Click to stamp the hand. Click on the eraser to clear. Click on the paint can of the colour that you want to paint in.Use the arrow keys to rotate the hand.Have fun, and Love it! David Hampson Monday,18/1/10 The Hanging Gardens of Babylon If you were a tourist some 500 years ago, and you went to Babylon, one of the first places you would want to see would be that hanging gardens. This structure was so amazing that even now people go to see the ruins of the once magnificent garden. A long time ago, asking “What are the hanging gardens?” would be like asking “What is ice-cream?” now. Many people thing that the gardens are just boring history. Everything has a story of its own, though, and the story of the hanging gardens of Babylon is not one to be missed. King Nebuchadnezzar II ordered the construction of the hanging gardens of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon from 605-648 B.C.E. There is an alternate story, too, but it is less reliable. The alternate story is that the Assyrian queen Semiramis ordered the construction during her 5 year reign(810-815 B.C.E.). Either way, the gardens were built by a person in a position of great power. The hanging gardens are one of the famed wonders of the world. They are not called the hanging because they are suspended, but because they are overhanging, like a balcony. The structure included hollow, cube-shaped pillars so that large trees could be grown. It also consists of vaulted terraces, supported by the pillars. The gardens are truly an architectural wonder. Scholars argue about when the gardens were constructed, but one of the most common is 600 B.C.E. The structure itself was destroyed by several earthquakes. This happened in second century B.C.E.(200-101 B.C.E.). Some other events that happened in this time period were the invention of tofu and paper, and the Roman conquer of Maccdona. The first of the earthquakes probably weakened the pillars supporting the hanging gardens, and the next series took them down, therefore taking the vaulted terraces down as well. It would be an amazing but gruesome spectacle to experience. The hanging gardens are located near Al Hillah in Iraq. The area that Al Hillah is in used to be Babylon. The gardens were near the Euphrates river, and they were irrigated by it. Another amazing structure in Babylon is the tower of Babel. Babylon is the home to many amazing structures. The reason Nebuchadnezzar ordered the construction of the gardens is actually because of his wife! When Nebuchadnezzar went to Babylon with his wife, she got homesick. The hot, dry, cracked soil depressed her. Nebuchadnezzar felt sorry for her, so he ordered the construction of the gardens to remind her of home! Talk about a good husband! It is amazing that a culture from so long ago could make such an incredible structure! They used massive stone tablets to prevent the ground from eroding. They also designed and advanced system to water the gardens, using the Euphrates river for a source. The tablets that they used were 32 feet thick! Its us amazing how much thought would have had to go into such an awesome structure. As you can see, the hanging gardens of Babylon are incredible in every aspect. From the person who made them, to to the person that they were made for. From how they were made , to how they fell. From when they were made, to what happened in that period. The gardens truly have a story of their own.
