On the Great Architectural Wonders of the World

Report by the Overseer of the Works Ankhhapi Iqedew

The idea to create an official list of international architectural wonders has been around for quite a long time, and while it was never finalized, it seems that now it may finally come into existence. It has been discussed since the times of the Great Powers’ Club and especially during the Great Powers’ Club Conferences of the last half-century, as the rulers of the major kingdoms wanted to make such a list of internationally recognized wonders so that international travel, trade, and general respect and admiration for each other would increase and so profit all the participating countries. Of course, the Great Powers’ War put an end to such dreams, at least temporarily. The emergence of the Eastern Coalition didn’t help this matter at first either, but now, that the relations between our two factions are warming up, at least in some areas, the idea is being revived. In fact, we are now the closest we have ever been to achieving this. The Thotherites here in the OFK – and I must admit that I am a follower of this school of philosophy – and the Nabuites in the EC cooperated on this matter greatly and managed to convince the other rulers to agree to make such a list.

There were a few caveats, of course. One was that the OFK and EC would have the same number of these wonders to choose from their own countries, so that the list would be balanced and both sides equally represented, which is fair. The total number of the wonders was also debated, with potential counts ranging from four to twelve, but eventually everyone settled on eight, as it was felt that having fewer would not be enough to represent all the great works, while having more would confuse people and diminish the value of each individual wonder. So there will be eight architectural wonders selected, with four of them from the OFK, and four from the EC. Of course, such an arrangement can result in the wonders being picked not because of their actual greatness, but because of political reasons, in order to satisfy the participating rulers. However, the search for these great works was conducted by independent Thotherites and other branches of this school, and so I believe that we arrived at findings which are great in and off themselves. The fact that they are almost equally spread out between the major countries is partly a coincidence and partly the fact that all of the great powers have large enough areas and populations so that some great works are bound to be built. Not to mention that we did place importance on the uniqueness of each building, which also allowed other countries to shine, rather than every entry in the list only being Egyptian or Babylonian. This also satisfies the rulers and most are likely to sign onto this list and so make it official, but we need your approval as well, of course. Thus, hereby I present to you the eight selected great architectural wonders of the world.

Khufu’s Horizon Pyramid

Pyramids are a staple of great Egyptian (and Kushite, I might add) architectural works, and so we could hardly have not added a pyramid to the list. Of course, the selection of pyramids in this land is also huge, so we had to decide which one of them to pick. Ultimately, we decided on Khufu’s pyramid, which had been the favorite of many previous rulers and we could not find many reasons to disagree with such an assessment.

As you know, Khufu’s Horizon stands in the Giza necropolis, right next to our capital. It was built in the Old Kingdom era, in the golden age of pyramids, under our great pharaoh Khufu, for whom this pyramid continues to serve as the eternal resting place. Previous pharaohs, including Djoser and Sneferu, did build many pyramids as well, but during their reigns the art of building pyramids was not yet perfected. Sneferu’s Shining Pyramid came rather close, but his successor Khufu built an even more impressive one, which has not been surpassed afterwards. The succeeding fourth dynasty pharaohs continued building pyramids, but they were smaller and stand in the shadow of Khufu’s Horizon. Pyramids built under the following dynasties are either also not nearly as large and impressive or have been destroyed or swallowed by the sands of time. As time went on, fewer and fewer pyramids were being built and over the last seven hundred years or so we have for the most part stopped the practice, instead shifting focus to other kinds of structures. Thus, Khufu’s Horizon remains the favorite of the architects, as it has been for millennia.

The pyramid was built about fifteen centuries ago, making it the oldest of all these wonders. It is also the tallest, not only of these wonders, but of any building that I know of, and it has been so ever since the construction of the pyramid. It is standing at 280 royal cubits in height, while its square base has a length of 440 royal cubits. Certainly an impressive size, though it took a lot of work to build, as one might expect. Dozens of thousands of Egyptians worked on it, and the construction process lasted well over two decades, from the sources that I have. A project of such a scale is rarely seen, and even these days, with a much larger population and better technologies, we don’t engage in such massive works. Maybe that is for the better, as we can allocate resources more efficiently and so build many smaller and more practical works, rather than one huge pyramid which takes up the majority of the resources. Still, we should be grateful to Khufu for his contribution and for bringing such a great wonder to life in our land. Ptah is very proud of this pyramid, I am certain of it.

