During the twentieth century, two main Revolutions in Iran embodying opposing and paradoxical ideologies brought about significant changes in all aspects of Iranian society that reflected and affected the use and boundaries of private gardens in Shiraz, the ‘city of gardens’. Under the leadership of Mohammad Reza Shah’s Pahlavi regime (1941-1979), the private gardens of architectural merit with their introverted architectural formula were systematically bought, restored and transformed into public spaces for hosting Shiraz Art Festival in 1967. In attempt to impose alien behavioural patterns through breaking down the taboo of Islam, these gardens had to adopt coercive function and subverted the original one that was based on Islamic morals. Subsequently, following the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and after a decade of decay, these gardens that have been overtly westernized once more witnessed changes. As a result of political shifts and the domination of religious authorities, the new kind of cultural activities and behavioural patterns have been formulated in these gardens voiced by religious-minded scholars and money-minded managers alike. This paper will detail the ways in which contrasting attitudes of the authorities have affected the use and boundaries of the Shiraz’s historical gardens particularly before and after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. However, it argues that through adaptation and new approaches based on Islamic codes and contemporary Iranian needs, the historical gardens of Shiraz of architectural merit have finally found an ability to become a desirable place for large numbers of Iranians.

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