The Hanging
Gardens of Babylon
is completely based
off of myth and
legend. People
have found scrolls
containing writings
about the Hanging
Gardens, but there
is no real evidence
or proof.
The ruler of this time in Babylon was Nebuchadnezzar
II. His wife was Amytis of Media. She was very
homesick for her homeland that had lush vegetation
and plants. Nebuchadnezzar created the gardens to
comfort his wife. Of course, there might have been
different reasons for their creation, since we have
little or no evidence. A present to his wife is generally
thought of as the main theory. There is also a
possibility that the Hanging Gardens were a palace for
a different ruler. It could be that the two
constructions were confused and their history mixed
together.
To the right, shows
a 20th century
drawing of what the
gardens might of
looked like.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were located
in Al Hillah, Iraq in Asia. Its coordinates are
32° 32′ 7.8″ North, and 44° 25′ 39″ East.
King Nebuchadnezzar II was the creator
of the Hanging Gardens. He most likely had
his people of Babylon, as well as captured
slaves, work on the construction.
To the left, shows a
drawing of what King
Nebuchadnezzar II may
have looked like.
The gardens were built in a high area. It was too
hard to carry stone bricks to this place so they
made the structure out of a mixture of mud, clay,
and chopped straw that was then baked in the
sun. The blocks were connected by a slimy
substance that was called bitumen. These blocks
would easily deteriorate when they came in
contact with water. There also was the issue of
getting water to the top of the gardens to sustain
the plants and vegetation. For this they most
likely used a chain pump or a screw pump.
Screw Pump
Chain Pump
The destruction of the Gardens of Babylon was
said to be an earthquake in the second century
B.C. Still, they may have been destroyed
differently. The best explanation is earthquakes
since the structure was made of mud bricks and
plants. All of the evidence would have eventually
be eroded away by water.
To the right, shows a
picture of the city of
Babylon taken in
1932.

Around 600 BC – The gardens were said to be built

250 BC - Philo of Byzantium wrote about the Hanging
Gardens

64 BC – 21 AD – Strabo wrote about the Hanging
Gardens

60 – 30 BC - Diodorus Siculus wrote his own
description of the Hanging Gardens

37- 100 AD –Josephus wrote a poem about the Hanging
Gardens

1st century - Quintus Curtius Rufus wrote about the
Hanging Gardens

http://www.personal.psu.edu/amp5364/HangingGardens.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanging_Gardens_of_Babylon

http://www.unmuseum.org/hangg.htm