And now, that the capital is once again in Men-nefer, just as it was in the Old Kingdom, we are able to appreciate this wonder even more. Same applies to foreigners, as many merchants and diplomatic visitors already often go to see Khufu’s Horizon during their trip to the capital, so with the inclusion of it on the official list of architectural wonders, even more people would want to see its greatness, and they would be able to do so with ease. In recent decades we have done some restoration work on the pyramid complex, including the restoration of the wall around it and the reconstruction of Khufu’s ship near the pyramid itself, as well as some light touches to Khufu’s Horizon and the surrounding pyramids to undo the effects of looters and other such miscreants. The whole complex is now well guarded and is in the best shape it has been since the reign of Khufu, thus making the pyramid even worthier of inclusion in this list, and I believe no one would disagree upon visiting it and seeing it in person. It is indeed the truest testament to Egyptian ancientness, power, wealth, and engineering prowess.

Hanging Gardens of Susa

On the other side of the civilized world, in the Kingdom of Elam, the most prominent architectural works are often ziggurats, and the ones in Elam are often no worse than the ones in Babylonia, where the tradition originated. However, in recent times, the Elamites have built something more impressive than a regular ziggurat. They have the Hanging Gardens, located in their capital Susa, right on and around their royal palace. This massive project began almost eighty years ago, under the Elamite king Shutruk-Nahhunte, who is known to have been a monarch greatly interested in architecture. Among other projects, over his forty-six-year reign he greatly expanded the royal palace in Susa, while also fortifying it and adding the first of these gardens on top of it and around the building. The expansion of the gardens was stopped during the reign of his son Kutir-Nahhunte II, as there was a succession crisis, but Shilhak-Inshushinak, Shutruk’s younger son, continued the project upon assuming the throne. During Shilhak’s reign, another layer of the gardens was added, and they began to be built not only on the palace, but in the whole palatial complex. He also expanded the gardens even into the interior, adding many pools and little indoor gardens into the palace itself, with the largest one being right behind the throne room. Even now, after his death, his wife Lim-Kiririsha continues the expansion of the gardens, though it looks like the process is being finalized, as there is simply almost no space left for them at this point. Yet even though the gardens are still technically not fully complete, we have agreed to include it in the list, as it is simply too great to not be given a place among the other monumental works.

Now, one who hasn’t witnessed this architectural achievement might wonder what it actually is. The Hanging Gardens of Susa have now become another name for the Royal Palace of Susa, due to the abundance of these tiered gardens all around it. The palace is quite tall when compared to other royal palaces, currently measuring at about 115 royal cubits, with many floors and every level having terraces extending outside into the open. This makes the palace somewhat like a pyramid or a ziggurat, although a very unconventional one even in shape, as some levels extend further than the ones below them, for example, or how it looks completely different from every side due to unique elements added everywhere. As for these terraces, they, as well as small paths along the stairs and the main walkways, all contain small gardens containing trees, shrubs, vines, flowers, and all other kinds of plants. The indoor gardens are similar, except they are larger and contain pools within, while the recently finished garden on the roof – measuring 60 by 96 royal cubits – of the palace is by far the largest continuous one, containing three pools, hundreds of different species of plants, and is now often a place for meeting foreign rulers and envoys.

Recent developments have now also expanded these gardens to be on the walls of the palatial complex, other smaller buildings within it, and the ground level in the center of the complex, behind the main royal palace. The Elamite palatial complex is not nearly as large as ours, but it is much denser, with every little nook serving some purpose and being incorporated into this grand scheme. The whole complex is essentially one massive building, with some open areas in between its parts, connected by walkways, stairs, and bridges. Though with so much greenery there, it’s a good question whether it would be more accurately describes as a palace with gardens, or a garden with a palace inside it.

