Eram Garden of Shiraz; A Rainbow of Flowers and Plants and Architectural Beauties

The moderate climate of Shiraz provides a suitable environment for the growth of plants. Orange trees can be seen throughout this historical city, which has become one of the symbols of Shiraz. In addition, there are many beautiful gardens in Shiraz, which host a large number of tourists every year. Eram Garden of Shiraz is one of these gardens and is known as one of the most famous gardens of this city.

History of the Eram Garden of Shiraz

Eram Garden can be considered as one of the oldest gardens in Iran. This garden was established during the Seljuk era in the 12th century CE. Atabak Qaracheh, the then-ruler of the Fars region, was the one who ordered the construction of this garden.

Later on, during the Zand era (late 18th century CE) and on the order of Karim Khan Zand an operation was carried out to improve the condition of this garden. In the Qajar period (19th century CE) a mansion was built inside the garden and made it in the form it is seen today. The mansion in the garden is built in the Qajar style of architecture, but it also shows some aspects of the Zand style of architecture. Some inscriptions belonging to the time of the restoration of the garden in the Qajar period can be seen in it.

Geography and Features of the Eram Garden

Eram Garden is located at the northeastern end of Shiraz. This garden was built in a rectangular shape and its dimensions were about 250 into 720 meters. In this way, the area of this garden stood at 18 hectares, but today only its northern edge remains, which covers an area of nearly 9 hectares. The garden is now at the disposal of the Faculty of Law of Shiraz University and is known as a botanical garden.

The Interior of the Eram Garden

The Eram Garden of Shiraz has a main axis that is located across the garden and parallel to its longitudinal sides. On both sides of the garden, cypress trees are planted in a row, among which there are taller trees that are of the “Mediterranean cypress” species the like of which cannot be found anywhere in Shiraz.

Eram Garden was created on a sloping surface, which makes the difference between the highest and lowest parts about 15 meters. The main entrance of the garden is in the southeast part. Two other entrances are located on the eastern side and another one is on the northwest side of the garden.

The main entrance to the garden, the middle mansion, and the main pavilion are all located on the main axis of the garden and are almost in a straight line. The main pavilion is built at the end of the garden, in its northern part. There is a middle courtyard in the pavilion where Mediterranean cypress and orange trees as well as all kinds of ornamental flowers can be seen. A large water fountain is also built in front of the pavilion, which adds to its beauty. There is also a large pond in the middle of the garden, which is in alignment with the style of Iranian buildings. The middle mansion is a one-story building that has a rectangular structure from where both sides of the garden and the central axis can be viewed.

Decorations of the Mansion

The portal of the main entrance is decorated with beautiful tiles with story-like images, all of which represent the power of kings. The design of these tiles is called “Sun Form” and consists of three crescents:

• The upper crescent with Rostam in Solomon’s court.

• The crescent on the left with a sketch of the story of the women being astounded by the beauty of Prophet Joseph.

• The crescent on the right is a picture based on the story of Khosrow watching Shirin swimming and losing his heart.

In the center of the painting, there is an image of Naser al-Din Shah of Qajar riding on a horse.

There are also paintings on the walls of the booth, whose subjects can be divided into three categories:

• Mythological and ancient motifs and subjects such as the lion and the sun, the hunting scene, and fictional images of fights among predators.

• Images inspired by Qur’anic and ancient Iranian stories.

• Decorative patterns of plants, views of urban buildings, and motifs of animals and birds.

Having been inscribed as a national heritage in 1974, Eram Garden was also inscribed as one of the 9 Iranian historical gardens in the list of World Heritage Sites of UNESCO.

Eram Garden can be considered as one of the oldest gardens in Iran, established during the Seljuk era in the 12th century CE.