From Cypress to Platanus: Trees in the Persian Arts, Literature and Cultural Memory
17 June 2025
University of Geneva, Switzerland, 9:15 am–7 pm
organized by Negar Habibi (University of Geneva) with the collaboration of Shervin Farridnejad (University of Hamburg) Mossadegh Foundation Lecture Series
Trees have long held profound symbolic, religious, and literary significance in the Iranian world, a tradition that dates back to the Achaemenid Empire. One of the most emblematic examples is the cypress tree, closely associated with divine kingship in the Zoroastrian tradition. In this context, the cypress symbolizes the legitimate sovereign as a divinely sanctioned patron of the faith. Among these revered trees, the most renowned is the Cypress of Kashmar, located in the Balkh-i Bami district of Tarshiz, Khurasan. This tree occupies a pivotal place in the foundational narrative of Zoroastrianism, commemorating the conversion of King Gushtasp by the prophet Zarathustra. An inscription carved into its trunk marks this seminal moment, celebrating the king’s acceptance of the “good religion” and his role as its earthly protector.
This one-day international symposium seeks to adopt a multidisciplinary perspective in reassessing the cultural and artistic significance of trees in Persian history. Rather than treating trees solely as ornamental components within the Chahar Bagh or other garden typologies, this event foregrounds them as central subjects of inquiry in their own right. Topics will include the literary prominence of trees, their symbolic and philosophical resonances in Persian art and architecture, and their ideological meanings as conveyed through textual and visual sources.
Hosted by the University of Geneva, the symposium will bring together ten scholars from Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Presentations will draw from diverse fields, including material and intangible cultural heritage, literary studies, art history, and philosophy, offering an enriched and nuanced understanding of arboreal imagery in the Iranian cultural sphere. A second round of the conference is scheduled to take place at the Centre for Iranian Studies at the University of Hamburg in 2026 under the direction of Professor Shervin Farridnejad.
