The role of gardens and tree-lined streets in the urban development of Safavid Isfahan (1590 - 1722)

This dissertation investigates the role of gardens and tree-lined avenues in the urban development of Isfahan into a metropolitan city-garden during the reign of Shah Abbas the Great (r. 1588-1629). Analyses of primary visual and textual sources and of landscape and urban design elements uncover the contribution of Isfahan to the integration of garden elements and ideas into the structure of cities in the early modern era. It compares Isfahan‘s urban development with Paris and Versailles of Louis XIV (r. 1643-1715), the most prominent examples among European cities where such green elements were integral to the urban structure. This dissertation also searches for traces of cultural exchange and cross-fertilization through a study of shared concepts and features.