Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, also known as the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis, near present-
day Al Hillah in Iraq (formerly Babylon), is considered one of the original Seven Wonders of the World.
They were built by Nebuchadnezzar II around 600 BC. He is reported to have constructed the gardens
to please his wife, Amytis of Media, who longed for the trees and fragrant plants of her homeland
Persia.

The gardens were destroyed by several earthquakes after the 2nd century BC.

The lush Hanging Gardens are extensively documented by Greek historians such as Strabo and
Diodorus Siculus. Through the ages, the location may have been confused with gardens that existed at
Nineveh, since tablets from there clearly show gardens. Writings on these tablets describe the possible
use of something similar to an Archimedes' screw as a process of raising the water to the required
height.

Greek references
The Greek Historian Strabo:

"Babylon, too, lies in a plain; and the circuit of its wall is three hundred and eighty-five stadia. The
thickness of its wall is thirty-two feet; the height thereof between the towers is fifty cubits; that of the
towers is sixty cubits; the passage on top of the wall is such that four-horse chariots can easily pass one
another; and it is on this account that this and the hanging garden are called one of the Seven Wonders
of the World. The garden is quadrangular in shape, and each side is four plethra in length. It consists of
arched vaults, which are situated, one after another, on checkered, cube-like foundations. The
checkered foundations, which are hollowed out, are covered so deep with earth that they admit of the
largest of trees, having been constructed of baked brick and asphalt — the foundations themselves and
the vaults and the arches. The ascent to the uppermost terrace-roofs is made by a stairway; and
alongside these stairs there were screws, through which the water was continually conducted up into
the garden from the Euphrates by those appointed for this purpose. For the river, a stadium in width,
flows through the middle of the city; and the garden is on the bank of the river."

The Greek Historian Diodorus:

"The Garden was 100 feet (30 m) long by 100 feet (30 m) wide and built up in tiers so that it resembled
a theatre. Vaults had been constructed under the ascending terraces which carried the entire weight of
the planted garden; the uppermost vault, which was seventy-five feet high, was the highest part of the
garden, which, at this point, was on the same level as the city walls. The roofs of the vaults which
supported the garden were constructed of stone beams some sixteen feet long, and over these were
laid first a layer of reeds set in thick tar, then two courses of baked brick bonded by cement, and finally a
covering of lead to prevent the moisture in the soil penetrating the roof. On top of this roof enough
topsoil was heaped to allow the biggest trees to take root. The earth was leveled off and thickly planted
with every kind of tree. And since the galleries projected one beyond the other, where they were sunlit,
they contained conduits for the water which was raised by pumps in great abundance from the river,
though no one outside could see it being done."
Other references

This hand-coloured engraving by the 16th-century Dutch artist Martin Heemskerck depicts the fabled Hanging Gardens of
Babylon.
Scriptores Rerum Alexandrii Magni

"And then there were the Hanging Gardens. Paracleisos going up to the top is like climbing a mountain.
Each terrace rises up from the last like the syrinx, the pipes of pan, which are made of several tubes of
unequal length. This gives the appearance of a theater. It was flanked by perfectly constructed walls
twenty-six feet thick. The galleries were roofed with stone balconies. Above these there was the first of a
bed of reeds with a great quantity of bitumen, then a double layer of baked bricks set in gypsum, then
over that a covering of lead so that moisture from the soil heaped above it would not seep through. The
earth was deep enough to contain the roots of the many varieties of trees which fascinated the beholder
with their great size and their beauty. There was also a passage which had pipes leading up to the
highest level and machinery for raising water through which great quantities of water were drawn from
the river, with none of the process being visible from the outside."

Controversy

There is some controversy as to whether the Hanging Gardens were an actual creation or a poetic
creation due to the lack of documentation of them in the chronicles of Babylonian history. In ancient
writings the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were first described by Berossus, a Chaldean priest who lived
in the late 4th century BC. These accounts were later elaborated on by Greek historians.

A newer theory proposes that the garden was actually constructed under the orders of Sennacherib,
who took the throne of Assyria in 705–681 BC. During new studies of the location of Nineveh (Located
on the eastern bank of the Tigris in ancient Assyria) his gardens were placed close to the entrance of
his palace, on the bank of the river Tigris. It is possible that in the intervening centuries the two sites
became confused, and the hanging gardens were attributed to Babylon.

Plants
The gardens, as depicted in artworks, featured blossoming flowers, ripe fruit, burbling
waterfalls and terraces exuberant with rich foliage. Based on Babylonian literature,
tradition, and the environmental characteristics of the area, some of the following plants
may have been found in the gardens:

Olea europaea, Cydonia oblonga, Pyrus communis,Ficus carica, Prunus dulcis, Vitis
vinifera, Phoenix dactylifera, Tamarix aphylla, Pistacia atlantica

Imported plant varieties that may have been present in the gardens include
the cedar, cypress, ebony, pomegranate, plum, rosewood, terebinth, juniper, oak, ash
tree, fir, myrrh, walnut and willow. Some of these plants were suspended over the
terraces and draped over its walls with arches underneath.