CONTRIBUTIONS TO ARCHITECTURE AND THE
HANGING GARDENS
Architecture in the ancient Near East was advanced by the
region’s various rulers for dual purposes. Th e earliest of the
larger buildings were devoted primarily to religious expres-
sions. But large ziggurats and palaces also provided rulers with
the opportunity to showcase their power and achievements.
Over time Assyrian kings, among others, began to use
architectural design and city planning to further their con-
cerns with warfare and trade. For example, cities were oft en
circled with heavy walls and powerful gates. In one city built
during King Sargon II’s reign, the main gate was designed as
a fortress built over the city wall with the primary citadel ris-
ing over the wall at the city’s rear. Later the Babylonians bor-
rowed from this approach to build royal palaces over the city
walls. During the Neo-Babylonian Period architects designed
a fortifi cation around that city that included a double line of
walls and a moat that was fed by the Euphrates and through
which boats could enter the city under gatehouse bridges.
Considering the materials readily available to the ancient
architects of the Near East, architects at the time revealed a
high standard of originality and design. For example, the use
of the dome can be traced back to mud huts built in Meso-
potamia at around 4000 b.c.e. Later, the Sassanians made a
major contribution to world architecture through their prop-
agation of the dome on squinches (small arches built across
the interior angle of two walls) above a square hall.
Th e Mesopotamians are also credited with develop-
ing the arch, and the earliest-known keyed arch was un-
earthed at Nippur, which is known as the ancient holy city
of Mesopotamia and dates back at least to 2200 b.c.e. It is
only through the use of keyed arches that architects could
make large openings in walls and buildings. Th e Mesopota-
mians’ use of brick led them to develop the pilaster and the
column as well as frescoes and enameled tiles. Another ex-
ample of architectural advancement included the bit-hilani,
a portico entrance hall built with a stairway approach that
is fl anked by pillars, developed by the Hittite civilization ca.
160 0 b.c.e.
A discussion of ancient Near East architecture would
not be complete without mention of the fabled Hanging
Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the An-
cient World. Although no concrete evidence of their exis-
tence has been uncovered, archaeologists believe they were
probably built by Nebuchadnezzar II along the banks of the
Euphrates River to please a wife or concubine who had lived
in the lush mountain areas and was made homesick by the
sun-baked plains of southern Mesopotamia. Interestingly,
written accounts of the Hanging Gardens do not come from
Mesopotamia but from foreigners who had visited Babylon
or heard of the gardens. According to the Greek geographer
Strabo (ca. 62–24 b.c.e.), writing in the fi rst century b.c.e.,
the structure “consists of vaulted terraces raised one above
another, and resting upon cube-shaped pillars. Th ese are
hollow and fi lled with earth to allow trees of the largest size
to be planted. Th e pillars, the vaults, and terraces are con-
structed of baked brick and asphalt.” Th is green, forested,
artifi cial mountain was described by the Greek historian Di-
odorus Siculus (ca. 90–30 b.c.e.) as being 400 by 400 feet and
reaching more t ha n 80 feet in t he air. Some accounts indicate
that the structure, which was probably similar to a ziggurat,
may have been as high as 320 feet.ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
BY MICHAEL J. O’NEAL
Architecture has oft en been referred to by the fanciful phrase
“concrete music,” suggesting in a poetic way that pleasing ar-
chitecture makes more permanent the beauty of music that
would otherwise disappear. Because architecture, at least
during ancient times, was a collaborative eff ort involving
many architects, builders, and craft smen, it came to express
the vision and values not just of an individual architect but
also of the culture that shaped that vision and those values.
Th at ancient architecture is the expression of a culture rather
than of a person makes it of particular interest to historians
and archaeologists.
Nowhere is this truer than with the architecture of an-
cient Asia, particularly China and India, where architecture
combined function with great attention to form, beauty, and
harmony with the environment. Because portions of large
numbers of buildings and other structures from these and
other Asian countries have been preserved throughout the
centuries, architectural historians have detailed insight into
the designs, materials, construction techniques, and func-
tions of ancient Asian architecture. What they have found is
a great degree of adaptability, as architects were able to use
materials and methods that were available to them in their
particular regions of the world.
Any tour of the architecture would begin in China, which
produced one of the world’s oldest and most accomplished
civilizations. Indeed, the infl uence of ancient Chinese archi-
tecture was felt throughout Asia in such countries as India,
Korea, Japan, and Th ailand.ARCHITECTURE OF ANCIENT CHINA
Th e construction of a building in ancient China began with
the principles of feng shui, a term that means “wind” (feng)
and “water” (shui). Feng shui consists of a set of principles
that can be diffi cult for westerners to understand, though in
modern life many westerners have been trying to incorporate
these principles into the design, construction, and furnishing
of their homes and even offi ces.
Feng shui is rooted in the ancient Chinese worldview
that sought harmony and balance between the opposing
forces of nature and between the physical environment
and humans. Th e principles of feng shui were applied to thearchitecture: Asia and the Pacific 65