King Nebuchadnezzarand BabylonsMonumental Architecture

Chul DokkoAmanda JacksTarek ArchJeevitha Martin

Historical context - Jeevitha Martin

Babylon means babilu or the gate of God. This ancient city exists inthe plain of shiner on the Euphrates River.

History of Neo-Babylonians:612-538 BC: Babylon rises again after the decline of Assyrians in the north. Old southern culture again flourishes King Nebuchadnezzar rulesKing Nebuchadnezzar:- Son of Nabopolassar, the Chaldean restorer of the Babylonian

independence.- Reigned from 605-562 B.C.- Restored religious monuments and improved the canals.- Built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which is one of the seven

wonders of the world.- He also built a wall surrounding the capital city which had an

elaborate entry called the Ishtar gate.

Nebuchadnezzar continued his fathers work ofreconstruction in making his capital one of theworlds wonders.

An underground passage and a stone bridgeconnected the parts of the city separated by theEuphrates river. The city was impenetrable as aresult of the triple layer of walls surrounding thecity. He restored the Lake of Sippar, opened theport on the Persian Gulf and built the Median wallbetween the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers toprotect the country against attack from the North.The work force required for all his undertakingswere the captives from various parts of WesternAsia.

Nebuchadnezzars Babylon:

- Square in shape with 14 miles on each side. - The brick wall was 56 miles long, 300 feet high, 25 feet thick, 35 feet below the ground and another wall was placed 75 feet behind the first wall. - Had 250 towers, each of them being 450 feet tall. - Euphrates flowed through the middle of the city. - 8 massive gates led to the inner city and it had 100 brass gates - Streets were paved with stone slabs of 3 square feet. - Had the great tower of Ziggurat - 53 temples - 180 altars to Ishtar

Cultural influences - Amanda Jacks

The kingdom of Babylon was around from approximatelythe eighteenth to the sixth centuries before Christ.Due to this simple time period they had significantcultural influences from Mesopotamia because that iswhere Babylon was located. They were not anentirely new period of kingdom they simply grew outof an old one and reunified it under a new name. Forthis reason much of the cultural influence of Babyloncomes from the Sumerians because that is the groupthat was reunified. The Babylonians took significantcultural influences from the Sumerians in theiragriculture. They used their irrigation system in orderto water, among other things, their plants specificallyin the hanging gardens of Babylon.

Subject and Style - Arch Tarek

The ancient city of Babylon, under King Nebuchadnezzar, was acity that according to the historian Herodotus, surpasses insplendor any city in the known world. Inside its walls, werefortresses and temples filled with solid gold statues. Risingabove all architecture in the city is the Tower of Babel, theziggurat for the god Marduk. The ziggurat, or temple, is builton a square foundation of earthen embankment about threehundred feet on each side. King Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt thetower to stand 295 feet high and according to inscriptions madeby the king, the tower is constructed with "baked brickenameled in brilliant blue." Many believe that the terraces ofthe tower may have been planted with trees and flowers. Thetall tower bridged earth with heaven and earth with theunderworld, as the structure of ziggurats conveys. Down thestreet from the tower were The Hanging Gardens, one of theseven wonders of the ancient world.

The gardens consisted of vaulted terraces hanging one on top ofanother and supported by cube pillars. The hollow pillarswere filled with earth to allow trees and nature to grow. Thepillars, vaults, and terraces were built of baked brick andasphalt. Although Babylon, did not receive much rain, KingNebuchadnezzar was determined to create a heaven-like cityfilled with nature, trees, flowers. The terraces of the gardenswere rising towards the heavens, similarly to the tiers ofziggurats. A pool at the top of the gardens would feedartificial streams that would run throughout the gardenwatering the plants and trees. The pool was probably filledwith chain pumps that carried water from a source up to thepool. The Hanging Garden, along with the tower of Babel,created an image of a nature filled city that bonds the heavenswith the earth via the ascending terraces and tiers. Nature wasthe main focus of the city as both the tower and the gardenswere implanted with the biggest and most beautiful trees andgreenery.

Materials and Processes - Chul Dokko

In Greek terminology, the word Babylon means Gate ofthe God. This meaning essentially becomes the majortheme that ties in most of the architectural works. LikeTower of Babel and the Ziggurat, it is considered to bevery massive and grandeur in respect to its size. Mudbricks were the primary source for their architecture. Inaddition, mortar was used as cement. Verticality of thesearchitectures was a key element. The kings andworshippers felt that if they were highly elevated fromthe Earths surface, they can draw closer into Godspresence. In order to accomplish this, a massivefoundation was also heavily emphasized in their buildingprocesses. According to Herodotus, the Babyloniansbelieved that having multiple inner walls inside the outerwall was a key asset for ensuring safety and protection.

Ishtar Gate - Jeevitha Martin This is one of the eight gates of inner city of

Babylon, built during KingNebuchadnezzars reign. Built in 575BC, it is located on the north side of thecity. It is the main entrance to the innercity. It is a grand processional wayrunning for more than half a mile. Theprocessional way was lined with wallscovered in lions on glazed bricks. Ishtargate is the starting point for theprocessions that led to Ziggurat. Itsremarkable brickwork and technique ofglazed, carved reliefs is veryextraordinary. It contains images ofGods in animal forms. This gate isdedicated to the Goddess of Ishtar. Tilesof glorious blue surrounded the brightlycolored yellow and brown beasts. Theblue glazed tiles were alternated withrows of bas-relief dragons and bulls.The roof and the doors of the gate weremade of cedar. This gate has now beenreconstructed.

