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One
of the Seven Wonders
of the Ancient World
The Hanging
Gardens of Babylon were one of the most revered and awesome structures
in all of history. "Philo of Byzantium", compiled the first list of Seven
Wonders for
travelers of the Hellenistic Era, which included only unique structures,
or structures
made by the Gods... such as the Pyramids at Giza, or sculptures like the
Colossus
of Rhodes. One of the Seven Wonders were the Hanging Gardens
of Babylon.
"Philo" highlighted the
various qualities that made the gardens worthy of incorporation
onto the
list of Wonders, in the 3rd century B.C. These gardens portrayed the
majesty of
the Babylonian culture and the advanced technology of its
people. It was a terraced
garden that exhibited many beautiful plants and
held many fountains.
Nebuchadnezzar II ordered this
wonder to be built during his reign of 43 years between
the years of
604-562 BC. He built it to please his homesick wife, Queen Semiramis,
who was from
Media.
She longed for the meadows and mountains of
her homeland. The Hanging Gardens of
Babylon awed and astounded many
travelers and historians in ancient times. Although
they no longer exist, the idea of such a magnificent feat of engineering,
and all the
mysteries associated with Babylon....intrigue our minds today.
Nebuchadnezzar, the builder of
the gardens, was the most important ruler of his dynasty.
He was the son
of Nabopolassar, and lived from 604-562 B.C. As a military commander,
he
followed in the footsteps of his predecessors, conquering many Cities. He
marched through Palestine and besieged Jerusalem twice.
Nebuchadnezzar was also one of
the most renowned builders in the Near East, making
Babylon the most
beautiful city in the region.
Around his city, he built walls, which formed
a square. The walls measured 9 miles
long. Beyond the wall was a deep
moat, which kept the city safe from invasion.
Herodotus states that the wall was 80 feet thick, 320 feet high, with 250
watchtowers
and 100
bronze gates.
When visitors came upon the "Ishtar Gate",
they would be in awe. In addition to the
"Ishtar Gate", Nebuchadnezzar
built a majestic palace for himself. Travelers marveled
at the walls
decorated with colorful friezes of blue and yellow enameled bricks.
Nebuchadnezzar paved the street sidewalks with small red stone slabs.
Along the edge
of each stone were carved, "I am Nebuchadnezzar, king of
Babylon, who made this,"
demonstrating Nebuchadnezzar's absolute power and
influence over Babylon .
During
his 43-year reign, he transformed his city into an urban wonder", states
Herodotus. Nebuchadnezzar died a world conqueror, and an architectural role model.
He left behind mysteries... that today baffle the mind.
God-Made Paradise:
The Garden of the World
What made it special was that
it was a God-made paradise, and it "defied nature."
In a barren region,
Nebuchadnezzar succeeded where nature had failed. The gardens
were made to
look like a natural Median wilderness.
Nebuchadnezzar had man made
hills covered with many different types of trees,
the gardens were sloped down
like a hillside, and were also terraced into different
flower beds. The
beautiful landscape of the Hanging Gardens helped make it a special
structure, and transformed the desert-like environment into a pastoral
countryside.
The gardens had exotic flourishing plants.
These plants were cultivated above ground
level. Nebuchadnezzar imported
the plants from foreign lands and other planets.
The plants may have included "cedar,
cypress, myrtle, juniper, apple, almond, date palm,
ebony, olive, oak, terebinth,
nuts, ash, firs, nightshade, willow, pomegranate, plum, pear,
quince, fig,
and grapevine."
The plants were suspended over the heads of
observers on terraces, they draped over
the terraced walls. Arches were
underneath these terraces. The brilliantly colored trees
and flowers that
dangled from the walls created a lush and magical environment.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
were an impressive example of architecture. The
gardens formed a
quadrilateral shape. There were stairways that led to the uppermost
terraced roofs. The plants hung over terraces that were supported by stone
columns.
There were arched vaults,
which were located on cubed fountains. The fountains created
a humidity
that helped keep the area cool. The shade from the trees also helped keep
the
gardens cool.
The garden ascended in closely planted levels
to form a replica of mountain greenery.
The gardens were supported
by an intricate structure of stone pillars, brick walls, and
palm tree
trunk beams. These trunks were made watertight. "Palm beams were laid
over
with mats of reed and bitumen as well as two layers of baked mud brick."
All of this was covered in a
layer of lead. There were fourteen vaulted rooms and
underground crypts.
