A gift is not just for festive seasons and personal landmarks. Over the years gifts have helped to create new bonds between nations, secure marriages, end wars or just strengthen relationships. And in the grand field of power politics, gifts can vary wildly, from small trinkets to entire provinces. Finding the right gift remains the challenge. So, here we review a dozen of the most famous gifts ever given and offer our verdict. Could you find some ideas for your own gift giving this year? Probably not.
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
To: Queen Amytis
From: Nebuchadnezzar II
6th century BCE, Mesopotamia
The legendary Hanging Gardens were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, built by Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife Amytis. It could be argued that this took buying flowers for your spouse a few stages too far, but it was actually a means to alleviate Amytis’ home sickness. She is thought to have come from Media, around northwestern Iran, which