The complex now indeed has quite a selection of plants within it, both local and foreign. In the gardens, one could find trees such as cedar, birch, cypress, fir, oak, pine, ash, palm, and willow, among others. There is also a variety of fruits and nuts grown in the gardens, including olives, figs, dates, grapes, pears, plums, pomegranates, walnuts, and almonds. Water plays an important part in the gardens too, of course, with there being a few waterfalls, fountains, a series of artificial rivers, pools, and ponds, as well as an irrigation system to maintain all the plants. Some ponds are also used for the growing of exotic fish, from what I have been told. It is even said that there is simply so much of everything in these gardens, that even if the palatial complex was cut off from the city, during a siege or other such event, it could easily feed itself for months, with all the fruit, fish, and massive quantities of water available inside, not to mention other stocked supplies.

While the Elamites might be our greatest enemies right now, I would say that one must still give them some credit for this architectural wonder. The Hanging Gardens certainly stand out from anything else in the city, and the palace is highly distinct from any other one anywhere in the known world. It did take a long time to build and many architectural and horticultural challenges had to be overcome, but the result is a delightful sight to behold.

Hattusa’s Hill Fortress

While the Royal Palace of Susa may win in terms of aesthetics, the palace which is the most well defended of them all is in Hattusa, the capital of Hatti. Hattusa itself is already a well defended city, being located on rather rough terrain and having thick walls surrounding it, the palace is another deal entirely. As you know, the Royal Palace of Hattusa is situated right in the middle of Hattusa, between its Lower and Upper cities, on a high hill which is further surrounded by a second layer of walls, while the palace on top of the hill has yet another layer of walls, thus making it so that one would have to pass through three layers of walls to get to the palace if one was outside the city. This defensive arrangement has earned the palace the name of Hattusa’s Hill Fortress, as it might just be the most protected place on the planet.

Hattusa had been the capital of the Hittite state ever since the kingdom’s establishment about five centuries ago, however, it was partially or even completely razed by barbarians a few times in the early years of Hatti. Thus, growth was limited and Hattusa could not become a massive center of power for quite a while. However, with the accession of Tudhaliya I to the throne, about three hundred years ago, the Hittites entered their golden age, as the state expanded and soon became a great power. The barbarians were beaten back and so Hattusa became safe once again, but to further entrench it, the Hittite kings began the building of its extensive walls and the new palace, which was to be located on top of a hill, which at that point had not yet been within city limits. It was decided that the hill – now known as the Tarhunt Hill, or simply the Royal Hill – needed to be the place where the palace would be located so that even if the city fell, the palace would continue standing, thus giving the people hope that the fight was not yet lost and more time for the court to wait for reinforcements to arrive. The Hittites are a very warlike people and ones who would not surrender as long as even one man is left standing, so this design is very much in line with their values. And so the palace was built on Tarhunt Hill, and over the centuries expanded, renovated, and surrounded by two more layers of walls. All the while, as the area was now deemed safe, the city expanded below, with both the Lower and Upper cities becoming densely populated and the capital transforming into a site worthy of representing the Kingdom of Hatti and projecting its power.

While over the centuries after the construction of the fortress many barbarians and rebels attempted to take it, none came even close to succeeding. Of course, the closest call was during the Hittite Civil War, as the barbarian coalition, hired by Hakkarpili, turned on the usurper and occupied most of Hattusa, ransacking it in the process. However, that was mostly due to Hakkarpili’s mismanagement and overreliance on barbarians, and not any structural failures. And even then, the barbarians could not breach the second layer of walls and start ascending the hill, which made it a place of refuge for many Hittite nobles and other wealthy people who managed to get up there, allowing them to escape the carnage taking place below. Muwatalli later entered the city and cleared the barbarians out, and by then almost every Hittite had recognized him as the true king and so the guards allowed him to bypass the remaining layers of the walls and go right up to the palace. So this means that the Hill Fortress has still never been taken by force and continues to be worthy of its reputation.

