Of all the “old” Wonders of the World, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon is the most mysterious structure. For a long time it was not even known whether they actually existed, or whether it was someone’s fantasy, wandering from chronicle to chronicle over the centuries.
Fairy Hanging Gardens
It is noteworthy, but the most diligent descriptions were left by those who have not seen this wonder of the world. The Gardens of Babylon are not mentioned in a single word on the tablets of Babylon, and those who visited there remain silent.
As a result, we have today what the ancient historians left us, weaving together Semiramis, Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled two hundred years after her, the Hanging Gardens themselves, attributing to them an almost mystical beauty and essence. Let's take a closer look at this wonder of the world.
The Gardens of Babylon, like many architectural pearls of antiquity, according to legend, were erected in the name of love. One of the stories goes like this: the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II entered into an alliance with the ruler of Media, taking his daughter named Amytis as his wife. Babylon itself rose among the endless expanses of sand. It was a noisy and dusty shopping center. Amitis began to yearn for her evergreen and fresh homeland. The loving husband was faced with a dilemma - to move the city closer to Media or to make Babylon itself more comfortable. And Nebuchadnezzar, so that his beloved’s eyes would not shine from tears of sadness, decided to build an unprecedented garden in Babylon. By order of the great ruler, a pyramid was erected with four tiers of platforms, which were supported by twenty-meter columns. The Hanging Gardens could not replace their native country, however, this was enough for the queen to say goodbye to the melancholy and nostalgia.
However, what does this have to do with a certain Semiramis? Babylon proved to the world that it could create the first monumental structure in honor of love. And the name of the then ruler miraculously mixed up in the memory of descendants with the name of another Assyrian queen, and the gardens became known as the gardens of Semiramis. Perhaps it is just a whim of the human consciousness to connect the great with the great...
The story of Semiramis is a Greek legend passed down through the centuries by Herodotus and Ctesias. And it did not refer to Nebuchadnezzar, but to another Babylonian king, Shamshiadat V. However, the legend retains the theme of love. In honor of the beautiful Assyrian Amazon queen, Shamshiadat ordered the construction of a huge structure from an arched arcade. On each floor of arches stacked on top of each other, gardens were laid out, planting the rarest trees. The amazing beauty was complemented by graceful fountains with the murmur of water, and birds invisible in the branches delighted the ears with their singing. The multi-story and end-to-end wonder of the world - the Gardens of Babylon - seemed almost like a castle in the air, mysterious and magical.
The garden was irrigated with the help of a water-lifting wheel; hundreds of slaves continuously set it in motion so that water flowed to each tier of the gardens. And to prevent water from dripping onto the lower tiers, each “platform” was covered with a dense layer of reeds, on top of which was laid a layer of fertile soil, into which, in turn, strong trees and shrubs and delicate flowers were embedded with rhizomes and roots. From a distance, the wonderful pyramid looked like an evergreen and blooming hill.
The Babylonian oasis lasted for about two centuries, and then fell into desolation during the hegemony of the Persians. This palace rarely hosted Persian kings.
Later, in the fourth century, the palace was chosen as a residence by Alexander the Great, becoming his last earthly refuge. After Alexandra, the luxurious 172 rooms of the palace fell into complete disrepair, the foundation was washed away, and the structure collapsed.
For a long time, the Gardens of Babylon were considered a beautiful fiction, a legend, like the Assyrian queen herself. However, Semiramis, although she lived a legendary life, is quite a historical figure.
Legendary queen of Assyria
In ancient times, a temple of the goddess Derketo was erected near the city of Askalon. Derketo was once forced to fall in love with a mere mortal youth. She bore him a daughter, and then, angry, irritated by the unequal marriage, killed her husband and disappeared into the waters of a deep lake. The girl was left to the mercy of fate. According to legend, pigeons saved her: they carried milk in their beaks and warmed her with their wings. The girl grew up, and she no longer had enough milk. Then the birds began to bring her cheese. The shepherds, from whose product the pigeons were pinching off pieces, noticed this matter. Interested, they followed the trail of the birds. And they found the girl. They took her to the caretaker of the royal herds, Simmas, who named the lovely child Semiramis, which meant “dove.” Semiramis grew up to be a beauty that had no equal at that time. The first royal adviser, Onnes, who was passing through those parts, was captivated by her beauty. Inspired by love, he asked Simmas for the hand of Semiramis, took the girl to Nineveh and made him his wife.
