cussion Forum: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were constructed in ancient Mesopotamia. Do you think the Babylonian culture at the time influenced the design and construction of the Gardens? If so, in what ways do you think the culture impacted the construction?
Philistines, Phoenicians, Assyrians, Neo-Babylonians, and Persians
The Philistines were invaders from the sea that eventually settled in the coastal plain of Palestine. Eventually, the Philistines entered into conflict with the Hebrews. But, the Phoenicians also lived along the Mediterranean coast and founded the major cities of Byblos, Tyre, and Sidon. They expanded their trade and became a major distribution center for Egyptian papyrus. The Greek word for book, biblos, is derived from the city named Byblos. The Phoenicians also served as distribution centers for lands further east into Mesopotamia. As they improved their ships, they started establishing ports in Britain. These ports were more trading stations and not so many cities where they would settle, except for Carthage on the coast of North Africa.
From the Phoenicians, we inherited the idea of using signs to represent the sounds of language instead of using pictographs like the Egyptians' hieroglyphs. These signs passed to the Greeks, who adopted them, and on to the Romans. That is how we have today our alphabet.
Another major force in Mesopotamia was the Assyrian empire. Located in the upper Tigris River, the Assyrians were influenced by Mesopotamian culture. They were Semitic speaking people akin to Akkadians in Mesopotamia. The Assyrians have a reputation as cruel military people. Tiglath-pileser (c. 1115 - 1077 B.C.E.) was known for being a brutal ruler. "By 700 B.C.E, the Assyrian empire had reached the height of its power and included Mesopotamia, Elam, parts of the Iranian plateau, sections of Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt down to Thebes (Spielvogel, 1997)." Ashurbanipal (669-626 B.C.E.) is one of the strongest Assyrian rulers. The Assyrians also developed a very efficient system of communication.
The next empire to come to power was the Neo-Babylonians. "In 612 B.C.E., the New Babylonians, known as the Chaldeans, and their allies conquered Assyria and forever eliminated it from the map of Mesopotamia." The Assyrians were no more. The Babylonians get a second opportunity. That is why it is called the Neo (new) Babylonian empire. Nebuchadnezzar II, who reigned from 605 to 562, returned Babylon to power. This is the king that the Bible depicts as the one who destroyed the temple in Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar certainly conquered the Hebrews in 587 B.C.E. and deported them to Babylon. He is also known for building the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. This immense building at the time is thought to be the biblical Tower of Babel.
The last and the largest empire from Mesopotamia was the Persian empire. "The Persians lived in the southeast of Medes (Spielvogel, 1997)." One of the most famous kings from Persia is Cyrus the Great (559 - 530 B.C.E.). In 539, Cyrus entered Mesopotamia and captured Babylon. He was received as a hero given that Nabonidus, the conquered king of Babylonia, was not popular among his people. Cyrus was then welcomed as a liberator. He was a very clever politician, and he knew how to listen to the people he had just conquered. Disputes about religion, worshiping, and temples were settled, and the Babylonians had a new king with whom they were content. One of Cyrus's most popular acts was to sign an edict allowing the exiled Hebrews to return to their homeland. Jerusalem was now a province of the kingdom of Babylon, and the Hebrews welcomed Cyrus' actions. According to Spielvogel (1997), he even encouraged them to rebuild their temple, which they did. The Hebrews consider Cyrus the Great in the Bible anointed one, a title also later given to Jesus of Nazareth by his followers. When Cyrus died, his son Cambyses took over the empire. In 525 B.C.E., Cambyses invaded Egypt and declared himself pharaoh.
Eventually, Cambyses died in 522, and Darius, a member of a collateral branch of the family, took power. Darius was upset because the Ionian coast Greeks wanted to liberate themselves from Persian control. With the help of mainland Greece's Athenians, the Ionians successfully liberated themselves from Darius. Darius took over again the Ionian city-states populated by Greeks and decided to move his empire further into Europe against the Greeks. Eventually, he lost against the Greeks in the famous battle of Marathon in 490 B.C.E.
The Persian empire was not easy to administer; it needed to be organized to a very high level. For this, a system of satrapies was established in which this region was locally administered. Every empire needed to collect taxes paid by its citizens. Darius established a taxation system based on each region's productivity. The Persian army was also highly organized and kept the empire expanding.
The Persians called their priests the Magi. These are the ancestors of the latter mentioned Magi or Wisemen from the Christian New Testament who are in search of the newborn king using the North Star. The Magi were truly wise men who advised their kings in matters related to the effective administration of the empire.