Exhibitions and events
Paradise on earth: the gardens of Ashurbanipal

King Ashurbanipal might have been a fearsome warrior merely he was also a not bad gardener! We take a wait at how the Assyrian kings created a slice of paradise on globe with their exotic botanical gardens.

Artist'south estimation of Assyrian palaces from 'The Monuments of Nineveh' by Sir Austen Henry Layard, 1853. After James Fergusson (1808 - 1886)

iv October 2018


Gardens fit for a king

Assyrian kings built on a lavish scale. Ashurbanipal'southward uppercase at Nineveh was a vast city and the palaces were a symbol of the Rex'south wealth and ability. Yet, information technology wasn't just the architecture that fabricated the royal residences impressive. Surrounding the palaces were orchards, game parks and lush and exotic gardens that evoked a paradise on globe.

Relief depicting a harpist and lyre player with tame king of beasts beneath palms and pino trees. 645–640 BC. Northward Palace, Nineveh, Iraq.

The Assyrian kings boasted in inscriptions about collecting plants and animals from across the empire for the gardens. Orchards were planted with a plethora of plants, alongside pomegranate, pear, fig and olive trees. In creating these idyllic settings, rulers demonstrated their ability to bring abundance and harmony to the world.

Ashurbanipal claimed:

I planted alongside the palace a botanical garden, which has all types of copse and every fruit and vegetable.

A feat of engineering science

The gardens at Nineveh were irrigated by an immense canal network congenital by Ashurbanipal's granddaddy, Sennacherib. He brought water to the metropolis over a great distance using channels and aqueducts to create a year-round haven of all types of flora.

The canals stretched over 50km into the mountains, and Sennacherib boasted near the applied science technology he used. A monumental channel crossing the valley at Jewan, which you can still meet the remains of today, was fabricated of over 2 1000000 stones and waterproof cement. The aqueduct was constructed over 500 years before the Romans started edifice their aqueducts, and was inscribed with the following words:

Sennacherib king of the earth king of Assyria. Over a cracking distance I had a watercourse directed to the environs of Nineveh, joining together the waters… Over steep-sided valleys I spanned an aqueduct of white limestone blocks, I made those waters menses over it.

A scene from a palace relief shows aqueducts in lush parkland most the city. The orchards and gardens are watered past several channels that cut across the landscape. The panel would have originally been painted with rich colours, which have been recreated in the representation beneath.

Relief showing orchards and gardens watered past an aqueduct. Nineveh, Iraq.

The imperial menagerie

Assyrian kings stocked their game parks and pleasure gardens with animals, including deer, gazelle and fifty-fifty lions. On this relief, a lioness and king of beasts with a magnificent mane relax in an idyllic garden. For the Assyrians, lions represented all that was dangerous in the world, so the placid lions on this relief may demonstrate the kings' abilities to control the wild forces of nature.

Lions were also hunted in the royal game parks. Assyrian kings proved they were worthy of protecting the empire by killing these fearsome beasts as part of drama-filled public spectacles. The Assyrian king of beasts hunt is famously represented in the reliefs from Rex Ashurbanipal's palace.

Carved panel depicting a lion and lioness relaxing in a lush garden setting. 645–640 BC. Nineveh, Iraq.

A symbol of peace and prosperity

The gardens of the Assyrian kings weren't but beautiful spaces; they demonstrated the ability to maintain peace and prosperity in the empire. One scene from a palace relief shows Ashurbanipal reclining on an elaborate couch in a garden beside his queen. Musicians entertain the royal couple and food is served by attendants. A lush properties of pino trees, appointment palms and grapevines evoke fertility and regeneration. Notwithstanding, if you look carefully, you tin can meet that in i of the trees hangs a war trophy – the head of Ashurbanipal's enemy – a reminder that this paradise was attained through a long and bloody war.

Carved console depicting Ashurbanipal and his queen in a garden. The head of Ashurbanipal's enemy hangs from a tree on the far left. 645–640 BC. Nineveh, Iraq.

The existent Hanging Gardens of Babylon?

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon represented in a 1572 print past Philips Galle.

Some scholars have argued that the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon – one of the 7 Wonders of the Aboriginal World – were actually those at Nineveh. They merits that subsequently writers had confused Nineveh and Babylon, which may assistance to explicate why excavations at the site of Babylon have never yielded whatsoever prove of raised architectural gardens there. Drawings of a at present lost relief from Nineveh show trees growing on a roofed colonnade, similar to those described in classical accounts of the Hanging Gardens. Even if information technology isn't the case that the Hanging Gardens were those at Nineveh, they may have inspired afterwards gardens at Babylon and elsewhere.

Drawing of a at present lost relief depicting gardens. The peak correct part of the relief appears to evidence trees growing on a roofed colonnade.

You can find more about Ashurbanipal and his world in the BP exhibition I am Ashurbanipal: rex of the earth, king of Assyria, from viii November 2018 – 24 Feb 2019.

Supported by BP

Logistics partner IAG Cargo