The beauty of the young woman was not inferior to her other talents. And a quick mind soon came in handy - because the war with Bactria began. The king sent a strong army, but with all his might he could not take the capital of Bactria. The enemy managed to repel all attacks. Onnes, tossing about from powerlessness, ordered to invite his beautiful wife to the battlefield, who had already given practical, wise advice more than once.
Semiramis ordered to sew herself a new dress for the journey. However, the dress turned out to be not quite ordinary. Elegant in fashion. it was cut and sewn in such a way that it would not be clear who was wearing it - was it a woman? Man?
Arriving at her husband, Semiramis saw that the troops of her native state, according to tactics and common sense, were attacking the weakest and most fragile part of the fortifications. Everything is logical, isn't it? But Semiramis was not burdened with knowledge of military affairs, like all women. Therefore, calling on volunteers, she ordered a strike to be struck where there were the fewest defenders - on the strongest part of the walls. The enemies did not expect such a strange move, contrary to all strategic sciences. Stunned, they missed several key defense points, and the city fell.
Admired by her courage and ingenuity, the king tried to persuade adviser Onnes to voluntarily give up Semiramis, promising to give his daughter for this. But Onnes was adamant. Then the king switched from persuasion to threats, promising to gouge out the rebellious man’s eyes - after all, he was truly blind to the orders of his ruler. In the end, Onnes could not stand the contradictions tearing him apart, went crazy and committed suicide. No one else stopped King Nin from marrying Semiramis. So the beautiful widow received the royal title.
After some time, she gave birth to a son, the heir to the throne. However, after her second husband, she took the reins into her own hands.
Despite the fact that many sought the hand of the dowager queen, luck did not smile on anyone. An enterprising, active woman decided to surpass her late royal husband. On the Euphrates River she founded a new city with powerful towers and impregnable walls - Babylon. Around the city, by order of the queen, the swamps were drained and an amazing temple to the god Bel was erected. During her reign, a convenient road was built through the seven ridges of the Zagros chain to Lydia, a state in the west of Asia Minor. In Lydia itself, on her orders, the capital of Ecbatana was founded with a delightful royal palace, and water was brought to the capital through a tunnel from distant mountain lakes.
Semiramis then carried out several successful military operations. First there was the Thirty Years' War, in which the kingdom of Media, Persia, Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia bowed to the queen. Only in India did the queen's luck turn away. She lost almost three quarters of her army. However, this could not cool her ardor. A slight wound from an arrow could not do this either.
The queen returned to Babylon to gain strength. There was a sign for her not to continue the war, and the powerful ruler, having tamed herself, stopped attacking India, the ruler of which allowed himself to rather rudely call the beautiful Semiramis a lover of love affairs.
By this point, her son was bored with his inglorious life. He decided that mother had stayed too long on the throne, and organized a conspiracy against Semiramis. The queen recognized the treachery and voluntarily handed over the crown to her son, and she herself “went out onto the balcony, turned into a dove and flew away...”.
The “official” story of the biography of Semiramis is much more prosaic. According to a second-century Greek writer, Semiramis was once an “insignificant court lady” of one of the Assyrian rulers, but her beauty was so great that even the ruler of the state could not resist. And one day she persuaded her husband to hand over the reins to her for just five days.
Having received the royal regalia, on the very first day she won over the dignitaries and military leaders to her side, organizing a grand feast. Then she ordered royal honors to be given to her, and imprisoned her husband. Plus: the determined queen received the throne and retained power until her old age.
These are the kind of contradictory stories time gives us. In addition, history knows several more contenders for the name “Semiramis”. The Greeks understood this name as the Assyrian queen Shammuramat, who lived around 800 BC.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are a wonder of the world, an oasis created in the middle of deserted, faceless expanses. This is evidence of human power, the power of people over the laws of nature. The pyramids in Egypt were no less grandiose. The pyramids, rugged giants, are still “alive” today. But the Hanging Gardens turned out to be a fragile structure, and sank into oblivion along with the majestic Babylon.