Hattusa’s Hill Fortress stands at about 630 royal cubits in height for the hill and an additional 48 royal cubits for the fortress itself. Combined, this would make it the tallest structure in the known world, but when talking about such accomplishments we only include the man-made portions, so the palace itself is overtaken by other buildings, such as the aforementioned two wonders. Still, even by itself it’s still very impressive, having thick reinforced walls, towers stretching into the sky, many statues on the outside and inside, and hundreds of rooms within, both above ground level and even some below the ground, inside the actual hill, for additional protection. Supposedly, the Fortress is so well stocked that it is said that it could survive a siege lasting years, if needed, and that it also has secret tunnels leading out of the city through the hill, though I somewhat doubt whether this claim is truly accurate. It is also the oldest continuously inhabited royal palace from the known civilizations, which makes it even more impressive, as every Hittite king added his own touch, and commissioned reliefs and statues, to it and so one can in a way see the entire history of Hatti from its reemergence three centuries ago to now while being in the palace. Hattusa’s Hill Fortress is certainly an impressive structure, and one which perfectly represents the Hittite civilization, and so I believe it certainly warrants being placed on this list.

Ziggurat of Ur

While certainly a controversial choice, the Ziggurat of Ur ultimately was decided to be given a place on the list, due to its sheer size, age, and importance to Mesopotamian history. It is a massive temple in the Babylonian city of Ur, constructed about nine centuries ago during the reign of the Third Dynasty of Ur. Specifically, its construction was started by the dynasty’s founder Ur-Nammu, and finished decades later by his son Shulgi. The dynasty’s reign is currently quite controversial in Babylonian circles and abroad, mostly due to its economic policies, but one thing that most people can give the Ur dynasty credit for is the architecture of the period. Under Ur-Nammu, Mesopotamia was once again reunited, and this meant that massive building projects were now on the table once more. And one benefit of the centralization of the country’s economy was that the capital had massive quantities of resources at its disposal, both materials and people, and so could afford to build something truly great, such as this ziggurat.

The Ziggurat of Ur measures at about 124 by 86 royal cubits at the base, while its height is about 75 royal cubits. The height may not seem to impressive, but one must remember that this is still just a temple and not a palace or some tower, built specifically for height, and so among the temples it may very well be the tallest. It is dedicated to the Mesopotamian god of the moon Sin, back in the days of the Ur dynasty known as Nannar, as Ur-Nammu and his successors were still Sumerians. The ziggurat stood tall and proud through the remaining part of the dynasty’s rule, witnessing many events, such as the king Shulgi proclaiming himself a god on top of the ziggurat, in what his detractors often cite as his final act of madness before plunging the country into destruction, though it did temporarily fall into disrepair after the collapse of the empire.

The following Babylonian dynasty did not care much for it, as they wanted to establish Babylon as the new center of Mesopotamia and make it more powerful than Ur (while also discrediting the previous dynasty in order to make the new regime look better), but the Kassites did actually invest in some repairs and so brought the ziggurat back into shape, probably in an effort to sway the local nobles and so retain higher government legitimacy among the often disloyal southern cities. Ur did not see much combat during the wars of the previous few decades and so the ziggurat remained undamaged, unlike many other temples in the north of the country, ravaged by the Assyrians. The current ruler Nebuchadnezzar also seems to have an interest in making sure it is maintained, though not for any admiration of the Ur dynasty – he hates it very much, in fact – but because he believes it is a great Mesopotamian structure which should be associated with the land and the people there, rather than any actual ruler who commissioned it. This seems to be a working compromise between the government, the locals of Ur, and the critics of the Third Dynasty of Ur, and so the ziggurat is now looking as great as ever.

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The Ziggurat of Ur was built with mud bricks, with burnt brick facing, giving it that signature orange-brown look which is often seen in Mesopotamia. It has slightly sloping walls and three massive stairways at the front, leading to the roof of the temple. The roof itself has two more levels of such design on top of it, right in the center, thus making it look somewhat like a step pyramid, though with completely different proportions between the levels. Finally, on top of the highest level of this structure, stands a sort of crown like dome, under which the priests still perform the most important ceremonies. Most priests work inside the ziggurat, but they come out onto the roof and the top levels for occasions which warrant it. The ziggurat is also so massive that it even used to house the administration of the city and the country during the reign of the Third Dynasty of Ur in some cases, though for the time being it seems to be mostly a religious building, with the civilian administration having relegated somewhere else. Still, it is busy, and many people from the region congregate around it during important occasions, such as the New Year’s celebrations or some other date of religious importance, to witness the priests perform the rites on top of the historic building.

