Shiraz’s heritage gardens during the political turmoil in Twentieth-century Iran

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper aims to study the impacts of complex political changes on the material and socio-cultural dimensions of the heritage gardens, which initially belonged to the nobilities of Shiraz. The paper scrutinises the factors that have altered the gardens’ lives during the Festival of Arts in the 1960s, followed by the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Through employing interpretive-historical research methods and examining primary sources including memoirs, memos, documents, and interviews conducted with managers involved in heritage affairs, the paper details how political, social, and economic parameters affected the Shiraz gardens. While the political states interpreted the heritage differently, possible factors responsible for changing the life of gardens are put forward.