HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were

the fabled gardens which adorned the
capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire,
built by its greatest
king Nebuchadnezzar II (r. 605-562
BCE). One of the Seven Wonders of the
Ancient World, they are the only wonder
whose existence is disputed amongst
historians. Some scholars claim the
gardens were actually at Nineveh, capital of the Assyrian Empire, some
stick with the ancient writers and await archaeology to provide positive
proof, and still others believe they are merely a figment of the ancient
imagination. Archaeology at Babylon itself and ancient Babylonian texts are
silent on the matter, but ancient writers describe the gardens as if they were
at Nebuchadnezzar’s capital and still in existence in Hellenistic times. The
exotic nature of the gardens compared to the more familiar Greek items on
the list and the mystery surrounding their location and disappearance have
made the Hanging Gardens of Babylon the most captivating of all the Seven
Wonders.

BABYLON & NEBUCHADNEZZAR II

Babylon, located about 80 km (50 miles) south of
modern Baghdad in Iraq, was an
ancient city with a history of settlement dating
back to the 3rd millennium BCE. The greatest
period in the city’s history was in the 6th century
BCE during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II when
the city was the capital of the Neo-Babylonian
Empire. The empire had been founded by
Nebuchadnezzar’s father Nabopolassar (r. 625-
605 BCE) after his victories over the Assyrian
Empire. Nebuchadnezzar II would go on to even
greater things, including the capture
of Jerusalem in 597 BCE. The Babylonian king then set about making his
capital one of the most splendid cities in the world. The Ishtar Gate was
built c. 575 BCE with its fine towers and depictions in tiles of animals both
real and imaginary, a 7-20 km brick double wall surrounded the city - the
largest ever built - and then, possibly, he added the extensive pleasure
gardens whose fame spread throughout the ancient world.

THE GARDENS
The majority of scholars agree that the idea of cultivating gardens purely for
pleasure, as opposed to the production of food, originated in the Fertile
Crescent, where they were known as a paradise. From there the notion
would spread throughout the ancient Mediterranean so that by Hellenistic
times even private individuals, or at least the wealthier ones, were
cultivating their own private gardens in their homes. Gardens were not just
about flowers and plants, either, as architectural, sculptural, and water
features were added, and even the views were a consideration for the ancient
landscape gardener. Gardens became such a desired feature
that fresco painters, such as those at Pompeii, covered entire walls of villas
with scenes which gave the illusion that on entering a room one was also
entering a garden. All of these outdoor pleasant places, then, owed their
existence to ancient Mesopotamia and, above all, to the magnificent
Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were sometimes referred to as the

Hanging Gardens of Semiramis after the semi-legendary and semi-divine
female Assyrian ruler thought by the Greeks to have extensively rebuilt
Babylon in the 9th century BCE. Herodotus, the 5th-century BCE Greek
historian, describes the impressive irrigation system of Babylon and the
walls but does not mention any gardens specifically (although the
Great Sphinx is also curiously missing from his description of Giza). The
first mention in an ancient source of the gardens is by Berossus of Kos,
actually, a priest named Bel-Usru from Babylon who relocated to the Greek
island. Writing c. 290 BCE, Berossus’ work survives only as quoted excerpts
in that of later writers, but many of his descriptions of Babylon have been
corroborated by archaeology.