You must have heard of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the most beautiful human-made structures throughout history. Of these, only the Pyramid of Giza has survived, but there is archaeological evidence of the existence of the others, except for one; The hanging gardens of Babylon. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are still a subject of debate among historians even today because no evidence has been found of their existence.
Even more interesting, there was no information about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in the Babylonian sources or in the memories of those who visited the region at that time. The first information about this garden of paradise comes from writers who lived after it. As such, it is believed that this place is at most a legend. Let’s take a closer look at the interesting information about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and look for answers to the curious questions.
Interesting facts about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon:
- II. Nebuchadnezzar built paradise on earth.
- What was not in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
- Here we encounter the first examples of landscape architecture.
- Another name is the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis.
- Historical sources are somewhat mixed on the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
- It is said to have inspired other gardens as well.
- The Hanging Gardens of Babylon may be the greatest ladyship in history.
- II. Nebuchadnezzar may have been inspired by the Assyrian kings.
II. Nebuchadnezzar built heaven on earth:
It is estimated that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built near the city of Babylon, which is located within the borders of Iraq today. The date of construction is the 6th century BC, the New Babylonian Empire II. Nebuchadnezzar period. After the throne, II. who wanted to make the city splendid. Nebuchadnezzar had the city surrounded by tens of kilometers of walls adorned with tile ornaments and built a paradise on earth with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
What was not in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon:
As we learned from the stories, there were olive trees, quince trees, ordinary pear trees, fig trees, almond trees, common grape vines, date palm trees, tamarisk trees, and Atlas Mountain gum trees in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
Even more interestingly, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were planted not only from locally grown trees, but also from imported trees. Among these, we can count willow, cedar, walnut, cypress, myrrh, ebony, fir, pomegranate, ash, plum, oak, rose, beech and moray eel. Each of these was irrigated by special waterfalls.
Here we encounter the first examples of landscape architecture:
There were many advanced civilizations at that time and people were making such gardens. But the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the first gardens built for pleasure, not cultivation. Pleasure gardens were becoming more and more common in the Hellenistic period, and this garden also followed the trend.
In addition to flowers and plants, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon had statues and waterfalls. All of these were placed on the terraces in a special order, giving the viewers the feeling of a different world rather than a garden. They say that even the aesthetic sense of Mesopotamian civilizations is based on the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
Also known as the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis:
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon in the 6th century BC. Although there is a general belief that it was built by Nebuchadnezzar, according to some Greek stories, this place was built by a legendary female ruler Semiramis in the 9th century BC. For this reason, it is seen as the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis in some sources.
Historical sources are a bit mixed on the Hanging Gardens of Babylon:
Herodotus, who visited the region in the 5th century BC, praised the Babylonian irrigation system and its walls, but did not mention such a fascinating garden. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were mentioned for the first time in the work of a Babylonian priest, dated 290 BC, written after he moved to the Greek islands.
When we look at the works of the 4th century BC, we see the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, but these people have neither visited Babylon nor have gardening information. The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus made a detailed description of the gardens in the 1st century BC. The Greek geographer Strabo also describes how water was drawn from the Euphrates to irrigate the gardens.
It is said to have inspired other gardens:
Even though the historical reality of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon is debatable, it is a fact that it inspired humanity. For example, the garden built on the Zargon Mountains by Cyrus the Great in 530 BC was built in a similar terrace style. The trees in the garden were clustered to protect them from the scorching wind, irrigation was done by special terraces, and the necessary shade was provided by the high walls.
In fact, there is always a relationship between the garden and the palace. In addition to the examples seen in ancient China, this relationship is clearly seen even in the Ancient America, that is, in the Mesoamerica region. Moreover, it is more illogical that such a garden was not established in a city like Babylon, which was built on the banks of the Euphrates.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon may be the greatest ladyism in history:
New Babylonian King II. You may be wondering why Nebuchadnezzar went and had a huge garden built. Of course, he had a goal of improving the city of Babylon, but his larger goal was to make his wife, Queen Amytis, happy.
After ascending the throne, Nebuchadnezzar married Amytis to strengthen his friendship with the neighboring empire, the Medes. But Babylon was nothing like the lush nature of the Median lands. Thereupon, Nebuchadnezzar tried to lessen the longing for the homeland of his wife, whom he fell in love with, by having the Hanging Gardens of Babylon built.
II. Nebuchadnezzar may have been inspired by the Assyrian kings:
We have said that there is no source about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon from the period and that archaeologists could not find any evidence of their existence in their studies in the region. However, when we examine the historical process, we can say that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon may have been inspired by these, since we know that the Assyrian kingdoms established in the region had similar gardens built.
When the Akkadian inscriptions are examined, we see that the Assyrian king Sanherib, who lived in the 8th century BC, had a garden built similar to his palace in Nineveh. Even the following text was found when the aqueducts in the region were examined;
‘King of Sanherib, king of the world of Assyria. Far away, I had a watercourse connecting the waters, directed around Nineveh… I created an aqueduct of white limestone blocks over steep valleys, and I let those waters flow over it.’
We talked about interesting information about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is not known whether it is a legend or a dream, but it is nice to imagine that such a garden has been established in such arid lands.
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