The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders
of the Ancient World, and the only one of the wonders that may have been purely
legendary. They were purportedly built in the ancient city-state of Babylon,
near present-day Al Hillah, Babil province, in Iraq. The Hanging Gardens were
not the only World Wonder in Babylon; the city walls and obelisk attributed to
Queen Semiramis were also featured in ancient lists of Wonders.
The gardens were attributed to the Neo-Babylonian king
Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled between 605 and 562 BC. He is reported to have
constructed the gardens to please his homesick wife Amytis of Media, who longed
for the plants of her homeland.The gardens were said to have been destroyed by
several earthquakes after the 2nd century BC.(citation needed) The Hanging
Gardens of Babylon are documented by ancient Greek and Roman writers, including
Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, and Quintus Curtius Rufus. However, no cuneiform
texts describing the Hanging Gardens are extant, and no definitive
archaeological evidence concerning their whereabouts has been found.
Ancient writers describe the possible use of an Archimedes
screw-like process to irrigate the terraced gardens.Estimates based on
descriptions of the gardens in ancient sources say the Hanging Gardens would
have required a minimum amount of 8,200 gallons (37,000 litres) of water per
day.Nebuchadnezzar II is reported to have used massive slabs of stone, a
technique not otherwise attested in Babylon, to prevent the water from eroding
the ground.
SOURCE : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanging_Gardens_of_Babylon
SOURCE : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanging_Gardens_of_Babylon
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