Hanging Gardens. Alexander the Great
At the time when the troops of Alexander the Great entered Babylon, this city was no longer the capital of a great power; the era of its heyday was rolling towards sunset. Makenonsky himself, it should be noted, influenced in one way or another the fate of many monuments of the past, although he himself did not erect any of the wonders of the world.
In any case, in 331 BC. The Babylonians invited the Macedonian to visit their city in peace. The great conqueror was amazed by the grandeur and wealth of the world's largest city, albeit in decline. The Babylonians greeted Alexander as a liberator, and in front of him lay the whole world, awaiting the menacing advance of the Macedonian king.
Hardly ten years had passed before the circle closed. Tired and exhausted, Alexander returned to Babylon. Despite the inhuman stress of recent years, he was still full of plans and plans. He was going to conquer Egypt and was preparing to march to the West. His idea was to conquer Carthage, bring Italy and Spain to their knees and reach the Pillars of Hercules - the limit of the then world.
Alas, in the midst of preparations he was struck down by illness. For several days the conqueror struggled with illness, held a council with the commanders, and gave orders to the flotilla. The dust and heat of the city pressed on Alexander, penetrating even through the thick palace walls. Alexander was not afraid; he had seen enough of her and her ghosts in numerous battles. But death, understandable and even acceptable ten years ago, was now unthinkable for him. The living god, under the feet of whose horses the whole world obediently lay down, did not want to die in the dusty stuffiness on a foreign side, far from the shady forests of his homeland. He believed that he had not completed his destiny and must join the second part of the world to the first.
And when he felt completely miserable, he remembered the only Babylonian oasis that could bring him relief. He ordered to be transported to the gardens to remember the aroma of life, the smell of greatness and new achievements...
Babylon was no longer destined to become the capital of the world. The palace was destroyed, the empire of Alexander the Great instantly crumbled after him.
Tall columns collapsed, stairs and ceilings collapsed. However, the plants of the once beautiful garden died earlier - when there was no one to pump water from the Euphrates River day and night.
Where to find the Gardens of Babylon?
The Wonder of the World, the second of the famous ancient Seven Wonders, the Hanging Gardens, was discovered by scientist Robert Koldewey, a native of Germany. By the age of thirty, he was known as a participant in excavations in Assos and Lesvos. In 1887 he visited Babylonia, Syria, and Sicily.
Koldewey was an extraordinary and even unusual person, in comparison with his colleagues in the profession. The love of archeology - a science that is often described by publicists as boring, devoid of romantic adventures described in movies - did not prevent the scientist from observing, being interested in and studying everything around him. A bit of a poet, a bit of an architect, Koldewey had an original archaeological hobby - studying the history of sewers! It was this man who was sent to search for the Hanging Gardens, and it was he who found them!
Koldewey once came across some vaults on Qasr Hill, covered with clay and rubble. He continued to dig, although he found it strange that the basement - and it was the basement he expected to find - would be under the roofs of neighboring buildings.
But there were no side walls. The researchers dug further and further, and only pillars appeared from under the ground. Finally, a German scientist discovered traces of a deep stone well with a strange three-stage spiral shaft. During the excavations, it became clear that the structure was made not only of bricks, but also of stones. The discovery delighted the group of researchers - the combination of “oddities” allowed us to conclude that this structure was intended for special purposes.
And then Koldewey realized what he had found! All sources, from ancient authors to cuneiform tablets, mentioned only two objects for the construction of which the Babylonians used stone. During the construction of the northern wall of the Qasr region and for the Gardens of Babylon.
The already inspired scientist dug into the sources, carefully evaluating every line, every word. Finally, he came to the conclusion that this find could not be anything other than the basement vault of the legendary Gardens of Babylon. Alas, the structure was destroyed by the floods of the Euphrates, and what can now be seen in the images is the result of a few descriptions and the imagination of the authors.
