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Bagheripoor Monfared P, Jayhani H. (2026). Bagh-e Mir and Its Role in the Urban Structure of Mohammadabad-e Jarquyeh. Athar. 47(2), 35-67. doi:10.66224/Athar.1804.2416.7
URL: http://athar.richt.ir/article-2-1804-en.html

 Mohammadabad-e Jarquyeh (Garkuyeh) is a settlement located in southeastern Isfahan, at the foothills of Mount Kolah-Ghazi. Its historic core comprises a fortress and an associated garden. Remains of an earlier fortress, attributed to the Ilkhanid period, are preserved along the northwestern edge of this nucleus, while a later fortress established a new settlement core after the late Safavid period. Adjacent to this later fortress, a garden was constructed during the Qajar period as part of the village’s governmental nucleus. Bagh-e Mir, approximately square in plan and covering an area of about 18,000 square meters, has partially survived to the present day. Over time, substantial transformations affected both Mohammadabad and the garden itself, particularly in conjunction with the settlement’s transition from village to town. This article addresses two principal questions: what were the original layout and components of Bagh-e Mir, and what role did the garden play within the urban structure of Mohammadabad? The study seeks to identify the garden’s spatial characteristics and to examine the processes of its expansion and partial destruction in relation to the town’s urban development. Adopting a historical-analytical approach, the research relies primarily on surviving material evidence and documentary sources, including historical maps and aerial photographs, which are systematically examined and interpreted. The findings clarify the garden’s layout and constituent elements, demonstrating that its construction significantly altered Mohammadabad’s urban structure by forming a new center in front of the garden’s monumental entrance and main mansion. Furthermore, the study reveals that Bagh-e Mir possessed a dual structure composed of two distinct yet interconnected sections, and that its patrons later sought to extend the garden northward beyond the city wall in an attempt to connect it to Jarquyeh’s principal regional route through the construction of an additional entrance.
Keywords: Jarquyeh (Garkuyeh), Qajar Period, Mohammadabad, Bagh-e Mir, Abu al-Hasan Khan Sartip.

Introduction
Mohammadabad-e Jarquyeh (Garkuyeh) is a settlement in southeastern Isfahan, at the southern foothills of the Kolah-Ghazi Mountains. Historically, it developed from a rural nucleus into a walled settlement comprising several neighborhoods, a fortress, and agricultural areas. Evidence from aerial photographs and field observations indicates the presence of an earlier fortress along the northwestern edge of the historic settlement. A later fortress, known as the New Fortress, appears to have formed a new governmental nucleus during the Zand or early Qajar period. Bagh-e Mir was subsequently constructed adjacent to this fortress and became an important component of the settlement’s governmental and spatial organization. Bagh-e Mir is a large Qajar-period garden, approximately square in its surviving form and covering about 18,000 square meters. Its principal architectural feature is a substantial garden mansion with two exceptionally tall, four-sided wind catchers, together with a monumental entrance and enclosing walls and towers. Although the garden has undergone substantial alteration, its mansion, enclosure, and surviving spatial traces permit a partial reconstruction of its original configuration. The loss of its water supply, the decline of permanent occupation, changes in land use, and subsequent urban expansion progressively transformed the garden. Despite its significance, Bagh-e Mir has received little direct scholarly attention. Studies of Iranian historical gardens have generally focused on their physical characteristics, spatial organization, and formal qualities. Bagh-e Mir differs from many documented examples in that it was not an isolated garden within an agricultural estate. Rather, it was embedded within a developing settlement and formed part of a governmental nucleus alongside the New Fortress. Its study therefore provides an opportunity to examine not only the morphology of a Qajar garden but also its relationship to the urban structure of a small Iranian settlement. The study addresses two principal questions: What were the original layout and components of Bagh-e Mir, and what role did the garden play within the urban structure of Mohammadabad-e Jarquyeh? It reconstructs the garden’s spatial organization and examines the processes of its expansion, transformation, and partial destruction in relation to the development of Mohammadabad. The research adopts a historical-descriptive and interpretive approach based on field surveys, aerial photographs, historical and archival documentation, and oral testimony.

