Let's define an urban park as (i) a place in or within walking distance of a city, (ii) which is accessible to the public, and (iii) which is set aside for non-staged recreation (so we can exclude arenas, hippodromes and theaters). As far as I can tell - although I'd be happy to be proven wrong - the first ones for which we have historical documentation were in Imperial Rome, for instance the Gardens of Sallust after Tiberius opened them to the public. Can there be earlier ones?
Two thoughts suggest themselves. First, classical Rome was a society in which building or donating public amenities was a recognized way for politicians to build a reputation, and may thus have been open to the building of urban parks in a way other ancient societies were not. If another culture developed a similar ethic of public works - maybe as an aspect of kingship, for instance - could that have resulted in public pleasure gardens in other ancient cities?
Second - this was suggested to me by a friend off-list - parks could evolve from sacred groves. If ancient temples could also be banks and repositories of wills, there's no reason why sacred groves couldn't become places of public recreation on days when rituals weren't happening. Presumably recreation would have to be sacralized, or at least reconciled somehow to the grove's mission as keeping wills was to the Vestals', but that's not impossible - for instance, I could imagine it evolving from the concept of a sabbath day.
Any elaboration on those, or any other possibilities?
Two thoughts suggest themselves. First, classical Rome was a society in which building or donating public amenities was a recognized way for politicians to build a reputation, and may thus have been open to the building of urban parks in a way other ancient societies were not. If another culture developed a similar ethic of public works - maybe as an aspect of kingship, for instance - could that have resulted in public pleasure gardens in other ancient cities?
Second - this was suggested to me by a friend off-list - parks could evolve from sacred groves. If ancient temples could also be banks and repositories of wills, there's no reason why sacred groves couldn't become places of public recreation on days when rituals weren't happening. Presumably recreation would have to be sacralized, or at least reconciled somehow to the grove's mission as keeping wills was to the Vestals', but that's not impossible - for instance, I could imagine it evolving from the concept of a sabbath day.
Any elaboration on those, or any other possibilities?