من بنى حدائق بابل المعلقة

One of the most famous Chaldean kings

Who built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Despite the dispute over who built them for the first time, the majority of history books, historians and ancient manuscripts attributed the construction of the Hanging Gardens to Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II, and he is one of its great kings, who established a strong civilization and contributed to the prosperity of its civilization, as he was one of the kings who made the effects of this civilization still immortal until today, including building the hanging gardens, which legend assumes that it was built free in the air, while scholars say The antiquities show that the gardens were built inside the walls of the royal palace in Babylon, and were not suspended in the air outside the walls of the palace, as the old books circulated. Regardless of the many gossip, research is still underway on the reality of these gardens.[1]

About the life of Nebuchadnezzar II

Nebuchadnezzar II, is one of the greatest kings of the Chaldean dynasty who ruled Babylon, who lived between the sixth and seventh centuries B.C., and ruled about 605 to 561 B.C. The eldest son and successor, King Nabopolassar, founder of the Chaldean Empire, Nebuchadnezzar began his military career as a young man, and emerged as a military official in the empire by 610 BC, and in 606 BC, he took the position of commander-in-chief in place of his father, after his father died in August 16, 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon and assumed the throne within three weeks, this rapid consolidation of his joining the army, and the fact that he could return to the rule that would have been taken from him, made him a strong swelter in history, and Nebuchadnezzar was at that period preoccupied With his wars with the ancient Egyptians, he was able to extend from Iraq to Syria and Egypt in the west, and even to the outskirts of the Arabian Peninsula in the south. In his last days, he was in constant conflict with the Persians from the east.[1]

Where are the Hanging Gardens of Babylon located?

In terms of ancient historical manuscripts that spoke of these gardens, their location is in the city of Babylon, which is about 80 km away from the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. However, the true location of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon is still an unsolved mystery. Ancient Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian state before its collapse, and according to research conducted in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the popular theories that the Hanging Gardens once flourished in Babylon on a terraced roof or ziggurat are wrong. Scholars suggest that the Hanging Gardens were probably those built by Sennacherib between the years 704 and 681 BC, in Nineveh, and this issue is still a pure debate among scholars until today.[2]

When were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon built?

According to the assessment and depiction made by ancient scholars, especially the Greek scholars who made the list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, which determined that the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II, built the luxurious Hanging Gardens in the sixth century BC, but the actual year of their construction was not determined, but their construction was limited. During his reign, which extended between 605 and 561 BC, while the hanging gardens that scholars mentioned were built during the reign of King Sennacherib in Nineveh are between 704 and 681 BC, and all this confusion that occurred in determining the time in which the gardens were built The outstanding, due to the destruction of the gardens on the one hand, and the absence of traces of it except in ancient manuscripts, and this is what made many scholars believe that it is just a myth.[2]

The reason for building the Hanging Gardens of Babylon

According to the Babylonian narration issued by one of the masses of scholars, and defending the lineage of the Hanging Gardens to the city of Babylon and to King Nebuchadnezzar II, it narrated that the Babylonian king built them as a gift for his wife Amitis, who was nostalgic for her home of beautiful plants and mountains in her original homeland Media, which is the northern part The western part of present-day Iran, and the goal of Nebuchadnezzar II at the time was to make the desert bloom, which might bring happiness and pleasure to the heart of his desperate wife, far from her original homeland, and in another narration, that the Babylonian king, built the hanging gardens in memory of the death of his wife Amitis, and that for his great love for her.[2]

The truth about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World due to its greatness.[3]

• First team: And they are the ones who supported its existence, and these were divided into two groups as well, the first section, and they are some scholars who claimed that the gardens were not in Babylon, but in Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrians, while other scholars, they adhered to what the ancient books narrated, and yet they lacked evidence, and therefore They rely on archeology to provide positive evidence.
• Second team: They are the group of scholars who refute the truth of these gardens, at least as described by books, as a miracle in the way they are irrigated, the way they are built, and so on. This issue.

Irrigation mechanism in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon

One of the most amazing things that made the Hanging Gardens of Babylon at that time was the exceptional irrigation system that they enjoyed at that age. Irrigation water seeps through the terraces, and although no specific traces of the Hanging Gardens have been found, German archaeologist Robert Koldoy has uncovered an unusual series of foundation rooms and cellars in the northeastern corner of the palace in Babylon, and scholars have estimated that it may be A well in one of the cellars was used in conjunction with a chain pump, while the British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley mentions in his writings that they were roof gardens on a series of ziggurat terraces, which were irrigated by pumps from the Euphrates.[3]

