Ferdows Garden ( fa, باغ فردوس ) is a historical complex located in the district of

Tajrish Tajrish ( fa, تجريش, , also romanized as Tajrīš) is a neighbourhood of Tehran, capital of Iran. Administratively it is in Shemiranat County, Tehran Province. It used to be a village and later was absorbed into the city of Tehran. The Ta ...

in Shemiran (northern

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. The complex dates back to the reign of the

Qajar dynasty The Qajar dynasty (; fa, دودمان قاجار ', az, Qacarlar ) was an IranianAbbas Amanat, ''The Pivot of the Universe: Nasir Al-Din Shah Qajar and the Iranian Monarchy, 1831–1896'', I. B. Tauris, pp 2–3 royal dynasty of Turkic origin ...

, and includes a mansion which houses the Cinema Museum of Iran since 2009.

Etymology

Hosseinalikhan Mo'ayyerolmamalek - Saniolmolk

By the time of the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...

, the term ''pairidaēza'' (

Avestan Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scrip ...

) referred to extensive gardens built all over the empire. It derived from

Proto-Iranian Proto-Iranian or Proto-Iranic is the reconstructed proto-language of the Iranian languages branch of Indo-European language family and thus the ancestor of the Iranian languages such as Pashto, Persian, Sogdian, Zazaki, Ossetian, Mazandara ...

''paridaiźa'', literally meaning "circular boundary". Modern Persian ''ferdows'' () and ''pardis'' () are derivatives of the same word, which occurred in Greek as ''parádeisos'' () and entered English as ''paradise''. According to the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a c ...

'', as well as the Dehkhoda Dictionary, this word entered Hebrew as ''pardēs'' (), following the arrival of the

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

in the 5th century BC. In the sections of the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

that predate this arrival, the notions of "heaven" and "hell" are not specific; only later has ''pārdēs'', originally meaning "garden" and "orchard", been endowed with the spiritual meaning that is signified by this word. Dehkhoda notes that ''pardēs'' has been used as a synonym for the Hebrew word ''gān'', meaning "the

Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan- Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2-3 and Ezekiel 28 ...

". He also states that the word ''firdaws'', used twice in the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , ...

, has its root in

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in th ...

and

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

History

The origin of complex dates back to the reign of Mohammad Shah (1808–1848) of the

, who ordered the construction of a mansion named ''Mohammadie'' in

. He died in September 1848, and the unfinished structure was subsequently disused. Later on, Hossein Ali Khan (Moayyer ol Mamalek), a courtier close to Mohammad Shah, followed up the construction of a two-floor Qajar-style mansion within the same area. During the reign of Naser ed Din Shah (1848–1896), the ownership of the enclosure was transferred to Dust-Ali Khan (Nezam od Dowle), the son of Hossein Ali Khan. He refurbished the complex and renamed it ''Ferdows''. Afterwards, Dust-Mohammad Khan, the son of Dust-Ali Khan and the son-in-law of Naser ed Din Shah, built a new mansion to the south of the enclosure. He used the workmanship of architects from

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Region, Isfahan Province, Iran. It is lo ...

and

Yazd Yazd ( fa, یزد ), formerly also known as Yezd, is the capital of Yazd Province, Iran. The city is located southeast of Isfahan. At the 2016 census, the population was 1,138,533. Since 2017, the historical city of Yazd is recognized as a Wor ...

, and named it ''Rašk e Behešt'', meaning "the Envy of Heaven". Sepahsalar-e Azam-e Tonekaboni

The complex changed several hands, and the older mansion was eventually destroyed. The remaining structure was then bought by Mohammad-Vali Khan Tonekaboni, who was the leader of the Constitutionalist Revolutionary Forces from Iran's northern regions of Gilan and Mazandaran. He added new pools and fountains to the complex, and regenerated the aqueduct that, in earlier years, had fed the garden with fresh water. The current gate of the garden also dates from this time. The complex was leased to various ministries over years. In 1937, the Ministry of Education housed the primary and secondary school of Shapur in this compound. After the 1979 Revolution, until 2002, Ferdows Garden served as a training center for filmmaking. Since 2002, it houses the Cinema Museum.

In Iranian cinema

''Ferdows Garden, 5 o'Clock in the Afternoon'' (2005), an Iranian film written, produced and directed by Siamak Shayeghi, with Reza Kianian,

Ladan Mostofi Ladan Mostofi ( fa, لادن مستوفی; born November 17, 1972) is an Iranian actress. She has received various accolades, including nominations for three Crystal Simorgh, two Hafez Awards and an Iran Cinema Celebration Awards. She won the Best ...

and

Azita Hajian Azita Hajian ( fa, آزیتا حاجیان, born 10 January 1958) is an Iranian actress. Early life She was born on 10 January 1958 in Narmak, Tehran. She graduated in theatre acting and directing from the ''Faculty of Dramatic Arts'' in Tehran ...

in the principal roles, refers to the public park from where the main mansion is in view.'Sean Penn in Iran'', San Francisco Chronicle, 2005: August 22
Day One
August 23
Day Two
August 24
Day Three
August 25
Day Four
August 26
Day Five

Gallery

file:Ferdows Garden, Tehran.jpg, Outside view file:کاخ فردوس.jpg, Ferdows Garden file:مسیر باغ فردوس.jpg, Path leading to the building file:ورودی عمارت باغ فردوس.jpg, Entrance file:Bagh ferdows 4.jpg, At night file:Bagh ferdows6.jpg, At night file:IMAG0413.jpg, Entrance file:Ferdow garden tehran.jpg file:Muse cinema.jpg, A view from inside file:باغ فردوس 02.jpg, A view through the window

References

External links