion that they are not merely outcomes of national historiographies can not be seen in the existing literature that mainly uses political dynasties for the gardens' classifications. While there are some references to cross-cultural influences between different dynasties in some studies, they are neither the main argument nor challenging the geopolitical classifications of heritage. Hence, the original contribution of this research can be seen in its argument that Persianate gardens represent a set of consistent and interrelated concepts, architectural design, and spatial logic span across a transnational web of connection and conversation. The consistency in spatial logic and interconnections in historical background define the extent of a unique cultural zone. The transnational concept in this dissertation does not intend to neglect the local identities, but it offers a new lens through which nations can reconsider their connections. These connections affect the way nations perceive each other, shaping a collective identity through which they can observe their shared culture and heritage. The larger and future implication of this view is achieving reverence for actors involved in the development of cultural heritage, believing that we cohabit in a world, living in a network of mutual influences. This view challenges the exceptionality of nations and the supremacy of one over 271 the others. Alternatively, it intends to offer a lens through which the notion of we versus others or the radical political use of modern construction of nations can be balanced in favor of more sustainable peace built upon humbleness and shared values. Figure 7.3. Sepideh Saffari, Moving from Geopolitical Divisions to Cultural Zone, 2024. Seeking balance was not limited to questioning the geopolitical divisions of heritage. The research also seeks to offer a more balanced way between different mediums of heritage perception and interpretation. The lenses and mediums that scholars choose to perceive subjects will impact the way they interpret them as well. Hence, multimodal and visual-centric lenses to reconceptualize the classification of heritage are intertwined with its reinterpretation and methods of delivery. In this sense, the research contributes to the field of heritage interpretation and the multimodal reach in an academic environment, by foregrounding the role of visual and multimodal analysis and argumentation in the context of Persianate gardens. This contribution is articulated through the research argument that a greater emphasis on visual-centered analysis and a multimodal approach to scholarly communication would deepen the perception and interpretation of transnational visual 272 phenomena. I believe translating the multimodal nature of shared heritage like Persianate gardens— rooted in their dialogic, communicational, and transnational qualities— cannot be fully investigated and conveyed through solely textual material. Using a logocentric lens flattens our understanding of the flows of cultural, artistic and architectural ideas and how they are disseminated. As discussed in Chapter 1, these flows can be interpreted as visio-scapes, art-scapes, and archi-scapes. 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Thesis/Dissertation
eng
Interdisciplinary Studies
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Graduate
Keshani, Hussein
Gardens beyond borders : rethinking UNESCO's approach to Persianate Gardens through transnational and multimodal lenses
Text