Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were a legendary structure built as a series of stepped terraces covered with trees, vines, and flowering plants that rose like a green mountain above the city. Each level rested on thick brick walls supported by pillars, with plants hanging over the edges and visible from below.

Ancient texts from the 3rd century BC claim that King Nebuchadnezzar II built the structure to remind his wife Amytis of the green hills of her homeland. Other researchers suggest that the gardens described were actually created in Nineveh by King Sennacherib and later confused with Babylon.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no definitive archaeological evidence that the gardens ever existed.

There are no visible remains of the structure today, as no definitive archaeological evidence has been uncovered at Babylon. Those interested can explore ancient descriptions and modern interpretations of the water systems and construction methods said to have been used.

No Babylonian text from antiquity mentions the gardens, even though many other building projects of Nebuchadnezzar are recorded in detail. This absence from the records leads some scholars to suspect the gardens either stood elsewhere or were a poetic invention.