Today tourists are shown one of the brown clay hills with fragments of bricks and fragments of tiles, like the remains of the Babylonian Gardens of Babylon.
And even in the last century, I. Pfeiffer, a German traveler, described one forgotten tree located on the ruins of El-Qasr. Unusual for these places, it received the name “atale” and the “title” of “sacred”. They say that it or its “descendant” has been preserved from the “hanging” gardens, and also that the plaintive, melancholy sounds heard in its branches when a strong wind blows...
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Wonder of the world. Gardens of Babylon
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Of all the “old” Wonders of the World, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon is the most mysterious structure. For a long time it was not even known whether they actually existed, or whether it was someone’s fantasy, wandering from chronicle to chronicle over the centuries. Fairytale Hanging Gardens It is noteworthy, but the most diligent descriptions were left by those who have not seen this wonder of the world. Gardens...
Seven Wonders of the World- these words have become firmly established in everyday life. They are used when they want to emphasize the outstanding merits of either a work of art, or a grandiose structure, or a scientific discovery. More often than others, ancient authors included among the seven wonders of the world:
Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built at a time when the Odyssey already existed and Greek cities were being built. And at the same time, the gardens are much closer to the ancient Egyptian world than to the Greek world. The gardens mark the decline of the Assyro-Babylonian power, a contemporary of ancient Egypt and its rival. And if the pyramids survived everyone and are alive today, then the Hanging Gardens turned out to be short-lived and disappeared along with Babylon - a majestic, but not durable giant made of clay.
Babylon was already heading towards sunset. It ceased to be the capital of a great power and was turned by the Persian conquerors into the center of one of the satrapies, when the troops of Alexander the Great entered there - a man who, although he did not build any of the wonders of the world, influenced to one degree or another the fate of many great monuments of the past, for their creation or destruction.
In 331 BC, the inhabitants of Babylon sent envoys to the Macedonians with an invitation to enter Babylon in peace. Alexander was struck by the wealth and grandeur of the largest city in the world, although in decline, and stayed there. In Babylon, Alexander was greeted as a liberator. And ahead lay the whole world that had to be conquered.
Less than ten years have passed since the circle has closed. The Lord of the East Alexander, tired, exhausted by the inhuman stress of the last eight years, but full of plans and plans, returned to Babylon. He was already ready to conquer Egypt and march to the West in order to subjugate Carthage, Italy and Spain and reach the limit of the then world - the Pillars of Hercules. But in the midst of preparations for the campaign, he fell ill. For several days Alexander struggled with illness, conferred with the generals, and prepared the fleet for the campaign. The city was hot and dusty. The summer sun, through the haze, tilted the red walls of multi-story buildings. During the day, the noisy bazaars fell silent, deafened by an unprecedented flow of goods - cheap slaves and jewelry brought by soldiers from the Indian borders - easy-to-get, easy-to-go booty. The heat and dust penetrated even through the thick walls of the palace, and Alexander was suffocating - for all these years he had never been able to get used to the heat of his eastern possessions. He was afraid to die not because he was in awe of death - he looked closely at it, a stranger and his own, in battles. But death, understandable and even acceptable ten years ago, was now unthinkable for him, a living god. Alexander did not want to die here, in the dusty stuffiness of a foreign city, so far from the shady oak forests of Macedonia, without completing his fate. After all, if the world so obediently lay down at the feet of his horses, then it means that the second half of the world must join the first. He could not die without seeing and conquering the West.
And when the bishop felt very bad, he remembered the only place in Babylon where he should feel better, because it was there that he caught, remembered - and, having remembered, was surprised - the aroma of Macedonian, filled with the bright sun, the murmuring of a brook and the smell of forest herbs. Alexander, still great, still alive, at the last stop on the path to immortality, ordered himself to be transferred to the Hanging Gardens...
Nebuchadnezzar, who created these gardens, was guided by the noble whim of a despot, for despots also have noble whims - for some, but never for everyone. Nebuchadnezzar loved his young wife, a Median princess, who yearned in dusty and green Babylon for fresh air and the rustle of trees. The Babylonian king did not move the capital to the green hills of Media, but did something that is inaccessible to other mortals. He brought here, to the center of the hot valley, the illusion of those hills.
