- Ishtar Gate
The Ishtar Gate (Assyrian: ܕܵܪܘܲܐܙܲܐ ܕܥܵܐܫܬܲܪ translit: "Darwaza D'Ishtar",
Arabic :بوابة عشتار) was the eighth gate to the inner city ofBabylon . It was constructed in about 575 BC by order of KingNebuchadnezzar II on the north side of the city.Dedicated to the Babylonian goddess
Ishtar , the Gate was constructed of blue glazed tiles with alternating rows ofbas-relief "sirrush " (dragons ) andaurochs .The roof and doors of the gate were of
cedar , according to the dedication plaque. Through the gate ran the Processional Way which was lined with walls covered inlion s on glazed bricks (about 120 of them).Statues of the deities were paraded through the gate and down the Processional Way each year during the New Year's celebration.
Originally the gate, being part of the
Walls of Babylon , was considered one of theSeven Wonders of the world until, in the 6th century AD, it was replaced with theLighthouse of Alexandria .A reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate and Processional Way was built at the
Pergamon Museum inBerlin out of material excavated byRobert Koldewey and finished in the 1930s. It includes the inscription plaque. It stands 47 feet high and 100 feet wide (14 meters by 30 meters). The excavation ran from 1902-1914 and during that time 45 feet of the foundation of the gate was uncovered.The gate was in fact a double-gate. The part that is shown in the Pergamon Museum today is only the smaller frontal part, while the larger back part was considered too large to fit into the constraints of the structure of the museum. It is in storage.
Parts of the gate and lions from the Processional Way are in various other museums around the world. Only three museums acquired dragons while lions went to several museums. The
Istanbul Archaeology Museum has lions, dragons, and bulls. TheDetroit Institute of Arts houses a dragon. TheRöhsska Museum in Gothenburg, Sweden, has one dragon and one lion; theLouvre , the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, theUniversity of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Philadelphia, theMetropolitan Museum of Art in New York, theOriental Institute in Chicago, theRhode Island School of Design Museum , the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and theYale University Art Gallery of New Haven, Connecticut, each have lions.A smaller reproduction of the gate was built in Iraq under
Saddam Hussein as the entrance to a museum that has not been completed. Damage to the reproduction gate has occurred since theIraq war (see Effects of the U.S. military).Gallery
External links
* [http://www.andycarvin.com/video/pergamon.ishtar.avi Video of Pergamon Museum's Ishtar Gate]
* [http://www.lammgard.se/designmuseum/lejon.htm Pictures of lion & dragon, Röhsska museum, Gothenburg]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
Ishtar Gate — Enormous burnt brick double entryway built in the ancient city of Babylon с 575 BC. The gate was more than 38 ft (12 m) high and was decorated with glazed brick reliefs. Through the gatehouse ran the stone and brick paved Processional Way. Some… … Universalium
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate — Infobox Book | name = The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate title orig = translator = image caption = Dust jacket illustration for The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate author = L. Sprague deCamp illustrator = cover artist = Charles McCurry country = United… … Wikipedia
gate — gate1 /gayt/, n., v., gated, gating. n. 1. a movable barrier, usually on hinges, closing an opening in a fence, wall, or other enclosure. 2. an opening permitting passage through an enclosure. 3. a tower, architectural setting, etc., for… … Universalium
City gate — The Brama Młyńska in Stargard Szczeciński one of a few water gates in Europe … Wikipedia
Gates of Ishtar — Infobox musical artist Name = Gates of Ishtar Img capt = Img size = Landscape = Background = group or band Alias = Origin = Sweden Genre = Melodic death metal Years active = 1992 – 1998 Label = Spinefarm Records Invasion Records Associated acts … Wikipedia
Babylon — Not to be confused with Babylonia. For other uses, see Babylon (disambiguation). Coordinates … Wikipedia
Mesopotamia, history of — ▪ historical region, Asia Introduction history of the region in southwestern Asia where the world s earliest civilization developed. The name comes from a Greek word meaning “between rivers,” referring to the land between the Tigris and… … Universalium
Babylon — /bab euh leuhn, lon /, n. 1. an ancient city of SW Asia, on the Euphrates River, famed for its magnificence and culture: capital of Babylonia and later of the Chaldean empire. 2. any rich and magnificent city believed to be a place of excessive… … Universalium
Mušḫuššu — Sirrush bas relief in the Pergamon Museum. Creature Grouping mythological hybrid Sub grouping … Wikipedia
Sirrush — Infobox Paranormalcreatures Creature Name = Sirrush Image Caption = Sirrush bas relief in the Pergamon Museum. Grouping = Legendary creature Sub Grouping = Dragon AKA = Similar creatures = Mythology = Babylonian mythology Country = Region =… … Wikipedia