Again, I am no treasurer and so cannot judge Ur-Nammu on his economic policies, all I care about are the great works that were built. And the Ur dynasty definitely accomplished a lot in this field. I am glad for the decision to leave the ziggurat standing and continue maintaining it, rather than abandoning it or even destroying it for some ideological reasons, as it would be a shame to let such a monumental wonder go to waste. It is an exceptionally important example of Mesopotamian history and architecture, and their god Sin must certainly be more than satisfied with it.

Ramesseum at Waset

The next wonder that we decided to include in the list is another one of our own here in Kemet. The Ramesseum if, as you know of course, the mortuary temple of the great pharaoh Ramesses II, located in the Waset necropolis, which also includes the mortuary temples of most other notable pharaohs of the last few centuries, such as Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Amenhotep III, and Ramesses III. So we already had quite a selection of architectural wonders to choose from there, but ultimately we decided on the mortuary temple dedicated to Ramesses II, though it was a close call between that of his and Ramesses III’s temples. Ramesses III’s is almost equally impressive, but it suffered in a few places due to being built in a period of relative turmoil, and there is also the fact that it came decades after Ramesses II’s mortuary temple, thus making it rather derivate, so thus we gave the spot to the Ramesseum.

Its construction began during the reign of Ramesses II, about two centuries ago. It was finished after about two decades, though small additions were included over time. Later, once Ramesses II died and was buried there, his successors added even more to the Ramesseum and renovated it to make it look the part for the great pharaoh. Ramesses III contributed the most to this matter, and he had people working on it while his own mortuary temple was being built nearby. So, for the most part, the Ramesseum was finished about hundred sixty years ago, with the latest improvements being made about eighty years ago. But to this day, we have people overseeing its condition and making sure it is pristine, and same goes for every other temple in the complex, of course, but the Ramesseum holds special importance. And I can confirm that it still definitely looks as good as it did more than a century ago and complements the necropolis very well.

It is not particularly tall, measuring at about 45 royal cubits in height in most places, a bit more at the entrance, but its impressiveness comes not from its height but from its other dimensions, as it is a massive temple of 285 royal cubits in length and 95 royal cubits in width. This makes it the building with the largest floor surface area of any in this list, other than Khufu’s Horizon, but unlike Khufu’s Horizon, which is for the most part doesn’t have much inside, the Ramesseum is as impressive inside as it is on the outside. It has both open courtyards and more closed off rooms, which makes it seem like an actual palace being used, as is fit for the great pharaoh, of course. The temple has two pylon gates, each leading into a massive courtyard, and after the second courtyard comes the inner sanctuary, where the pharaoh himself is buried alongside all the grave goods. Inside the courtyards, one can see dozens of massive statues of Ramesses II and gods such as Osiris, Horus, Amun, and Ra, which are all impressive by themselves. The inner space, meanwhile, is full of weapons, chariots, small boats, royal garments, and treasures to help the pharaoh navigate the underworld. All pharaohs take some grave goods with them, but the collection left with Ramesses II surpasses even some of the largest museums in terms of how much value and how many items of historical importance are there. This does, of course, make it an attractive target for grave robbers, but worry not, as the Ramesseum is also surrounded by a massive wall, guarding it as well as some smaller shrines dedicated to the temple, and is constantly patrolled by guards.

And one must not forget the artwork on the inner and outer walls as well. Some of Egypt’s greatest artists worked on painting these scenes and they certainly succeeded in portraying the epic events of Ramesses II’s reign in full glorious detail. Ramesses reigned for over seventy years, and so there was lots to paint, as he was a busy ruler indeed. The artwork depicts scenes of him fighting and defeating the Sherden and the Libyan barbarians, as well as the Kushites and the Canaanites, which he fought during his many campaigns in the Levant. The scenes concerning the fights with the Kushites and the Canaanites are now controversial in some circles, as some say that we shouldn’t glorify violence against these peoples, seeing as we are now the Commonwealth, but I believe these scenes are an important part of our history and have every right of being shown on this temple. It would help no one if we just erased it all and tried to forget our history. But, of course, the most impressive art pieces are those in the very center, depicting Ramesses’ campaign against the Hittites during the First Hittite-Egyptian War, specifically his monumental victory at the First Battle of Kadesh, which was the largest battle we had been involved in by that point, and one which resulted in the first treaty we signed with Hatti. We certainly spared no expense for the Ramesseum, and it puts to shame most other mortuary temples in the known world, but I believe it was certainly worth it. Ramesses II protected us for seven decades and so he deserves nothing less than this exceptional monument.