All the forces of the ancient kingdom, all the experience of its builders and mathematicians, were thrown into the construction of the gardens, a shelter for the queen. Babylon proved to the whole world that it could create the world's first monument in honor of love. And the name of the queen was fabulously mixed in the memory of descendants with the name of another, Assyrian ruler, and the gardens became known as the gardens of Semiramis - perhaps it was the jealousy of human memory, for which a great deed should be associated with a great name. Queen Tamara never lived in the castle named after her, and never, being a pious woman who loved her second husband and children, never thought about throwing unlucky lovers off the cliffs. But the tragedy must be sanctified by a great name: otherwise it lacks drama.
The gardens created by the builders of Babylon were four-tiered. The vaults of the tiers rested on columns twenty-five meters high. The platforms of the tiers, made of flat stone slabs, were covered with a layer of reeds, filled with asphalt and covered with lead leaves to prevent water from leaking into the lower tier. On top of this was a layer of earth sufficient for large trees to grow there. The tiers, rising in ledges, were connected by wide, gentle stairs lined with colored tiles.
Construction was still going on, brick factories were still smoking, where wide flat bricks were fired, endless caravans of carts with fertile river silt were still wandering from the lower reaches of the Euphrates, and seeds of rare herbs and bushes and tree seedlings had already arrived from the north. In winter, when it became cooler, large trees, carefully wrapped in damp matting, began to arrive in the city on heavy carts drawn by oxen.
Nebuchadnezzar proved his love. Above the hundred-meter walls of Babylon, so wide that two chariots could pass on them, rose the green cap of the garden trees. From the upper tier, basking in the cool shade, listening to the murmur of water jets - day and night slaves pumped water from the Euphrates for many kilometers around the queen saw only the green land of her power.
With the death of Alexander the Great, his empire instantly crumbled, torn to pieces by arrogant commanders. And Babylon did not have to become the capital of the world again. He withered away, life gradually left him. The flood destroyed Nebuchadnezzar's palace, the bricks of the hastily built gardens were not fired enough, high columns collapsed, platforms and stairs collapsed. True, the trees and exotic flowers died much earlier: there was no one to pump water from the Euphrates day and night.
Today, guides in Babylon point to one of the clay brown hills, stuffed, like all the hills of Babylon, with fragments of bricks and fragments of tiles, like the remains of the gardens of Babylon.
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The term “The Hanging Gardens of Babylon” is familiar to any schoolchild, mainly as the second most important structure of the Seven Wonders of the World. According to legends and mentions of ancient historians, they were built for his wife by the ruler of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar II, in the 6th century BC. Nowadays, the gardens and the palace have been completely destroyed by both man and the elements. Due to the lack of direct evidence of their existence, there is always no official version about their location and date of construction.
Description and hypothetical history of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon
A detailed description is found in the ancient Greek historians Diodorus and Stabo, clear details were presented by the Babylonian historian Berossus (3rd century BC). According to them, in 614 BC. e. Nebuchadnezzar II makes peace with the Medes and marries their princess Amytis. Growing up in the mountains full of greenery, she perceived the dusty and stone Babylon with horror. To prove his love and console her, the king orders the construction of a grandiose palace with terraces for trees and flowers to begin. Simultaneously with the start of construction, traders and warriors from campaigns began delivering seedlings and seeds to the capital. 
The four-tiered structure was located at an altitude of 40 m, so it was visible far beyond the city walls. The area indicated by the historian Diodorus is amazing: according to his data, the length of one side was about 1300 m, the second - slightly less. The height of each terrace was 27.5 m, the walls were supported by stone columns. The architecture was unremarkable, with the main interest being the green spaces on each level. To care for them, water was supplied upstairs by slaves, flowing in the form of waterfalls to the lower terraces. The irrigation process was continuous, otherwise the gardens would not have survived in that climate.
