Were They Real And Where Were They Really Located?
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, yet their most mysterious feature is that we still don’t know if they ever truly existed. Ancient writers described them as an awe-inspiring paradise: a series of green terraces overflowing with trees, waterfalls, and exotic plants rising above the city of Babylon. But archaeological evidence remains elusive.
Ancient Descriptions
Writers like Strabo and Diodorus Siculus described:
Terraced levels supported by stone columns
Lush gardens irrigated by an advanced water-lifting system
A palace-like setting commissioned by a Babylonian king
The most popular legend claims King Nebuchadnezzar II built the gardens for his homesick Median queen, Amytis, who missed the mountains of her homeland.
The Problem: No Babylonian Records
Despite their fame, there are:
No Babylonian inscriptions mentioning the gardens
No clear archaeological remains in Babylon
This has led some scholars to question whether the gardens were located somewhere else.
A New Theory: The Gardens Were in Nineveh
Historian Stephanie Dalley proposed that the Hanging Gardens were actually in Assyria, built by King Sennacherib in Nineveh. Evidence includes:
Descriptions of terraced gardens in Assyrian texts
Relief carvings showing lush palace gardens
Advanced aqueduct systems documented in the region
The Assyrians also referred to Nineveh as a “wonder for all people.”
A Wonder Lost to Time
Whether in Babylon, Nineveh, or purely mythological, the Hanging Gardens represent humanity’s ancient dream of creating paradise on earth a dream that continues to inspire modern imaginations.
