History
Originally, the sahn was used for dwellings, as a secure and private setting within a residence compound's walls. Ruins of houses in Sumerian Ur with sahns have been found, from the Third Dynasty of Ur (2100 - 2000 BCE).
In historic Persian garden design sahns were the location for private Paradise gardens. In traditional Persian architecture, the courtyard usually contained a howz or symmetrical pool, where wudu (Islamic ablutions) were performed.
The use of sahn in Islamic architecture continued until the mid-twentieth century, when modernist architecture began to influence Islamic cultures' residential and public buildings' designs.
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