It is still unclear why they were named after Queen Semiramis, and not Amytis. Semiramis, the legendary ruler of Assyria, lived two centuries earlier, her image was practically deified. Perhaps this was reflected in the works of historians. Despite many contradictions, the existence of gardens is beyond doubt. Mention of this place is found among contemporaries of Alexander the Great. It is believed that he died in this place, which captured his imagination and reminded him of his native country. After his death, the gardens and the city itself fell into decay. 
Where are the gardens now?
In our time, there are no significant traces left of this unique building. The ruins indicated by R. Koldewey (researcher of ancient Babylon) differ from other ruins only in the stone slabs in the basement and are of interest only to archaeologists. To visit this place you need to go to Iraq. Travel agencies organize excursions to ancient ruins located 90 km from Baghdad near the modern city of Hill. Photos from today show only clay hills covered with brown debris.
An alternative version is offered by Oxford researcher S. Dalli. She claims that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built in Nineveh (modern Mosul in northern Iraq) and shifts the date of construction two centuries earlier. Currently, the version is based only on deciphering cuneiform tables. To find out in which country the gardens were located - the Babylonian kingdom or Assyria, additional excavations and studies of the mounds of Mosul are required. 
Interesting facts about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon
- According to the descriptions of ancient historians, stone that was not found in the vicinity of Babylon was used to build the bases of the terraces and columns. It and fertile land for trees were brought from afar.
- It is not known for certain who created the gardens. Historians mention the joint work of hundreds of scientists and architects. In any case, the irrigation system surpassed all technologies known at that time.
- Plants were brought from all over the world, but were planted taking into account their growth in natural conditions: on the lower terraces - ground, on the upper terraces - mountain. Plants from her homeland were planted on the queen’s favorite upper platform.
- The location and time of creation are constantly disputed, in particular, archaeologists have found pictures on the walls with images of gardens dating back to the 8th century BC. e. To this day, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon are one of the unsolved mysteries of Babylon.
Hanging Gardens of Babylon were located on the territory of ancient Babylon. The creation of this wonder of the world was previously associated with Queen Semiramis. Currently, it is believed that the construction of this miracle of technical thought was carried out by the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar II. After reading the article, you will learn the history of this, and schoolchildren will find information for the report.
Also in Babylon there were many more interesting things:, and.
Where were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon?
Hanging Gardens of Babylon in Babylon were built under King Nebuchadnezzar II, and their ruins were discovered by the German archaeologist Robert Koldewey. While excavating ancient Babylon since 1899, one day he stumbles upon a strange structure, not typical for the area. For example, the vaults had a different shape, were lined with stone instead of the usual brick, there were underground structures, and most importantly, an interesting water supply system from three mines was found.
This is what they look like:
It is obvious that a building of this type was used for some special purposes. Koldewey had to find out. He was able to understand that the entire structure was a kind of water lift for a continuous supply of water to the top. He was helped by references from ancient writers, who said that stone in Babylon was used in only two places. The archaeologist managed to discover one of them, near the northern wall of Qasr, earlier. Another place was semi-legendary, it was about the discovery of one of the 7 wonders of the world. This is how Koldewey managed to find out Where were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon?.
The main ancient mentions of the Gardens of Babylon are associated with the name of the Greek Ctesias. But due to the exaggerations and fantasies observed behind it, almost all our information about this wonder of the world is controversial and unreliable.
In antiquity, the image of Semiramis appears quite often. According to many legends, she was a brave warrior and had excellent architectural taste. According to one legend, she was the daughter of the mermaid Atargatis, who is a lunar goddess, and an ordinary person. According to other stories, Semiramis was abandoned by her parents from birth, and she was raised by pigeons.
In fact, the name Semiramis was understood by the Greeks to mean the Assyrian queen Shammuramat, who lived around 800 BC. After the death of her husband Shamshi-Adad V, she had to take power completely into her own hands until her son came of age. But even after his accession to the royal throne, Shammuramat retained the title of queen. And it is no coincidence that under her the state was strengthened and the borders were expanded by conquering Media.
For whom were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon built?
But still, a miracle of the world - , according to modern researchers, could not be associated with Shammuramat itself. According to a more truthful version, this miracle was presented to the wife of Nebuchadnezzar II, Amytis, two hundred years after the reign of Semiramis. According to legend, Nebuchadnezzar entered into an alliance with the king of Media for the war with Assyria. After the victory, to strengthen the alliance, he married the daughter of the Median king.
