Episode – 2171 : The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Podcast Transcript
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
It was described as a marvel of engineering and architecture, and it was considered stunningly beautiful
However, unlike the other ancient wonders, we have no idea who built it, exactly where it was, or whether it even existed.
But this has not stopped archeologists and historians from searching for the elusive world wonder.
Learn about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
In a previous episode, I covered the seven wonders of the ancient world. Six of the wonders were located around the eastern rim of the Mediterranean Sea. Six of seven have eyewitness accounts recorded for centuries, and some even have ruins still visible today.
…and the other is the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
Unlike the other wonders, the existence of the Hanging Gardens remains unproven. The others are either still standing or their destruction is documented, but for the Gardens, we rely on speculation about their existence and fate.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were most commonly believed to be located in Babylon. However, some historians propose that the gardens were actually in the city of Nineveh, which was part of the Assyrian Empire. This debate centers on the interpretation of ancient sources and archeological evidence, leaving the precise location uncertain.
Supporters of the Nineveh theory point out that King Sennacherib of the Assyrian Empire carried out a massive architectural overhaul of his capital. His renovations included a palace known as the “Palace without Rival” and a grand garden complex, which some believe may be the actual Hanging Gardens.
The elevation of the Nineveh gardens might suggest this being the hanging gardens of legend, a claim bolstered by findings such as a substantial irrigation network with water-raising screws near the palace.
This theory suggests that classical sources confused the actual location, and there is some evidence to support this.
The main theory is that multiple cities were called “Babylon,” which means “Gate of the Gods.” The city gates of Nineveh were renamed after its gods, suggesting that Sennacherib wanted Nineveh to be like Babylon.
As the Ancient Greeks were likely unaware that there were multiple Babylons, it is plausible that they confused the location. However, this is one theory.
For the rest of the episode, I am going to assume the gardens were in fact located in Babylon, as that is where most of the evidence points. However, I figured I should give the alternate theories before continuing.
It is believed that the second king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, Nebuchadnezzar II, was responsible for the construction of the Hanging Gardens.
The Neo-Babylonian Empire was the final great Mesopotamian empire, ruling from Babylon between 626 to 539 BC, reaching its height under Nebuchadnezzar II before being conquered by the Persians. The ancient city of Babylon was its capital, and was located in modern-day central Iraq about 85 kilometers, or 53 miles, south of modern-day Baghdad,.
Nebuchadnezzar II is best known for his role in expanding the Neo-Babylonian Empire across the Middle East and for turning the city of Babylon into a legendary city.
Nebuchadnezzar II had earned the reputation as a great “Builder King,” as he believed that large infrastructure projects secured his legitimacy as a ruler.
One of Nebuchadnezzar II’s best-known projects was the construction of another architectural wonder, the Ishtar Gate, a massive, decorated brick gate that served as the main entryway into Babylon.
As part of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar II built and restored temples and other architectural wonders across the city. Historians can’t prove whether or not Nebuchadnezzar II is responsible for building the Hanging Gardens due to conflicting sources.
That being said, those who credit Nebuchadnezzar believe that the gardens were located near the palace and were a gesture of love towards his wife, Amytis, rather than a show of power.
Amytis was from Media, a powerful empire in modern-day Northern Iran, Azerbaijan, and Kurdistan. Her marriage to Nebuchadnezzar II was a political alliance, not a love match.
Upon arriving in Babylon, Amytis is said to have been homesick for Media. Her homeland was known for its mountains and greenery, which was very different from the flat, hot, and dry climate of Babylon.
Wanting to comfort his wife and ease the transition, Nebuchadnezzar is said to have ordered the construction of the Hanging Gardens to mimic the greenery and hills of her home.
For the rest of Babylon, the Hanging Gardens were a source of pride and strength. They helped Babylonia gain a reputation as a paradise for its city’s beauty. The plants brought in demonstrated the empire’s strength and displayed the new lands they had been to.
All of that, however, is basically supposition.
As previously mentioned, very little is known about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. While we do have sources that describe the gardens, there is little to no firsthand evidence of their existence.
As a result, there is little information about what the Gardens actually looked like. However, based on a few accounts written centuries later, we have an idea of what it might have looked like
The earliest written reference to the Hanging Gardens was by the priest Berossus of Babylon. This account was preserved only because he was cited by a 1st-century historian named Flavius Josephus. In this account, Berossus described the gardens simply, stating that they were a stone terrace resembling hills.
Interestingly, he is the only source to have credited the construction of the gardens to Nebuchadnezzar II. Flavius Josephus also cited Berossus, stating that the gardens were made for his wife, which provided most of the information we have about them.
