The Hanging garden was built for Amytis, the wife of the King Nebuchadnezzar II. It is said that Amytis missed the mountains and greenery of her homeland and to console his homesick wife, King Nebuchadnezzar built the Hanging gardens. During his reign, Nebuchadnezzar was said to have virtually conquest and controlled all of the then known world, made use of those conquests in furnishing his garden with decor like exotic plants and animals brought from all over the world.
Unlike one will think, the hanging gardens were built on terraces which were part of the ziggurat and was irrigated by water lifted up from the Euphrates and estimates based on descriptions of the gardens in ancient sources say the Hanging Gardens would have required a minimum amount of 8,200 gallons (37,278 liter) of water per day.
The ancient ruins of this famous city lie about 50 miles to the south west of Bagdad in Iraq. Herodotus, a Greek historian in 450 BC wrote, ""In addition to its size, Babylon surpasses in splendour any city in the known world." There is not a single mention of a "hanging garden" in the Babylon cuneiform record but this is probably because it was considered part of the ziggurat structure and not a separate entity in itself. Nebuchadnezzar II is also reported to have used massive slabs of stone, a technique not otherwise attested in Babylon, to prevent the water from eroding the ground.
The ancient ruins of this famous city lie about 50 miles to the south west of Bagdad in Iraq. Herodotus, a Greek historian in 450 BC wrote, ""In addition to its size, Babylon surpasses in splendour any city in the known world." There is not a single mention of a "hanging garden" in the Babylon cuneiform record but this is probably because it was considered part of the ziggurat structure and not a separate entity in itself. Nebuchadnezzar II is also reported to have used massive slabs of stone, a technique not otherwise attested in Babylon, to prevent the water from eroding the ground.
Herodotus claimed the outer walls were 56 miles in length, 80 feet thick and 320 feet high. Wide enough, he said, to allow a four-horse chariot to turn. The inner walls were "not so thick as the first, but hardly less strong."
German architect and archaeologist Robert Koldewey who is known for revealing the semilegendary Babylon as a geographic and historical reality, discovered huge vaults and arches at the site. He also uncovered an ancient hydraulic system like a pump drawing water from the river. The foundations that Koldewey discovered measured some 100 by 150 feet. This was smaller than the measurements described by ancient historians, but still impressive.
While Koldewey was convinced he'd found the gardens, some modern archaeologists call his discovery into question, arguing that this location is too far from the river to have been irrigated with the amount of water that would have been required. Also, tablets recently found at the site suggest that the location was used for administrative and storage purposes, not as a pleasure garden.
Other archaeologists and historians believe that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were not destroyed by an earthquake but by other minor disasters such as: erosion and warfare. The huge construction probably started falling apart under the influence of the weather. Armies and other raiders could have been for its eventual destruction and disappearance. After about 600 or 700 years, the whole structure had been levelled to the ground.
Resources:
Hanging gardens of Babylon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanging_Gardens_of_Babylon
Hanging gardens of Babylon: http://www.unmuseum.org/hangg.htm
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