Marduk Gate of Babylon

Just like we have two entries located in our country, so we also have two in Babylonia, but, again, it should not be surprising. The Commonwealth and Babylonia both have massive populations which are more than double of any other country, and so it is only natural that more wonders will be found in these places. And so we turn to the Marduk Gate of Babylon, which is, in fact, the most recent of these wonders. Much of Babylon was destroyed just a decade ago, including its walls and gates, of course, but after the change in leadership the city was quickly rebuilt. And one of the things which was rebuilt and much improved was the main gate to the city, situated in its eastern part. The city now has eleven gates – due to being the largest city on the planet and so needing so many of them to accommodate all the traffic – and while all of them are quite fine indeed, the eastern Marduk Gate is the most notable one and is made by intent to be that way, since most of the important visitors (that is, ones from Elam and the rest of Babylonia) would come from the east. First impressions are often crucial, and the Marduk Gate makes sure to give visitors a great first look of what the city is all about.

The gate’s construction began about eight years ago and was finished six years ago, while the final elements were added four years ago, but when we visited it, the gate was already fully finished. What’s also interesting is that this is the only one of these wonders to be constructed not by architects and builders working directly for the royal court, but by ones working for a private company. Babylon needed a lot of work after the war with Assyria and Elam, and so the new leadership in the city contracted various companies to help rebuild it. Of these, the one responsible for the Marduk Gate was the Boktnassar Construction Conglomerate, which is now the largest construction company and one of the megacorporations having massive influence in Babylonia, and I imagine getting the contract to build the most prominent gate in the most prominent city in the country certainly helped. There is certainly a lot to be said about Boktnassar Nepeshu, the head of the company and the founder of the Technomancer school of philosophy, but he is a native of Babylon and a man who certainly knows a thing or two about technologies and construction matters, and so he was a good choice for leading this project. And he certainly did not disappoint in this matter.

The Marduk Gate stands at an impressive 32 royal cubits in height, and that is only the actual gate portion. The gate’s walls are made of glazed bricks in blue, what is now often considered the color representing Babylonia. The walls have a repeating relief design, which shows many lions, bulls, and mushkhushshus – mythological Mesopotamian dragons, representing the god Marduk – along with other smaller beasts. However, it’s not all animals, as there are at least as many reliefs of man-made creations alongside, including siege towers, war chariots, and massive boats, all showing the technological achievements of Babylonia, most probably added due to Boktnassar’s Technomancer association. In total, there are over two hundred of these beasts and war machines on this gate, and they are all rather sizeable too. The gate also has inscriptions commemorating the achievements of Shilhak-Inshushinak, who took the city and put an end to the Kassite dynasty, and Nebuchadnezzar, the first and current ruler of Babylonia. The are also smaller inscriptions on the inner side of the gate, facing the city, praising the current mayor of Babylon and Boktnassar himself, who were responsible for the commissioning and designing of the gate, respectively.

But that’s still not all. The gate would already be impressive enough, but what elevates it further – literally – is a massive statue of Marduk on top of it. Marduk is the god of the city of Babylon and is also a god of creation, which probably resonates with Boktnassar. The statue is 38 royal cubits in height, thus bringing the total height of the whole construction from the ground up to 70 royal cubits. The statue is made of bronze, and it is Marduk standing with his traditional garments on, a royal crown, and, surprisingly, a gun. Initially that was a sword, but it was replaced by a gun four years ago – it was certainly an unexpected decision, considering how at that point only probably fewer than a hundred people even had a single gun. It was also highly controversial, but Boktnassar is never one to pass up on new technologies and so he did not relent and added the gun despite many protests. The sword also did not go to waste, it was instead shifted to the left, lowered, hand, while the gun is now in the raised right hand, and this symbolized Babylonia’s long history (the sword) as well as the coming future (the gun), and also its achievements in warfare and the technological sphere. Thus the Marduk Gate of Babylon is certainly a massive, breathtaking, and unconventional construction, but I, for one, welcome it, as there would be no architectural wonders if everyone only followed the established conventions.

