Early Azerbaijan "Garden / Chahar Bagh" carpet, NW Iran, early 18th century. Louvre Museum, Paris, France

 The design consists of a central watercourse, with tributary canals of various sizes, interrupted by islands or by ponds containing waterfowl and fishes, lined by avenues of stylized small trees and shrubs that surround flower plots, and often shaded by great plane trees.

The earliest, best examples of garden carpets, dating from the late 16th or early 17th century, are in museums at Jaipur in India and at Glasgow. They share characteristics of weave and colour with vase carpets. In the early 19th century the design in certain NW Iranian pieces degenerated into a mere checkerboard of flower beds. The most celebrated Persian garden carpet, the Spring of Khosrow Carpet, made for the palace of a 6th-century Sāsānian king, is little more than a legend, for the carpet itself has not survived, and descriptions of it by Arab writers do not disclose its technique. Certain Turkmen or Shirvan rugs have also been described as garden rugs. In a broad sense, every Middle Eastern floral carpet or rug actually represents, in its own fashion, a garden—especially if it is filled with prancing animals.

Layout of the Pasargadae palace complex
Gate A is the entrance building to the complex
Palace S, situated just across the river is the apadana or audience hall
The chahar bagh gardens are flanked by pavilions A and B
Palace P is thought to be the private royal residence