Ï
P a k t I.
.k o le yoiu. ffesiaes. TKc woi-d - o d c x p r t - “
not being tbe zca, or extract fiom g ia ^ adyantagos of nature they left behind them
that the place they a n d p oZ c g ra n L s arc expressly enmnerated. In
an mscription, in ^nd garlic eonsnmed by the workmen,
the progress o f the work, foi ™ ^ gardens and fields, must have been in an
That the art of taken to provide the means of iiTigation. Headvanced
state, ® " ito t from P ,p<, j ms plant, the seeds
rodotiis says that the " —“P , , ¡y , Eameses, vol. i. p. 340.)
of which the natives ' A ^ n e a r to have been ornamented, but probably
13. 77« cemeteries o f tite
more by architecture than vegrtatiom Tl^^^^^ ,,ater-eourses,
o f th e l a k e A c h cm s ia n e a r M ^ p h i s w a s o E g y p t i a n s s a c n -
a n d a n sw e re d to th e E ly s i a n fie ld s o f l a t t e r tim e s s p i e n d om , a n d t ìie ir m um m ie s
f ie e d “' S ; r e l n r “ e r n ? i e h m e n a r e p re s e rv e d from
r „ C " " Ä S i i" -« -—
S e c t I I I B a b y l o n i a n or Assyrian Gardam. B.C. 2000.
U . The garden.: o f C y - at S I Z l o Z ) ^ Ä
or, according to Bryant (AnaZ. o f juripo-uished by their romantic situations, great
l i r Z Ä i f S f
side was four hundred feet 'n in a curious manner above one anothei.
They were made to rise with jUgm to the height of more than three
in the foim of steps, and were .™PP“’^‘® ^ y p Z c area of the superior surface, which
hundred feet, gradually ^ r f the base. This building was eonwas
flat, was reduced coiisideiably h then mventcd),
stmeted hy vast stone ^ 4 th bitumen, over whieh was placed a
which were again covered with ®®™4 ele bricks were covered with plates of lead,
double row of bricks urn ed Z n e tra tin g downwards Above t f was
which effectnaUy prevented the moistum g m / j n i t ; and the trees planted
laid a coat of earth, of depth sufficient side of the ascent, as we 1
there were of various kinds, ™ ® . “ ^red as an immense pyramid covered with
as on the top, 8° I^^IZoIffiinaZ effort »7
= 1 , J S “ f i . S v H ) ; -
. ^ b Ä S / Ä g i r “ é S S Ä 'Ä Ä 3 wliich washed the b ^ c of the s i surrounding desert, extending as far as the eye
tivated environs of the city, and o , „g contained fountains, parterres, seats and
coffid reach. T h ® f “ iiiuto beauties of flowers and foliage, with
hanqneting-rooms, ®®“ Z ™ * 1 tìZ retfremont of the grove with the vioimty
masses of shade and P ^ P , a„d luxury of eastern magniflcence m art,
of civic mirth and dm ; ''»d all he Yuro. “ This surprising and lawith
the simple pleasures ° f “ as a strain of eomplaisanee in king
borious expe™®“ ‘., . 0 “ - “ Y ^ J Z w h o could never be reconciled to the flat and
Nebuchadnezzar to his Median T— ™ frequently regretted each rising M l
naked appearance of the PY™'“ lv dZiehted in with aU the channs they had presented
and scattered forest she had f°™ 4 ld Ì^ wM ^ impossible for his power
to ber youthful imagination. f Y m 'd . tlie gi-atifioation of his beloved consort, doto
execute, nothing to be “ 4 even w i t l iÄ e precincts of the city, equal to those
termined to raise woods and ‘®" Y?l!.Iffiod ” CEssay on Design, p. 9.) These gardens
by which her native country was to e rs iM • f d p^s realised, m fos
h iv e not been forgotten m ^i® ^ mat the most vivid and fertile
R o o k 1. BABYLONIAN AND JEW ISH GARDENS.
cypress in these gardens has been ably illustrated by a writer in the Gan/. Mag., ^'ol. i.
p. 119. I t is observed by Major Rcimcll, that tlierc ai'O now veiy few trees, or even
bushes, and both of very diminutive stature, to be found on the supposed site of this
monument of royal extravagance and folly.
17. An elevated situation seems in these countries to have been an essential requisite
to a royal garden ; probably because the air in such regions is more cool and salulirious,
—the security from hostile attack of any sort more certain, — and the prospect always
sublime. When Semiramis canic to Chanon, a city of Media,” observes Diodonis
Siculus (lib. ii. cap. 13.), “ she discovered, on an elevated plain, a rock of stupendous
height, and of considerable extent. Here she formed another paradise, exceedingly large,
enclosing a rock in the midst of it, on which she erected simiptuoiis buddings for pleasure,
conmianding a view both of the plantations and the encampment.”
18. The existence o f these gardens is, however, very problematical. Bryant {Ancient
Mythology) gives bis reasons for disbelieving the very existence of Queen Semframis.
Granrillc Penn says that the name of Semiramis is no other tlian the appellative of her
country, Scmariii ; and that she was nothing more than a captive Hebrew, like Esther,
of fascinating beauty and accomplishments, who was carried off fi-om her native country
Samm-ia, when the greater part of its population was transfen-ed to Assyi-ia. Quintus
Curtius (lib. XV. cap. 5.) calls these gardens “ fabulous wonders of the Greeks ; ” and
Herodotus, who describes Babylon, is silent as to their existence. Many consider their
description as representing a hill cut into ten*aces, and planted ; and some modern
travellers have fancied that they could discover traces of such a work. The value of
such conjectures is left to be estimated by the antiquarian ; we consider the desci-iption
of this Babylonian garden as worth preserving for its grandeur and suitableness to the
country and climate, and as furnishing valuable ideas for the architectural decoration of
landscape. For the same reason, we have, with the pennission of our much esteemed
friend Mi-. Mai-tin, given a specimen of his beau idéal of the gardens of Nineveh,
taken from his celebrated picture o fth e fall of that city ( fg . 4.).
S e c t . IV. Jewish Gardens. B. C. 1500.
19. King Solomon’s garden is the principal one on record ; though many others belonging
both to Jewish princes and subjects are mentioned in the Bible. The area of this
giu-den was quadrangular, and suiTOiinded by a higli wall ; it contained a variety of
plants, curious as objects of natural histoiy, as the hyssop (amoss, as Ilasselqnist tliinks,)
B 4