Ishtar Gate

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 120 brick lions lined the street and some 575 dragons and bulls, in 13 rows, adorned the gate.

* * *

 enormous burnt-brick entryway located over the main thoroughfare in the ancient city of Babylon (now in Iraq). Built about 575 BC, it became the eighth fortified gate in the city. The Ishtar Gate was more than 38 feet (12 metres) high and was decorated with glazed brick reliefs, in tiers, of dragons and young bulls. The gate itself was a double one, and on its south side was a vast antechamber. Through the gatehouse ran a stone- and brick-paved avenue, called the Processional Way, that has been traced over a length of more than half a mile.

      The sides of the street were decorated with brick lions passant. It has been estimated that there were 120 lions along the street and 575 dragons and bulls, in 13 rows, on the gate. Not all of these reliefs were visible at the same time, however, for the level of the street was raised more than once; even the lowest rows, which were irregularly laid, may have been treated as foundation deposits.

      The site was unearthed by the prominent German archaeologist Robert Koldewey (Koldewey, Robert), whose excavation of Babylon lasted from 1899 until 1917. The remnants of the original gate and Processional Way have been housed in Berlin's Pergamon Museum since that institution's founding in 1930. Iraq reconstructed the thoroughfare at one of the higher levels but since the 1990s has actively sought the return of the original gate and associated artifacts.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ishtar Gate — The Ishtar Gate (Assyrian: ܕܵܪܘܲܐܙܲܐ ܕܥܵܐܫܬܲܪ translit: Darwaza D Ishtar , Arabic:بوابة عشتار) was the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon. It was constructed in about 575 BC by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II on the north side of the city.… …   Wikipedia

  • 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

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”