Labyrinth of Knossos

While all the previous entries so far have been more conventional structures, such as palaces, temples, and gates, this is nothing of the sort. This labyrinth, located next to the palace of Knossos in Crete, is an elaborate maze, made for the purpose of confusing the people who enter it and preventing them from leaving. It is indeed a very unusual structure with an unusual purpose, but that’s what makes it a wonder, as it has to be by far the most unique building of any here, and anywhere in the world as well, at least one of such a scale.

Now, why would anyone even build something like this? That’s a good question, and one which is still being debated even now. The traditional story goes that about a millennium ago, king Minos of Crete, back when the island was still independent, had his architect Daedalus construct this labyrinth in order to contain the monster known as the Minotaur – an unnatural offspring of a human woman and a bull, and so he could not be satisfied by anything else other than eating humans. The Minotaur could not be killed or contained by a simple prison and thus the labyrinth was created so it would serve as the more elaborate place of captivity for the simple-minded Minotaur, who could never find an escape. Meanwhile, some people, such as prisoners, would be sent down to the labyrinth to be devoured by the Minotaur, and so two problems would be taken care of at once, as the beast would be satiated for a while and undesirables discreetly removed from the world of the living.

Is this true? Probably not, at least not the Minotaur part. But there is still reason to believe the labyrinth was constructed a long time ago, back in the age of the Minoan civilization, and it could indeed have served as some sort of prison. The island suffered many calamities over the centuries, but parts of Knossos miraculously survived most of them, and the labyrinth seems to be one of the structures which remained relatively untouched. The new, now Mycenaean, rulers of Crete have possibly used this labyrinth for one reason or another as well – some say it was used for rituals and sacrifices, others that it still remained as a prison, though one for political opponents. But one thing is for certain – in the last century it was renovated, and one notable addition was that the walls can now be shifted. Not by humans inside the labyrinth, but by cranes from the outside. This allows the ruler, or whoever is in charge of overseeing the labyrinth, to change the layout of the maze at any point with relative ease, and so have potentially infinitely many versions of it, so that even if someone did figure a way out, the labyrinth could be changed, and the escape attempts would have to be restarted from scratch.

The labyrinth is a square of about 150 royal cubits in length, which makes for quite a massive area, while its height is about 10 royal cubits. It is entirely covered by a roof, consisting of many smaller tiles, which can be taken off in order to reconfigure the maze. The roof itself is also impressive, as it features Minoan and Mycenaean artwork, focusing on various historical and mythological events, but most notably, of course, the Minotaur, which is featured prominently on the central roof tile. As for the inside of the labyrinth – it’s difficult to say, because, like I mentioned, it can now change at any point. This is a pretty fluid architectural work, and that certainly further elevates it to this list. The walls inside are rather thick and also actually feature artwork made throughout the centuries, even if one can only see it by torchlight while inside. The walls are divided into portions which can be as small as only 10 cubits in length, and these segments are moved around to create new designs of the maze. There are other things in the labyrinth too, but that changes with every iteration of the design. I have been told that the king sometimes puts in statues, pottery, chariots, furniture, and other things, and even releases some small animals in there, to further change up every experience.

This has a practical purpose too – in the last few decades, the Cretans have begun organizing games, where a number of volunteering participants are released into the labyrinth and have to find a way out. The roof tiles are then lifted off, so that the viewers could see the action from above and bet on who would win (but the walls are still tall enough so that the participants could not see over them). I was told this event attracts thousands of observers who are eager to see such a unique challenge take place. The rewards for the winners are some treasure from the king of Crete himself, plus whatever they find in the labyrinth, which further encourages exploration. Those who are lost and can’t find the exit are lifted out after the end of the game, but they don’t get any reward. The whole event seems to be quite costly, but I suppose it is a worthwhile undertaking, as it brings thousands of additional tourists to the island and further promotes the region abroad. While in terms of pure architecture the Labyrinth of Knossos may not seem too impressive, its distinctiveness from anything else and its variability certainly make up for that and show how construction doesn’t have to be done in the traditional way, for that I certainly believe it is a great wonder.

