Sensory experience beyond vision: Shah Tahmasb’s sixteenth-century garden in Qazvin

Abstract

In this article, we examine the grand compendium of verses composed by Abdi Beg Shirazi (1515–80/1) in the middle decades of the sixteenth century, which portrays the royal Sa’ādat-Ābād complex of the second Safavid ruler Shah Tahmasb (1524–76). Through careful reading and interpretation of these poems, both individually and as part of the larger structure of the compendium, we revisit the symbolism and mode of perception of gardens in the early-modern Persianate world. Contributing to the scholarship on the sensory turn, we argue that Shirazi’s portrayal of royal gardens as a terrestrial paradise relied on senses and experiences rather than on the formal properties of these gardens. The poet presented the garden as a set of cognitive episodes rather than visual frames. As such, Abdi Beg Shirazi’s text offers a compelling insight into the perception and reception of gardens in the early-modern Persianate world that helps expand the scope of current scholarship on the subject.