The Hanging Gardens Of Babylon

The majority of ancient Egyptian structures studied by architectural historians and planners alike, were erected to honor a pharaoh or as a grand tomb for their journey through to the afterlife. Whether the structure was in the form of a temple, tomb or statue, the ritual and spiritual influence is unquestionable. The location, scale, and materials used to construct these monuments are all defining factors of how the space is used and functions.

Mesopotamian civilizations were first to be able to build irrigation systems based on gravity. Irrigation provided ability to stretch the river’s waters into farm lands. This also led to engineering of canals, dams, reservoirs, drains and aqueducts. One of the prime duties of the king was to maintain these essential

One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon is the only one whose location has not been definitively established. The various speculations regarding the location of this Seven Wonders was the topic of a talk by Stephanie Dalley titled “The Mysterious Hanging Gardens of Babylon.” Stephanie Dalley is a British scholar of the Ancient Near East and is now retired as a Research Fellow from the Oriental Institute, Oxford. Dalley’s primary interest is her investigation into the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and her proposal that it was situated in Nineveh, and constructed during Sennacherib's rule.

Architecture: During the Old Kingdom, the existing peaceful period provided an opportunity for the construction of the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx of Giza. The Pyramids were originally created as a step design but were later converted to smooth sides by the 4th dynasty. By the 5th dynasty, the pyramids grew smaller, but the carvings inside the temples were of greater quality. This period was characterized by advanced architecture and was referred to as the Age of the Pyramids. Archeologists indicate that the pyramids discovered in the Middle Kingdom were not as well constructed as those of the Old Kingdom. This explains why only a few of them are still in existence. During the New Kingdom, there were two types of temples constructed: cult temples referred to as the Mansion of the gods and mortuary temples referred to as Mansions of Millions of Years. During this period, pyramids were not built, and the Pharaohs were buried in rock tombs in the Valley of the Kings.

The Sumerian temples, called ziggurats was a small brick house that the god was supposed to visit periodically. This house, however, was set on a brick platform, which became larger and taller as time progressed.

     Paralleling the pyramids in Egypt were the ziggurats of Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia (meaning between two rivers, the Tigress and Euphrates) began making these structures around roughly 2000 BC. They were made of bricks that they produced on the building’s work site. There were sun-dried bricks to make up the solid inside of the ziggurat, and there were kiln fired bricks that made up the structures façade. These bricks were much smaller than the stones used in Egypt and also did not have to be brought from far away. Some of the ziggurats were built on top of older ones. Like Egyptian pyramids, the ziggurat was believed to be a kind of gateway between heaven and earth, but unlike the pyramids, the ziggurats where not tombs for kings. Rather they were believed to be the earthly homes of gods. Egyptians built their massive structures outside of major populated areas. But the ziggurats were in prominent areas. Cities had their own patron god or goddess (some places even had two ziggurats, one for a god of both sexes) and priests were the only ones allowed into these temples. They had the honor of catering to the needs of the gods and were powerful figures in their respective communities. Mesopotamians also built the Tower of Babel, which was supposed to have been built as bridge from earth to heaven. It was most likely located in Neo-Babylonia (home of the Hanging Gardens) and was also one of

One of the biggest differences between these two civilizations is their religions. Babylonia had its own religion known as the Babylonian Religion. Within this religion, the people were all polytheistic which means believing in more than just one god. To honor their gods and to worship them, the Babylonians built temple like structures called ziggurats. This was also showed respect towards their gods. Another major part of the Babylonian civilization was the Cuneiform which they adopted from the Sumerians. Cuneiform was the Babylonian writing system. Using a clay tablet and

Babylonian empire was one of the earliest civilization established, which was located in Mesopotamia that lasted for almost two millenniums. Much of the early history of the Babylon is lost because of rising sea levels over the course of centuries, which has covered the ruins of Old Babylon. The first and most known king of Babylon was Hammurabi.

He ensured that Babylon constructed aqueducts, and reservoirs successfully making it into one of the wonders of the ancient world. He is also credited with the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which he had built for his wife Amyitis to help remind her of her homeland in Persia. These hanging Gardens were on a terrace supported by brick arches of Nebuchadnezzar’s building projects surround his capital with a double wall 10 mils long, incorporated with the reconstruction of the imperial grounds, this also included building the famous Ishtar Gate which is on display today in the Pergamon Museum in

Divisions in the land took place in each of these three early civilizations. Mesopotamia was a loose confederation of walled-off city-states each ruled by a king. Rivalry over land and water amongst these city-states often led to violent conflict. In fact, under the rule of the Assyrians, these walls were 5 to 7 stories high and a hundred feet thick in some places. Egypt was not as divided as Mesopotamia and was ruled by a pharaoh who served as God and king. The Indus Valley people were the first to use zoning, or when certain areas are designated as residential, commercial, and for manufacturing. Unlike in the Fertile Crescent, there was little indication of political hierarchy or centralized states. The Ziggurat, the largest structure in many of the Mesopotamian city-states, served as a temple or pyramid, while many of the around 70 cities of the Indus Valley had citadels, or two-story buildings with a “bath” on top that represented a centralized authority. In contrast, the pyramids of Egypt showed job

The U.S. Botanic Garden is a living plant museum which was originally built between Pennsylvania and Maryland avenues but it was moved to its current location in Washington, DC in 1933. The U.S. Botanic Garden is a symbol of the dream George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison shared. The U.S. Botanic Garden has been around for more than 200 years and this 200 year old Gardens history will be explained (About Us)(Brief History of the U.S. Botanic Garden)(U.S. Botanic Garden Conservatory).

The remains of ancient Babylon are about 90 kms to modern bagdhad south. Its original name, "bab-ili", translated as "the gate of the Gods". Babylon is one of the most famous cities in ancient times of the world. It is famous for its exquisite, beautiful and magnificent. As cultural and political prosperous

Egyptians were able to recruit laborers to build their great temples but this was difficult for Mesopotamia whose grounds were constantly under attack. Egypt used their architecture and art to mostly prepare for the afterlife or to please those of the dead but also representing their power and control to any

“Babylon Revisited” by F. Scott Fitzgerald teaches the reader that the past can affect the future. The main character, Charles Wales, is a man who lost the custody of his child due to alcoholism and whose wife has died. The story starts off this his new start, he rarely drinks and is set to be a better person and have his daughter (Honoria) in his life once more. Charles, who is also addressed as Charlie, comes back to the city of Paris where he once has partied and surely the memories of his past are brought up. No matter how much he has believed to have changed, his alcoholic past is a topic sent creating the future he would rather not live in.

The Pyramids of Giza Pyramids in Egypt is one of the most famous constructions in the world, but not every tourist knows more about pyramids than that they are vintage, high, and pointed. Pyramids are the oldest building structures of stone and affected so many generations of mankind. Kings who believed themselves as gods built pyramids almost 5000 years ago, they must be powerful and rich to build such great buildings in the world. Most experts agree that pyramids were built as tomb but unsure how could ancient people constructed building of such great size without advance technology.