Discussion
The evidence suggests that Bagh-e Mir formed part of a broader governmental nucleus rather than functioning as an isolated garden. The New Fortress and the garden stood adjacent to one another, sharing elements of their defensive enclosure while remaining architecturally distinct. The fortress, which contained residential units, a stable, and other spaces, appears to have served a governmental function. Together, the fortress and garden constituted the governmental center of Mohammadabad. South of this complex lay the settlement’s non-governmental center, comprising the mosque, bazaar, and a hosayniyya. The bazaar was situated between the garden and the mosque and provided access to the garden’s principal entrance. This spatial relationship suggests that Bagh-e Mir contributed to the formation of a new urban center in front of its monumental entrance. Historical evidence attributes the construction of Bagh-e Mir to Mirza Abu al-Hasan Khan Sartip in 1289 AH. He belonged to a local ruling family whose political prominence extended back to the Safavid period. The garden may therefore be understood as a later architectural expression of local governmental authority, positioned beside the fortress while oriented toward the settlement through its entrance and relationship to the market. The reconstructed garden had an approximately square or slightly parallelogrammatic plan and was enclosed by a high wall with towers. Its southern entrance was integrated with the principal garden mansion, which occupied approximately 500 square meters and incorporated two wind catchers approximately 17 meters in height. The principal axis ran north–south and terminated at the mansion, while a secondary east–west axis intersected it near the center of the garden. Broad avenues and paths structured the planting plots. Four major plots occupied the spaces defined by the principal axes and were apparently subdivided into smaller units. A central open space, possibly functioning as a garden court or maydancheh, occupied the intersection of the two axes. Oral testimony also refers to an octagonal pool with a fountain, although its precise location remains uncertain.
The reconstruction further indicates that the garden’s organization was closely conditioned by its physical setting. The east–west water channel, for example, appears to have followed the site’s slope and the conditions of water supply rather than the dominant north–south garden axis. This relationship between formal design and environmental constraints is significant for understanding how the garden’s spatial organization was adapted to local conditions. Water was fundamental to both the organization and subsequent decline of the garden. Bagh-e Mir was supplied through a branch of the Sahradeh Qanat. According to field observations and local testimony, Qanat water reached the garden until approximately the 1340s SH. After the Qanat dried up in 1337 SH, a well was constructed to supply the garden. Aerial photographs from 1346 and 1362 SH indicate some recovery of vegetation, suggesting that the well temporarily sustained the garden. Nevertheless, limited water availability, declining occupation, and the eventual failure of the well contributed to the garden’s deterioration. A major finding of the study is that Bagh-e Mir possessed a more complex structure than its surviving square enclosure suggests. A second northern section, with an irregular or octagonal configuration, extended beyond the principal southern garden and was separated from it by a substantial wall. Its southern portion contained a formally designed structure in the form of a kushk or pavilion, surrounded by organized planting beds and paths. This arrangement suggests that the area was conceived as a garden rather than simply used for agricultural purposes. Local testimony further indicates that the northern kushk served a residential function, possibly as a seasonal residence, in contrast to the main garden mansion, whose architectural characteristics appear to have been suited to summer occupation.
The northern section appears to have developed through several phases. Initially, a trapezoidal region between the principal garden and the historic city wall seems to have been incorporated into the garden’s spatial organization. Subsequently, an attempt appears to have been made to extend the garden beyond the northern wall toward the regional road connecting Mohammadabad with Nikabad, Isfahan, and Shahreza. The northern entrance, comparable in form and composition to the southern entrance, provides important evidence for this interpretation. Its location and the alignment of the surrounding walls suggest an attempt to create a larger and more integrated garden complex. The chronology of this extension remains partly hypothetical because much of the northern section has disappeared. Nevertheless, the available evidence indicates that it postdated the principal garden. Its extension across the historic city wall suggests a later phase, when the wall had lost some of its earlier significance and the settlement was undergoing spatial transformation. This expansion may have reflected both the increasing governmental and representational significance of the garden and the growing importance of the regional route. The intended connection, however, appears not to have been completed. Subsequent urban expansion and road construction ultimately resulted in the destruction of the northern garden and other elements of the historic fabric.

Conclusion
The study demonstrates that Bagh-e Mir played a more significant role in the historical development of Mohammadabad than its surviving remains alone might suggest. Constructed adjacent to the New Fortress as part of the governmental nucleus, it was not simply a residential or recreational garden but an important spatial component of local authority. Its monumental entrance and garden mansion faced the settlement and were directly related to the bazaar, mosque, and hosayniyya, contributing to the formation of a new center. The juxtaposition of the governmental complex with the religious-commercial center created a spatial configuration in which the garden actively participated in the formation of urban centrality. The research further demonstrates that the garden originally possessed a more complex spatial structure than its surviving enclosure indicates. The principal southern garden was a formally organized enclosure with broad intersecting axes, planting plots, a substantial garden mansion, and a carefully articulated entrance. A second northern garden was subsequently developed between and beyond the historic city wall. Its designed landscape, northern kushk, and second monumental entrance suggest an attempt to integrate the two sections and establish a stronger relationship with the regional road network. Ultimately, this expansion was not completed. Changes in the spatial organization of Mohammadabad, the growing importance of new circulation routes, and subsequent urban development resulted in the destruction of the northern garden. The route connecting Mohammadabad with Nikabad, Isfahan, and Shahreza eventually became an important urban axis around which subsequent expansion occurred. Thus, the same route whose growing significance may have encouraged the northern expansion of the garden later contributed to the destruction of this section and the fragmentation of the historic settlement. Bagh-e Mir provides an important case for understanding the relationship between gardens, local authority, and urban transformation in small Iranian settlements. Its history demonstrates that a garden could participate in the formation of an urban center, mediate between governmental and non-governmental spaces, and subsequently be reconfigured in response to changing infrastructural conditions. Reconstructing its spatial organization and successive transformations therefore contributes not only to an understanding of Bagh-e Mir itself but also to a more precise understanding of the historical transformation of Mohammadabad-e Jarquyeh. At the same time, the study demonstrates the value of combining surviving architectural remains, aerial photographs, field observations, documentary sources, and oral testimony in reconstructing historic environments whose material integrity has been substantially diminished.