In 225 B.C.E., the Greek writer Philo of Byzantium wrote On The Seven Wonders, and this early literary work highlighted the greatest man-made entities at the time. Most of the seven ancient wonders of the world are still shrouded in mystery and beauty. Yet, when it comes to these ancient wonders, the most mysterious is the hanging gardens of Babylon.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World are the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the lighthouse at Alexandria. The Hanging Gardens, the last Ancient Wonder of the world, called Babylon its home. Babylon rose to power for the second time from 600 to 550 B.C.E., as the Chaldean Empire under the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar. His kingdom grew to be thousands of miles wide, and King Nebuchadnezzar secured his capital city of Bablyon with large walls. These protective walls were believed to be multiple feet thick and impenetrable.1
On these walls were beautiful shrubs and flowers. The legend of how these flowers bloomed over the wall began with the king. Nebuchadnezzar was proud of his creation, but one of his wives still longed for more. She mourned for her homeland on top of a mountain and wished to see the beauty of her home once again. When the king heard this, he ordered for the flowers and shrubs to be brought and then placed on top of his great wall. Exotic flowers and greenery brought a wonderful fragrance to the kingdom. The walls were irrigated using new technology. Waterwheels and pumps were installed, truly making the gardens a scientific and artistic masterpiece.2
What we can know about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon is one the most challenging of projects for modern scholars. This is due to the lack of evidence that we have about whether these gardens ever even existed in Babylon so many thousands of years ago. Much of the literature on the Hanging Gardens was written by second-hand accounts in the ancient world. Historians and archaeologists have searched for the gardens in the ruins of Babylon, but nothing concrete has been found. There are many theories about the actual location of the gardens; the leading theory comes from scholar Stephanie Dalley, a researcher from Oxford University in England. She believes that the Hanging Gardens were not in Babylon at all, but rather in Nineveh.
Dalley is an expert in ancient Mesopotamian languages. The new translations of texts from the reign of King Sennacherib of Nineveh state that there was a large beautiful garden in Nineveh that was irrigated by an aqueduct. The texts describe a water-raising screw made of bronze. The descriptions resemble that of other ancient writers’ descriptions of the Hanging Gardens, and as such, there could have been a misunderstanding in translation in subsequent years. Dalley explains that the conquering of Babylon by the Assyrians gave them the nickname of Nineveh or “New Babylon.”3
The Seven Ancient Wonders of the World still have many mysteries connected to them. Yet, the most mysterious is that of Babylon’s Hanging Gardens. Many have been skeptical that they may have never existed. Now, new evidence brings hope that more about the Gardens may yet be known, and a new understanding of the wonder of ancient civilizations may come to light.4
- Jerry Bentley, Herbert F. Zieglar, and Heather E. Streets, Traditions and Encounters, a Brief Global History. 4th ed. Vol. 1. (Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2008), 12. ↵
- Ancient History Encyclopedia, 2009, s.v. “The Seven Wonders,” by Joshua J. Mark. ↵
- Stephanie Dalley, “Garden History,” Ancient Mesopotamian Gardens and the Identification of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon Resolved, vol. 21, (February 2009): 7. ↵
- Stephanie Dalley, “Garden History,” Ancient Mesopotamian Gardens and the Identification of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon Resolved, vol. 21, (February 2009): 7. ↵
44 comments
Alexandra Camarena
This article was so fascinating! I had always heard of the 7 Wonders of the World, but never really looked into them. Reading about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon was so interesting because I had never heard of them. Unlike the other wonders of the world that are more well known. I really like how the author incorporated the story of why the gardens were built in the first place.
Madeline Chandler
Such an informative and interesting article! Very captivating. Honestly, I am vaguely familiar with the story of the Seven Wonders of the World, yet I did not know all of the information so in depth. It is so very fascinating that many believe that the Hanging Gardens were in Babylon. I personally think of the Tower of Babel and languages. I really liked how you talked about Stephanie Dalley and her interesting theories on where the Hanging Garden’s location and her knowledge of the Mesopotamian languages. I loved reading your article. Great job!
Daniel Gimena
I had heard about the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, but I had never really read about them. This article has reminded me that I should read more about them, because it has been really interesting to read about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. What has been most captivating for me, is the fact that there are different theories of where these Wonders might actually have been. Definitely a thrilling topic worth a research.
Maria Luevano
This is such an interesting story and one I have never heard about. The hanging gardens of Babylon sound beautiful and wish we could be able to experience them. It is shocking to read that Stephanie Dalley does not believe they were in Babylon at all. History is such a mystery and would be interesting to discover if her theory was correct. Great job with the Article, it was great!
Sehar Sohail
This article was insightful and interesting. I know a few of the Wonders of the World but do not really know anyone of them by heart or the history about them. After reading this article about the Hanging Gardens and that people do not even think that it existed, I would try to spend more time on researching about the Wonder of the World. Although this article made me confused a little because if historians have not found any concrete proof about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, why is it considered as one of the Wonders of the World?
Juan Arceo
The fact that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon are considered one for one of the Seven Wonders of the world without people actually knowing if they existed at all, as well as the gardens probably not even being from Babylon. It would have been absolutely breathtaking to have seen these Hanging Gardens in person, and honestly any of the seven wonders would be amazing to visit, but this mystery of the Hanging Gardens will ultimately go down in history.
Andrew Petri
This article is very cool and interesting and I really like the topic of the article. I remember learning about the hanging gardens when I was younger and thinking how cool it must have been to see them. For this to become one of the wonders of the world even though it has never even been found is truly an amazing thing. I found it very interesting that researchers don’t think that the gardens were even in Babylon.
Chelsea Alvarez
The stories of Ancient Greece have always intrigued me, so I was really excited while reading this article. It is crazy to think that these Hanging Gardens might have never existed. However, if they did exist, then I can only imagine how breathtaking the scenery must have been for those who got to see the landscape and greenery. Hopefully, more research is put into figuring out if this garden existed or not.
Christopher Hohman
Nice article. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon must have been quite extraordinary that is if they existed at all. I think that it is most extraordinary that Kingdom of Egypt was home to two of the ancient wonders of the world. That to me speaks to their immense wealth that they enjoyed, especially at the city of Alexandria which must have been a truly spectacular city. It is entirely possible that these gardens may never have existed and we may never really know.
Antonio Coffee
I find this subject really interesting as it is uncertain that the Hanging Gardens ever even existed. There is not enough evidence to say that it did exist but there are too many accounts of its existence to ignore completely. This puts historians in an interesting spot as to the existence of the Hanging Gardens. hopefully, new evidence will come to light that can put this argument to rest.