But life in desert Babylon was incomparable to mountainous and green Media. To please and console his wife, Nebuchadnezzar ordered the construction of these evergreen gardens in the city. So the full name of this building is most likely “Amitis Hanging Gardens”. 
Hanging Gardens of Babylon: interesting facts
Here are collected about Babylonian interesting facts about Hanging Gardens of Babylon in Babylon.
They were a four-level structure with many cool rooms, richly decorated with plants. To water them, a water lift was used, for the operation of which the slaves had to turn the wheel. The vaults of the building at each level were supported by 25-meter columns. The terraces were tiled, filled with asphalt and covered with a layer of earth sufficient to grow even trees.
The water supply system used in the Gardens of Babylon was not new to Mesopotamia. This is also found in local ziggurats, including the legendary Tower of Babel and the Great Ziggurat of Ur. But it was in gardens that irrigation technology reached its perfection.
Hanging Gardens of Babylon: video
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built around the 5th century BC by the Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar II. Nowadays, there is probably not a single person who has not heard of them, although the gardens themselves have not existed for a long time. This structure is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, a list of which was compiled back in the days of Ancient Greece. What made the Greeks classify them as miracles? And where did these gardens go? These are questions to which it is interesting to look for answers.
Mysteries of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Firstly, it is immediately noticeable that the name “Hanging Gardens of Babylon” is not always accepted by researchers as the only correct one. Some believe that Semiramis was not the wife of the king who brought her from distant Media, but a local Assyrian queen. Others say that Nebuchadnezzar built them in honor of a completely different woman, while his wife was named Nina. In the West, the name “Hanging Gardens of Babylon” took root after the name of the city where they were located for such a long time.
Secondly, it is unclear how long these gardens lasted. If Nebuchadnezzar died in 561 BC, and Alexander the Great visited them shortly before his death in 309 BC, then it turns out that the “miracle” lasted more than 250 years. This is all the more surprising since the gardens are actually complex technical structures that required daily maintenance. Historians write that hundreds of slaves lifted tens of thousands of water containers here every day with the help of special devices.
Why the Hanging Gardens of Babylon is one of the Seven Wonders of the World
In general, this building could easily be considered a miracle even today if it had survived until this time. Imagine that only the height of the lower columns was 25 meters, and this is the height of a nine-story building! The rest of the building rested on these columns - a huge four-tier pyramid, with a real evergreen garden planted on its slopes. Indeed, the impression of such a scale could take the breath away of anyone who saw this miracle. To top it all off, imagine a dull sandy and rocky area where there is not a single spot of greenery, and in the middle of it is a towering man-made oasis, shining with the beauty and splendor of nature.
In fact, the Gardens of Babylon are, in fact, a palace. With columns, terraces, rooms, stairs. There were more than 170 rooms in it alone! And although the building itself was not so large in area, the entire territory with a wall and a moat with water occupied a significant space. A real garden was planted on each tier. Almost all deciduous trees, most shrubs and flowers grew here.
What happened to Nebuchadnezzar's building?
After the death of Nebuchadnezzar, the gardens gradually fell into disrepair. The Babylonian kingdom itself was being destroyed, which means there was no longer the material and financial support that was needed to keep this structure in order. First, the gardens dried up, and gradually the entire palace fell into disrepair. Major flood in the 1st century BC The walls were washed away and they collapsed along with the rest of the building. Time and water completed the destruction, and now all that remains of the miracle is a small pile of stones and the remains of a foundation near the modern city of Hilla in Iraq.
The Hanging Gardens in Babylon are an example of how aesthetically any area can be organized using the natural beauty of plants. There are only a small number of hanging gardens of any significance in the world today, although on a small scale such a work of art can be organized even in your own estate. Instead, landscape design that is guided by the same principles of the unity of nature and human craftsmanship is increasingly important. Experienced specialists are able to create a “miracle of the world”, but as if in a horizontal plane, transforming a personal plot into an oasis with beautiful small architectural forms.