However, taking Berossus’s description of the Hanging Gardens is a bit risky. None of his original work has survived, and this is thought to have been written centuries after the Hanging Gardens were constructed.
Despite this, much of Berossus’s other claims about Babylon was supported by archaeological evidence. So this lends credibility to his claims about the Hanging Gardens.
Another ancient account of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon came from the ancient Greek geographer Strabo. In his book Geographica, Strabo describes the Gardens as cube-shaped pillars with vaulted terraces raised one above the other.
Strabo wrote that the pillars were made of asphalt and brick. He said water engines were placed at one end, and workers raised water to the gardens.
Based on a description given by Diodorus Siculus sometime between 60-30 BC, the gardens stretched 400 by 400 feet and rose 80 feet in the air. He described the walls as 22 feet thick, with 10-foot-long passageways beneath them.
It is widely thought that the Babylonians used a complex irrigation system to keep the gardens alive and well, with layers so perfectly separated that water from one would not seep into another.
This is completely believable given that the cultures of Mesopotamia pioneered advanced irrigation techniques.
Inside the gardens, it is said there was a variety of exotic foliage, luxurious fruits, blooming flowers, and waterfalls. Because of the raised platforms, the vegetation inside the garden seemed to float, hence the gardens being referred to as “hanging.”
While we are still unsure of what the Hanging Gardens looked like, there is no denying that, if they were real, the gardens would have been an example of architectural and engineering mastery.
Because we can’t confirm if the Hanging Gardens were real, we can only speculate on what might have happened to them.
If the Hanging Gardens did exist, they were likely destroyed after the 1st century. It is theorized that the gardens probably weren’t destroyed suddenly, like with an earthquake, but rather by a drawn-out period of erosion and warfare that slowly chipped away at their grandeur until they no longer existed.
After a few centuries had passed, the garden’s ruins may have been leveled, erasing any evidence of their location. However, this too is just a theory, with no archeological evidence to support it.
Interestingly, Ancient Babylonian texts say nothing about the Hanging Gardens. There is nothing describing its construction or what it looked like. Even stranger, none of the archeological digs have found any evidence to prove it existed either.
The lack of information from Babylonian sources is concerning, as they wrote about all of Nebuchadnezzar II’s other achievements and projects. This includes things as small as giving road names, so why would they leave out their marvelous world-renowned Hanging Gardens?
Because Greece was so far away from Babylon, they might have heard about it only through rumors and other people, who themselves might have only heard about it.
Because of the lack of evidence from the Babylonians, there are concerns that the Gardens were simply a figment of the Greeks’ imagination, were wildly exaggerated, or were an elaborate propaganda ruse from the Babylonians.
But not all hope is lost for the gardens being located in Babylon. There have been some archeological finds that could have been the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The most notable of these finds was made by a German Archaeologist named Robert Koldeway.
While searching around the Northern part of the palace in Babylon, Koldeway uncovered unusual-looking vaults and fountain chambers. This led to the discovery of a well and a chain pump, which may have been part of the Hanging Gardens’ substructure.
This shows that the necessary irrigation features for the Hanging Gardens did exist in the city, but it does not definitively prove their existence.
There is some evidence that the remains of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon may lie beneath the Euphrates River. This river was the lifeline of Babylonian society, providing drinking water to its people, sustaining agriculture, and serving as a trade route.
Because rivers shift over time, the river’s course covered most of the western part of historic Babylon. Because the bottom of the Euphrates River cannot be safely excavated by archeologists, we simply do not know whether the Hanging Gardens were there.
Despite little evidence that the Hanging Gardens existed, it is nearly impossible to believe they did not. The sheer legend of the Gardens, coverage in Ancient Writers from other civilizations, and its place on lists of wonders suggest that something existed.
Perhaps the answer is simpler.
Maybe the Greeks were impressed that the Babylonians could grow plants in a beautiful, exotic garden that, by Babylonian standards, was unimpressive. Maybe some guy has a really epic garden he grew on his terrace, and it got exaggerated by word of mouth. Or perhaps we just haven’t found it yet.
Regardless, the lack of architectural evidence is not the end-all be-all on the Garden’s existence. There is a saying in archaeology that “Absence of evidence isn’t evidence of absence,” so just because we haven’t found anything doesn’t mean they didn’t once exist.
At the end of the day, we are limited in our search for the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Most of the Historical textual evidence has disappeared, and our ability to fully explore Babylon’s ruins is limited.
However, in many ways, the mystery behind the Hanging Gardens of Babylon makes them the epitome of an Ancient Wonder. Because of our lack of knowledge, we are left to wonder and speculate on their grandeur and existence. No other Ancient Wonder had that ability. This episode can be found at: https://everything-everywhere.com/the-hanging-gardens-of-babylon/