Ishtar Gate

eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon

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The Ishtar Gate was the eighth gate leading into the inner city of ancient Babylon. While the exact reasons for its historical importance aren't detailed in this description, such monumental gates typically served important ceremonial, defensive, and symbolic functions in ancient cities.

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Image: Ishtar Gate at Berlin Museum.jpg

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Commons category: Ishtar Gate
inception: 0575-00-00

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Ishtar Gate, Pergamon Museum, Berlin. The Ishtar Gate was the eighth gate to the inner city wall of Babylon (in the area of present-day Hillah, Babylon Governorate, Iraq). It was constructed c. 569 BC by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II on the north side of the city. It was part of a grand walled processional way leading into the city.

The original structure was a double gate with a smaller frontal gate and a larger and more grandiose secondary posterior section. The walls were finished in glazed bricks mostly in blue, with animals and deities (also made up of coloured bricks) in low relief at intervals. The gate was 15 metres high, and the original foundations extended another 14 metres underground.