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The word “paradise” derives from an Akkadian and Persian word (''pardesu'' is Akkadian) and (''paridayda'' in Old Persian). <ref> For more on the origins of the term "paradise" and its meaning, see: Bockmuehl, Markus N. A. 2010. Paradise in Antiquity: Jewish and Christian Views. Cambridge [u.a.]: Cambridge Univ. Press.</ref> The term seems to specifically deal with structures or enclosures, perhaps associated with the walled gardens of temples discussed earlier. Soon, however, these gardens began to be found in other areas, including palaces or as pleasure gardens for royalty. In other words, the concept of gardens as an ideal setting spreads to more secular structures. In fact, gardens became very popular as royal areas in the Neo-Assyrian \and Neo-Babylonian Empires (9th-6the 6th centuries BCE), spreading to the different Persian empires, such as the Achaemenids, Parthians, and Sassanians, who eventually influence Islamic empires and states that arose in the 1st millennium CE. We can still see these gardens as they were envisioned by the Persians today (Figure 3).