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==Paradise Developments==
The word “paradise” derives from an Akkadian and Persian word (pardesu is Akkadian) and (paridayda is Old Persian). <ref> For more on the origins of the term "paradise" and its meaning, see: Bockmuehl, Markus N. A. 2010. Paradise in Antiquity: Jewish and Christian Views. Cambridge [u.a.]: Cambridge Univ. Press.</ref> The term seems to specifically deal with structures or enclosures, perhaps associated with the walled gardens of temples discussed earlier. Soon, however, these gardens began to be found in other areas, including palaces or as pleasure gardens for royalty. The concept of gardens in Persia continue and are spread to the different Persian empires, such as the Achaemenids, Parthians, and Sassanians, who eventually influence Islamic states and empire. We can still see these gardens as they were envisioned by the Persians today (Figure 23).
For the developing religions of the 1st millennium BC and later, in particular Hebrew and Zoroastrianism, the concept of paradise begins to develop. We see in the Hebrew Bible the story of Genesis most representing what this paradise looks like, as a place where pre-sinful Adam and Eve resided along with animals and the Sacred Tree of Life and Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Early Christianity and Islam also develop concepts of paradise as gardens that the righteous will dwell in.
[[File:Khaneh Ghavam.jpg|thumbnail|Figure 23. A modern garden in Shiraz, Iran, which are similar to the ancient Persian concept of a royal enclosure with a garden full of trees and water.]]
==Modern Understanding==