Amytis of Media
Amuhia or Amytis of Media (c. 630–565 BC) was the daughter or granddaughter of the king Cyaxares, and the wife of Nebuchadnezzar II.
Birth
Amytis was either born to Cyaxares, the third Median king, and his wife, or to Cyaxares's son and daughter-in-law. In either case it is believed she was conceived out of wedlock.
Marriage to Nebuchadnezzar II
Amytis married Nebuchadnezzar to formalize the alliance between the Babylonian and Median dynasties.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Amytis' homesickness for the forested mountains of the Median Empire led to the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, as Nebuchadnezzar attempted to please her by planting the trees and plants of her homeland.[1] Recent evidence suggests that the garden was more likely built by an Assyrian King Sennacherib in Nineveh.[2]
Etymology
AMYTIS, Median and Persian female name, attested only in the Greek form A´mytis, which perhaps may reflect (with vowel metathesis) an old Persian *Umati—equivalent to Avestan humaiti— “having good thought ” [3]
References
- ↑ Foster, Karen Polinger (1998). "Gardens of Eden: Flora and Fauna in the Ancient Near East". Transformations of Middle Eastern Natural Environments: Legacies and Lessons. New Haven: Yale University. pp. 320–329. Retrieved 2007-08-11.
- ↑ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/features/the-biggest-wonder-about-the-hanging-gardens-of-babylon-they-werent-in-babylon-8604649.html
- ↑ "AMYTIS". Encyclopædia Iranica Online. Archived from the original on 2008-02-27. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
Further reading
- Nos ancêtres de l'Antiquité, 1991, Christian Settipani, p. 152
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Āmitis Shahbanū (Persian: آمیتیس شهبانو) was the queen of the Persian Achaemenid Empire and the daughter of Astiak (Shāh of Mād, the Median King), wife of Cyrus the Great (the 1st Persian Emperor and the writer of the first declaration of human rights in the globe, named the Cyrus Cylinder). The name Amitis means "wise friend"