3/5 Mohiddin sab Jalauddin Hasan M. 4 years ago on Google • 81 reviews
The
Ishtar
Gate
(Arabic:
بوابة
عشتار)
was
the
eighth
gate
to
the
inner
city
of
Babylon.
It
was
constructed
in
about
575
BCE
by
order
of
King
Nebuchadnezzar
II
on
the
north
side
of
the
city.
Even
though
the
Ishtar
Gate
is
referred
to
in
cuneiform
texts
as
early
as
in
the
late
Old
Babylonian
period,
its
known
material
evidence
stems
from
the
work
projects
carried
out
by
Nebuchadnezzar
II.
Today
only
the lower
parts
of
the
Ishtar
Gate remain
in-situ
at
the
site
of
ancient
Babylonian
city,
known
today
as Babil.
The
gate
depicted
only
gods
and
goddesses
with
alternating
rows
of
bas-relief
mušḫuššu
(dragons),
aurochs
(bulls),
and
lions,
symbolizing
the
gods
Marduk,
Adad,
and
Ishtar
respectively.
Total
length
of
the
ancient
gate
is
about
45
meters
from
north-south.
Parts
of
the
Ishtar
Gate
and
lions
from
the
Processional
Way
are
in
various
other
museums
around
the
world.
Through
the
gate
ran
the Processional
Street,
which
was
lined
with
walls
showing
about
120
lions,
bulls,
dragons,
and
flowers
on
enameled
yellow
and
black
glazed
bricks,
symbolizing
the
goddess
Ishtar.
The
Processional
Way,
which
has
been
traced
to
a
length
of
over
half
a
mile,
extended
north
from
the
Ishtar
Gate.
Friezes
with
sixty
ferocious
lions
representing
Ishtar
decorated
each
side
of
the
Processional
Way,
designed
with
variations
in
the
color
of
the
fur
and
the
manes.
The
Processional
Way
was
paved
with
large
stone
pieces
set
in
a
bed
of
bitumen
and
was
up
to
66
feet
wide
at
some
points.
Several
important
buildings
stood
around
the
Ishtar
gate,
including
the Ninmakh
Temple to
the
south-east.
The
E-mah
(great
temple
of
Ninḫursaĝ)
as
seen
from
the
west,
looking
over
the
Ishtar
Gate
in
the
bottom
foreground.
Currently
the
walls
and
roofs
of
the
temple
are
in
a
very
bad
condition
and
no
recent
renovations
have
been
done.
Due
to
its
use
as
military
base
by
US
the
site
has
suffered
extensive
damage,
according
to a
study
by
the
British
Museum,
the
damage
was
extensive:
some
300,000
sq
m
(4,000
acres)
was
covered
with
gravel.
The
Ishtar
Gate
was
only
one
small
part
of
the
design
of
ancient
Babylon
that
also
included
the
palace,
temples,
an
inner
fortress,
walls,
gardens,
processional
routes,
and
other
gates.
The
lavish
city
was
decorated
with
over
fifteen
million
baked
bricks,
according
to
estimates.
Most
notable
of
these
structures
are
Street
of
the
Processions,
Ninmakh
Temple,
and
the
city
walls.
A
replica
of
the
Ishtar
Gate
was
installed
some
250
meters
north
of
the
ancient
gateway
to
the
city
of
Babylon.
It
is
located
at
the
entrance
to
the Nebuchadnezzar
Museum.
It
is
a
very
simplified
model
of
the
original
ancient
Ishtar
Gate,
and
is
not
to
scale.
The
construction
was
meant
to
emulate
the
techniques
that
were
used
for
the
original
gate.
The
purpose
of
the
replica's
construction
was
an
attempt
to
reconnect
to
Iraq's
history.
Damage
to
this
reproduction
has
occurred
since
the
US-Iraq
War,
specially
due
to
the
use
of
this
area
by
the
US
military
as
a
camp.
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