2. The Islamic garden

The origins of the Islamic garden are a subject of considerable debate, focusing on the relative importance of two earlier traditions: ancient Rome and ancient Persia. Some argue that the linear axis and peristyle courtyard of the Roman garden is the only significant influence on the great Islamic gardens of Spain. Others champion the influence of ancient Persia, where the walled palace garden was a rectangle divided into quadrants by intersecting irrigation channels—a design known as chahar bagh (‘four gardens’). ‘The Islamic garden’ describes the Mughal gardens of the Indian subcontinent and moves westwards to the gardens of Spain and Portugal, explaining how Islamic gardens were (and are) centred on water.