The formal ‘paradise gardens’ of Persia (Iran) are noted for their tranquility and the respite they offer from the summer heat of the region, combining architectural and arboreal shade with running water in a long tradition. Adopted by Arab traders and rulers, such garden designs became central to the planning of palaces, mosques and private houses across the Islamic world from Baghdad, Aleppo and Damascus to Granada, Cordoba and Seville in the west, and eastwards to Afghanistan and the Mughal empire in India, of which the Taj Mahal is an unusual but especially beautiful example.

After officer service in the Royal Navy Justin had a long career in business management. He became Chief Executive of a healthcare company and then Director of Studies for a Japanese executive college in Oxford and Washington DC. He was one of the earliest consultants in knowledge management and e-learning, advising the UK Government, until he retired from business in 2000. Justin then studied the History of Art and Architecture at Oxford, and later studied Islamic art at Oxford and classical culture with the university of Athens. While researching for a doctorate in naval history, Justin was invited to join the Bodleian Library as a senior academic manager, advising researchers and graduate students and editing manuscripts in the Bodleian's collections. He is a published historian. A qualified teacher, he is a tutor in the History of Art and Architecture and classical studies for independent colleges at Oxford and for private graduate students. He is a member of the AI & Arts Interest Group at the Alan Turing Institute, and is currently writing a university preparation course on the history of innovation and the impact of Artificial Intelligence on human creativity. A Fellow of two learned societies, and a member of the Walpole Society and the Arts Society Cheltenham, Justin is a frequent lecturer for The Arts Society with a wide range of talks and study days on art history, painting, sculpture and architecture across cultures from antiquity to the modern era.