1.Babylon Empire—The“Hanging Gardens”巴比倫王國—“空中花園”
Pearl of Mesopotamia—Kingdom of Babylon 兩河流域的明珠—巴比倫王國
The ancient Babylon kingdom is located in the Mesopotamia plain,about 5000 years ago,where people established the state,until 18 Century BC,Amorites exterminate Sumerian third dynasty of Ur,established in Babylon city as the capital of the kingdom of Babylon.
The kingdom of Babylon is divided into ancient Babylon and the new kingdom of Babylon two historical periods.In 1792 BC,the sixth generation of King Hammurabi conquered the Sumerians and Akkadians,unified Mesopotamia plain,to build a strong and centralized state,known as the ancient kingdom of Babylon（about 1894 BC to 1595 BC）.The“code of Hammurabi”is the first relatively complete code atthe ancient west Asia.The kingdom of Babylon economic and culture are very developed,especially in mathematics and astronomy,After Hammurabi\\u0027s death,the Empire collapsed.The Kingdom suffered invades from the Hittites and the Kassites,was finally annexed by the Assyrian empire until 729 BC.
The new kingdom of Babylon established by the Chaldeans,who settled in southern Mesopotamia Assyrian Empire，1000 BC,and conquered the ancient kingdom of Babylon and ruled over southern Mesopotamia,the Chaldeans had repeatedly rebelled against Assyrian rule.ln 626 BC,the Assyrians and Chaldeans leader of faction,the PopA LaSalle army stationed in Babylon,he went to Babylon,but launched a revolt against Assyrian rule,to establish the new kingdom of Babylon,and together with the Medes（also known as the Metia）kingdom of lran plateau against Assyria.In 612 BC,the Assyrian Empire was extinct,the kingdom of Babylon heritage was divided by new the new kingdom of Babylon and Medes,the new kingdom of Babylon took the western half of the country of the Assyrian Empire,named southern Mesopotamia,Syria,Palestine and Phoenicia,then reconstructed the new kingdom of Babylon.
古巴比倫王國位於美索不達米亞平原。早在距今約5000年前左右，這裏的人們就建立了國家。到公元前18世紀，阿摩利人滅掉蘇美爾人的烏爾第三王朝，建立了以巴比倫城為首都的巴比倫王國。
巴比倫王國分為古巴比倫和新巴比倫王國兩個曆史時期。公元前1792，第六代國王漢穆拉比，征服了蘇美爾人和阿卡德人，統一了美索不達米亞平原，建立了一個強大的中央集權製國家，史稱古巴比倫王國（約公元前1894～前1595年）。其間所頒《漢穆拉比法典》是古代西亞第一部較為完備的法典。古巴比倫王國經濟文化高度發展，尤其是數學和天文學的成就最為顯著。漢穆拉比死後，帝國就瓦解了。王國先後受到赫梯人、加喜特人的入侵，直到公元前729年終於被亞述帝國吞並。
新巴比倫王國由迦勒底人建立，他們於公元前1000年初來到兩河流域南部定居，亞述帝國征服古巴比倫王國並統治了兩河流域南部，迦勒底人曾多次起義反抗亞述的統治。公元前626年，亞述人派迦勒底人領袖那波帕拉沙爾率軍駐守巴比倫，他到巴比倫後，發動了反對亞述統治的起義，並與伊朗高原的米底（也稱米堤亞）王國聯合，共同對抗亞述。公元前612年，亞述帝國滅亡，遺產被新巴比倫王國及米底王國瓜分，其中新巴比倫王國分取了亞述帝國的西半壁河山，即兩河流域南部、敘利亞、巴勒斯坦及腓尼基，建立新巴比倫王國。
The Love Story Behind the Hanging Gardens 空中花園背後的愛情故事
There has been a beautiful love story behind the building of the Hanging Gardens.
The Hanging Gardens were built by Nebuchadnezzar ll,King of Babylon around 600 BC.He married Amytis,the princess of Media.The beautiful princess was so adorable that the king loved her very much.Not long after their marriage,the princess became very frustrated and looked very sad.The king cared for his wife but didn\\u0027t know why she was unhappy.
