Amytis of Babylon (c. 630-565 BCE; Median: ; Ancient Greek: ; ) was a Queen of Ancient Babylon. She was the daughter of the Median king Cyaxares, and the wife of Nebuchadnezzar II. Name The female name is the Latinised form of the Greek name (), which perhaps may reflect (with vowel metathesis) an original Median name , meaning "having good thought," and which is an equivalent of the Avestan term (). Life Amytis was the daughter of Cyaxares, and the sister of Astyages. Amytis had a niece, also named Amytis, from her brother Astyages. Amytis married Nebuchadnezzar to formalize the alliance between the Babylonian and Median dynasties. Hanging Gardens of Babylon Tradition relates that Amytis' yearning for the forested mountains of Media 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. Historical evidence, however, does not lend support to this tradition. References Bibliography Median people Babylonian people Neo-Babylonian Empire 6th-century BC women Ancient queens consort Ancient Mesopotamian women 7th-century BC Iranian people 6th-century BC Iranian people Chaldean dynasty Median dynasty Hanging Gardens of Babylon