Library of Nineveh

Just like here in Egypt we have the city of Khemenu as our center of knowledge, the Mycenaeans have Athens, and the Babylonians have Babylon, so do the Assyrians have their own, in the city of Nineveh. And what would a center of knowledge be without a respectable library? Not much. All of these cities have massive libraries with thousands of scrolls or tablets, but the Library of Nineveh takes the crown, as right now it is simply unsurpassed in terms of size and how many written works it contains.

Its construction first began about thirty years ago, under the Assyrian king Mutakkil-Nusku, who was a man more interested in science and in understanding the universe, rather than warfare. A rare trait in the Adaside Dynasty, but a welcome one for sure, as it gave us this great work. Well, at least set the foundations for it. The king did not live long and died at the age of only 29, which put a stop to the construction, as the following couple kings were more of a return to traditional Assyrian ways. The library was still functional, but it wasn’t nearly as impressive as it is now. This changed a decade ago, when Ninsina assumed the throne during the Great Powers’ War and overthrew the old government, with Elamite help, of course. Unlike her predecessors, she was very interested in the library and spent a lot to expand it and acquire more literary works for the library. Thus the library became much more than a regional attraction and reached international fame in just a couple years after its expansion.

The library has a base of 120 by 170 royal cubits, a respectable surface area already. However, that is just one floor and the library has a whopping seven floors in total, all full of shelves containing written works. The building is thus about 90 royal cubits in height, but further expansion is still supposedly considered to add even more floors. On the outside, the library is surrounded by statues of Nabu, the Mesopotamian god of knowledge, as well as smaller statues of prominent Mesopotamian writers, scientists, inventors, and other relevant persons. The largest of these are right at the grand entrance at the front, which is reached by climbing up some stairs. There are also massive decorated windows, to let in enough light into the library, and a pyramidal roof, which could be raised to make space for a new floor and then added back on top of the building again. On the inside, there are seven floors, and each is separated into a few sections. There are small administrative sections, where visitors can ask for information on where to find a specific tablet or ask to borrow it, reading spaces, where people can read and study the selected works, meeting rooms, often used by the Nabuites and Technomancers for their gatherings, and, of course, the main areas where one can find all the shelves with the works in them.

These works include not only clay tablets, but also papyrus scrolls, wax boards, wooden boards, leather scrolls, and even texts written on animal bones and turtle shells, supposedly from China in the far east. Basically, the Assyrians are interested in acquiring as many written works as they can, no matter where they are from and what they are written on, which makes the collection certainly impressive. Most works are from Mesopotamia, but there is a considerable Elamite collection, as well as an Egyptian one, a Phoenician one, and some Hittite and Mycenean texts too, and there is probably at least one text from every civilization which has invented writing. The texts themselves vary greatly in content too – the library has plenty of non-fiction works, including histories, scientific treatises, medicinal texts, manuals, and much more, but there is a massive fiction collection as well, which includes everything from comedies and romance tablets to horror and fantasy stories. In total, there are about a hundred thousand works in the library right now. It’s difficult to compare this count to the ones in other libraries, since the works vary in format, size, and length, but most scholars agree that the Library of Nineveh currently wins in terms of having the most literary works and in terms of total content length.

Thus, while the library is already very impressive from the outside, its inside is the main attraction, serving as the most important center of knowledge east of the Euphrates. Building magnificent looking structures is great, but if one has a practical purpose as well, that makes it even better. And the Library of Nineveh sure has a very well-defined purpose, making it nothing short of an architectural wonder.

Final notes

Thus, here are the eight structures which we deemed to be worthy enough to be considered the great architectural wonders of the world. Some of these you have already visited, but the others you may still visit in the future, I imagine, as they are rather hard to miss. For now however, I am attaching the artists’ renditions of these wonders so that you could see how they look more or less. If you have any criticisms or notes about this list, I will be glad to hear them. Otherwise, if you are content with it, I will bring to you the document for your official royal signature, so that the decree would come into effect, and these works would internationally be considered the official architectural wonders.