The princess told him that she was homesick.She said that there were plenty of trees andflowers in her homeland,surrounded by mountains.While here in Babylon,only endless plains were in view and even a small hill can not be found.How l wish to see the winding trails and mountains in my homeland！
Then,the king ordered to build gardens to imitate the scenery in Media,the homeland of Amitys.Gardens with the appearance of a theatre,waterfalls,animals,fruits and plants were built.These were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
在空中花園的建造背後有一個美麗的愛情故事。
空中花園是由巴比倫國王尼布甲尼撒二世約於公元前600年主持建造的。他娶了米底的公主米梯斯為王後，美麗的王後非常惹人疼愛，國王對她寵愛有加。但婚後不久，公主變得非常失落，看起來很傷心。國王關心她的愛妻但不明白其中緣由。
公主告訴國王，她非常想家。她說，家鄉米底山巒疊翠，花草叢生，而在這裏隻能看見一望無際的平原，連個小山丘都看不到。我多麼希望能看到家鄉的盤山小道和山巒呀！
於是，國王下令模仿米梯斯家鄉——米底的景色，在他的宮殿裏，建造花園。花園建造成露天劇場的形狀，裏麵有瀑布、動物、水果和花草。這就是古巴比倫的空中花園。
Description of the Hanging Gardens 空中花園的描述
The path to the Garden sloped like a hillside and several parts of the structure rose from tier upon tie.On all this,the earth had been piled,and was thickly planted with all kinds of trees.Their great size and other charms gave pleasure to the viewers.The water machines raised the water from the river,although no one outside could see it.
Fruits and flowers,waterfalls,gardens hanging from the palace terraces.Exotic animals……This is the picture of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in most people\\u0027s mind.It may be surprising to know that they might have never existed except in the mind of the Greek poets and historians！
通往花園的道路像山坡一樣傾斜著，建築物的幾個部分一層一層地向上交錯排列著，泥土在這些上麵堆積著，並且濃密地種植著各種各樣的花草樹木，它們以其巨大的身軀和其他一些魅力，令觀賞者賞心悅目；抽水的機器把大量的水從河中提升到花園中，盡管沒有人能從外麵看到它。
水果、鮮花、瀑布、花園高懸在宮殿的陽台上，奇異的動物……這是大多數人想象中的巴比倫空中花園。讓人吃驚的是，空中花園除了在希臘詩人和曆史學家的頭腦中出現過外，可能從來就沒有存在過。
The Water Supply System of the Hanging Gardens 空中花園的供水係統
The most amazing part of the Hanging Gardens is their water supply system.As rainfall was quite rare in Babylon and the relics of the Hanging Gardens were far from the Euphrates River,it is believed that there must have been plenty of water supply devices in the gardens.Slaves pushed the handles of the gear wheel on and on to lift the water to the highest tank.Then,the water form the highest tank wouldflow into the gardens through the artificial waterways.
巴比倫空中花園最令人稱奇的地方是供水係統，因為巴比倫雨水不多，而空中花園的遺址亦遠離幼發拉底河，所以人們認為空中花園應該有不少的供水設備。奴隸不停地推動著齒輪的把手，把地下水運到最高一層的儲水池。然後，儲水池中的水再經人工河道流入花園之中。
The Maintenance of the Hanging Gardens 空中花園的保養
Another challenge of the Hanging Gardens is the maintenance of the gardens.It is impossible for ordinary buildings to maintain for a long time with theflush of the water.Blocks were rare on Mesopotamia plain,so it was believed that the blocks used for building the Hanging Gardens,which contained reeds,pitch,and tiles,were different from the ordinary blocks.Some documents evenfigured out that layers of lead were added to the blocks to prevent the water from penetrating into the foundation.
It was not until the twentieth century that some mysteries about the Hanging Gardens were revealed.Archaeologists are still struggling to gather enough evidences before reaching thefinal conclusions about the location,the irrigation system,and their true appearance of the Gardens.