Causes of the destruction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon

It is assumed that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built high above the ground on divided stone terraces, and some historians and archaeologists believe that the gardens were destroyed by wars that wiped out the Babylonian civilization and erosion, while other scholars believe that an earthquake destroyed them, however, Greek and Roman accounts The various accounts of the Hanging Gardens were handwritten after centuries of alleged destruction of the wonders, and there were no direct accounts, and for centuries, archaeologists searched for the remains of these gardens, but to no avail. Time in the early twentieth century, trying to discover signs of ancient wonders without any luck, and finally, the absence of any traces has caused skeptics to wonder whether the supposed desert wonders are real or just a mirage.[3]

One of the oldest and longest-lived civilizations in history

Seven wonders of the world

According to history, the origin of the classification of the Seven Wonders of the World dates back to about the year 225 BC, when the ancient Greek engineer Philo prepared a list of seven shapes and buildings that were constructed, which represented the marvels of civilization in that era of ancient history, and at the present time, specifically in the year 2000 AD, a Swiss institution launched a campaign to identify the New Seven Wonders of the World, and given that the list of the original Seven Wonders had been compiled in the second century BC, and that only one participant was still standing, the Pyramids of Giza, this Swiss institution conducted an online vote In it, the seven modern wonders that we know today were placed.[4]

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

It was developed by the ancient Greek engineer Philo around the year 225 BC, which includes the pyramids of Giza in Pharaonic Egypt, which still exist so far, and which also still reveal the many secrets of the pharaohs, and the second of these ancient wonders, which is the most amazing wonder An absolute mystery among all the wonders, namely, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, as for the rest of the rest, according to the classification of Philo, the statue of Zeus in Olympia, which is considered the city of the gods among the ancient Greeks, the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, the mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the pharaohs of Alexandria embalmed in mummies It is a method used by the ancient Egyptians to preserve the bodies of their kings after death.

Modern Seven Wonders of the World

These are the wonders that were cast by more than 100 million votes online or by text messages, after the campaign launched by a Swiss foundation, the final results of which were announced in 2007 AD, and these wonders are:

• Great Wall of China: And work on it began in the seventh century BC, and lasted for two thousand years, and it consists of two parallel walls extending for long distances, and watchtowers and barracks are spread in this wall, and although it was built to prevent invasions and raids, the wall largely failed to provide Actual security.
• Pharaonic pyramids: They are the tombs of three ancient pharaohs, Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, and despite the presence of several other smaller pyramids, these three pyramids had a special and distinctive architectural creativity, which was considered almost impossible for the ingredients that were available in that era.
• Chichen Itza: It is one of the Mayan cities in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, and it flourished in the ninth and tenth centuries AD, and under the Mayan Itza tribe who were strongly influenced by the Toltecs, a number of important monuments and temples were built, most notably the stepped pyramid, which rises 24 meters above the Main Plaza.
• Petra: Which is located in Jordan, in a valley between mountains and cliffs of sandstone, and it was said that it was one of the places where the Prophet of God Moses struck a rock and the water flowed, and it dates back to the Nabateans, where the Nabateans dug dwellings, temples and tombs in the sandstone.
• Machu Picchu: Which is located in Peru, and is an Inca citizen, this is located near Cuzco, which was discovered, in 1911 AD by Hiram Bingham, and in one account, it is said that it was a secret Inca stronghold, used during the rebellion of the sixteenth century against Spanish rule, and in the novel Elsewhere, Machu’s purpose was to make it home to the virgins of the sun, and to shake the women who lived in monasteries under vows of chastity.
• Christ the Redeemer statue: A gigantic statue of Jesus Christ perched atop Corcovado Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, its origins go back to just after World War I, when some Brazilians, fearful of the tide of atheism, proposed building a statue eventually designed by Heitor da Silva Costa, Carlos Oswald, and Paul Landowski.
• Coliseum amphitheater: It was built in Rome in the first century by order of Emperor Vespasian. The amphitheater measures 189 x 156 meters, a feat of engineering, and is characterized by a complex system of vaults that were capable of accommodating 50,000 spectators, as they watched a variety of Olympic sporting events in ancient Rome. Like gladiator fights, etc.
• The Taj Mahal: It is a mausoleum built in the city of Agra, India, and it is one of the most famous monuments in the world and an indication of Mughal architecture. It was built by Emperor Shah Jahan, in order to honor his wife Mumtaz Miel, who died in 1631 AD, while giving birth to her fourteenth child.

With this, we come to the end of our article, which was titled Who built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon، Through him, we got to know these gardens, who built them, when he built them, and when he did so, and we referred to his life in some detail. We also learned about their location, the reason for their destruction, the reality of their existence, and what is their relationship to the seven ancient wonders of the world, and what are the seven wonders of our time.