Tower of Babel - Amanda Jacks

The Tower of Babel is a fairly known location. However it is notnecessarily known for its artistic wonder and grandeur. Insteadpeople know the story behind the Tower of Babel. The Tower ofBabel has a story behind it that symbolizes human sin. It is allabout how God put different languages into everyones mouthcausing them to no longer be able to communicate. He did this toprove a point of their incredible sins. This is the main story behindthe tower.The other story of the Tower of Babel is the architectural side of it.This tower, or ziggurat, was one of many built in order to bring thepeople closer to their God; but this was the largest of those built. Itwas built tall and with walkways that led up to higher portions ofthe tower in order for people to become in essence closer to God.This temple also symbolized the human rebellion because they weretrying to ascend to Heaven. This idea of the human rebellion tryingto get closer to Heaven makes sense because the loose translation ofthe word Babel is gate of god which is exactly what they wereusing this tower for.

The Tower of Babel is built in a circular pattern. It isset up with paths leading up to the top by goingaround the outside of the building. Mostreconstructions have many openings showing that iswas most likely constructed using the post and lentilsystem which would make sense for that time period.

Ziggurat - Arch Tarek

A ziggurat is a form of temple tower common to the historicMesopotamian valley and Persia (modern Iran). This form oftemple is built in receding floors upon a rectangular, oval, orsquared platform, making it a pyramidal structure. Due tosimilarities in structure, many have linked the ziggurats with theEgyptian pyramids. The number of tiers ranges from two to seven,with a shrine, temple, at the summit. The ziggurats were thought tobe dwelling with gods and thus were not a place for public worshipor ceremonies. Strictly priests were permitted inside the temple inorder to cater to the gods needs. The structure of the templesymbolizes the original mound upon which the universe wasthough to be created on, whereas the purpose of it is to bridge earthand heaven. In fact, the temple was believed to be a cosmic axis;vertically, it bridges heaven and earth, and earth with theunderworld.

Horizontally, it bonds lands on earth. When built with seven tiers,the ziggurat symbolized seven heavens and levels of existence,the seven planets with the seven colors corresponding to eachmetal associated with each one of the planets. Considering that365 are taken for the earth to make one complete revolutionaround the sun, which is also an approximate estimate of thedegrees in a circle, the ziggurats, similarly to all pyramidalstructures, have a square base that can be encompassed in acircle. Theoretically, the square base represents the additionalfive points- four on the edges and the fifth in the middle-which is the equilibrium point of both the square and the circlethat encompasses it. The fifth point represents the bridge toheaven symbolized by the circle which is considered a sign ofinfinity and perfection.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon - Chul Dokko

Under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar II, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon wasconstructed to satisfy his wife, Amytis, in 562 B.C. Amytis came from averdant region where countless trees and high mountain tops were seeneverywhere. To make sure she does not get homesick too frequently, theking constructed a colossal palace, surrounded by array of terraces andexotic plants that generally showed no signs of withering. Ultimately,King Nebuchadnezzar II ended up building an artificial mountain withrooftop gardens. The Garden is quadrangular with outer walls wideenough to allow a four-horse chariot to turn. The vaulted terraces arestacked on top of each other and supported by cube-shaped pillars. Thepillars, the vaults, and terraces are constructed of baked brick andasphalt.1 The Hanging Garden also has another special attribute thathelps to define itself as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.At the very top of the stairway, a pumping device for water was installedto ensure all the plants constantly received proper amounts of water. Thissimple yet very sophisticated technology became the main source thatestablished the jungle-like atmosphere.

1:Ashmawy, Alaa K. Seven Wonders Home Page. 26 Apr. 2006 .

Since stone was a rare material to be found inMesopotamia, bricks were primarily used forthe construction of the Garden. Thecomposition of the bricks was also fairlycomplex. With the mixture of clay andchopped straw, the bricks were then baked inthe sun for several hours. Lastly, the brickswere then joined with bitumen, a materialwhich served as mortar.1 For the platform ofthe garden, Diodorus, a Greek historian,emphasized that a massive slabs of stonewere used to set a firm foundation for themassive architecture. Moreover, it wascarefully layered with reeds, tiles, and heavysheets of metal to protect against wetnessand moisture. If the platforms and crevicesof the walls absorbed too much water,Diodorus believed that it would slowlydisintegrate the structure of the building.Although historians still have not accuratelydetermined the dimension and size of thegarden, archaeologists acknowledge that itwas a massive architecture that amazed eventheir enemies.

1:Lee, Krystek. "The Hanging Gardens of Babylon." The Museum of Unnatural Mystery. 26 Apr.2006 .

Works Cited Lee Krystek- The Hanging Gardens of Babylon May 9, 2006

http://www.unmuseum.org/hangg.htm

Ashmawy, Alaa. "The Seven Wonders of The Ancient World"May 9, 2006 http://library.thinkquest.org/J002388/babylon.html

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ziggurat May 9, 2006http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziggurat

Tore Kjeilen- Ziggurat May 9, 2006 http://i-cias.com/e.o/ziggurat.htm

N.S.Gill, Nebuchadnezzar May 9, 2006http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/people/g/nebuchadnezzar.htm

Ancient Babylonia - Nebuchadnezzars Babylon http://www.bible-

history.com/babylonia/BabyloniaNebuchadnezzars_Babylon.htm

Nebuchadnezzar II http://www.bible-

history.com/babylonia/BabyloniaNebuchadnezzars_Babylon.htm

Ancient Babylonia The Ishtar Gate http://www.bible-

history.com/babylonia/BabyloniaThe_Ishtar_Gate.htm

Ishtar Gate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishtar_Gate

Works Cited