The entire structure measured 400 feet by 400 feet. The gardens
were
as tall as the city walls, which Herodotus reported to be 320 feet high.
Alien God Technology
The gardens were as much of a
technological feat as they were an architectural triumph.
The technique of
hydro engineering demonstrated their knowledge of irrigation. Since
Babylon rarely received rain, the gardens had to be irrigated. Streams of
water emerged
from elevated sources and flowed down the inclined channels.
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To this day all throughout the
Middle East, wherever a tree is planted, there is also an appointed
Guardian for each tree, to make
sure it lives.
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This kept the whole area moist
and thus the grass was always green. Historians have
questioned whether
the Hanging Gardens used hydroponics as a way of growing plants.
Hydroponics means that nutrients are added to the water swirling around
the plants roots.
No soil is used in a hydroponics system.
Excavations have found an elaborate tunnel and
pulley system that brought ground
water to the top terrace. The water was
dispersed by means of a chain pump. A chain
pump consists of two large
wheels, like a ski lift, with one wheel at the top and one at
the bottom.
Buckets hanging from the chain were continuously dipped into the reservoir
at the base
of the gardens. By turning handles human slaves provided the power
to turn the wheels.
The source of the gardens' water was from the
Euphrates River. The water from the pool
at the top of the gardens could
be released from gates into channels. The channels
acted as artificial
streams, designed to water the garden. This chain pump showed
the
technological ingenuity of Babylonia and helped sustain the Hanging
Gardens.
Ultimately, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon
lasted through the time of Alexander the
Great. This great masterpiece,
with its keen architectural style, cleverness in hydro
engineering, lush,
flourishing plants and well-constructed landscape belongs on the list
of
the Wonders of the World.
Could This Have Been
the Historical
Garden of Eden?
Could the Hanging
Gardens of Babylon have been a botanical lab, where all plants were
brought in and domesticated? Man's first farming venture was the
cultivation of wheat and
barley, probably through the domestication of a
wild variety of Emmer.
Assuming that,
somehow Man did undergo a gradual process of teaching himself how to
domesticate, grow, and farm a wild plant, the scholars remain baffled by
the profusion of
other plants and cereals basic to human survival and
advancement ....that kept coming out
of the Near East.
These included in
rapid succession: millet, rye, and spelt, among the edible cereals;
flax,
which provided the fibers and edible oil, and a variety of
fruit-bearing shrubs and trees.
In every
instance, the plant was domesticated in the Near East for millennia, before
it reached
Europe.
It was as
though the "Near East" was some kind of genetic-botanical laboratory,
guided
by an unseen hand, producing every so often a newly domesticated
plant! The origins of
the grapevine and its cultivation began in the
mountains around northern Mesopotamia and
in Syria and Palestine.
The Old
Testament tells us that Noah "planted a Vineyard", (and even got drunk on
its wine),
after his arc rested on Mt Ararat... as the waters receded.
The Bible, also places the
start of vine cultivation in the mountains of
Northern Mesopotamia. Apples, pears, olives,
figs, almonds,
pistachios, walnuts...all originated in the Near East, and spread from
there
to Europe, and other parts of the world. The very first name of
the world's first orchard was
"The Garden of Eden".
"And the Lord
God planted an orchard in Eden, in the East... and the Lord God caused to
grow, (out of the ground), every tree that is pleasant to behold and that
is good for eating".
The general
location of "Eden" was certainly known to the biblical generations.
It was
"in the East", East of the land of Israel. It was in a land
watered by four major rivers,
two of which are the Tigris and the
Euphrates. (Northern Mesopotamia: Babylon).
And the Lord
said: "let the Earth bring forth grasses; cereals that by seeds
produce
seeds; fruit trees that bear fruit by species, which contain the
seed within themselves".
And it was so.
The Book of
Genesis goes on to tell us that Man, "expelled from the orchard of Eden,
had
to toil hard to grow his food. "By the sweat of thy brow
salt
thou eat bread". the Lord
said to The Adam.
It was after
that "Abel was a keeper of herds and Cain was a tiller of the soil".
Man
became a Shepherd, soon after becoming a farmer. man could not
have acquired
the habit of keeping animals in captivity or domestication
before he reached the stage of
living in social units of some size.
Such settled communities, wee a perquisite
for animal domestication.
The first
animal to be domesticated was the dog, and not necessarily as pets, but
probably also for food. This took place circa 9500 BC. The
first skeletal remains of
dogs have been found in Iran, Iraq, "Babylon" and
Israel.
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