King Nebuchadnezzar; Ishtar gate; 575 BCE; Architecture, clay brick; Neo-Babylonian
When King Nebuchadnezzar II took the throne he launched a building campaign to restore the city of Babylon. Under Nebuchadnezzar rule Babylon become one the ancient worlds greatest cities. Followers of the Christian Faith may recognized Nebuchadnezzar has the "king of kings" who exiled the Jews from the bible in the book of Daniel. The Ishtar gate was built in part with his building campaign; he also built it as a display. Today, it is considered one of the seven wonders of the world.The gate in the photo above is only part of one of eight double gates that surrounded the city of Babylon. It is the smaller part of the double gate; the other gate would have been almost twice the size. However out of all the gates, this gate was the most important. The part that leads up to the gate, called the Processional Way, is lined with tiled relief sculptures of lions. These lions represented the goddess Ishtar. She was considered the goddess of war, wisdom, and sexuality. Two other animal form are sculpted into the gate, and ancient bull known as an auroch (as seen above in the second photo) and a composite beast known as a Dragon. The auroch represented the god Adad, the god of storms, harvest, and fertile land. The Mesopotamian dragon is associated with the god Marduk. Marduk was the patron god of the city whom Nebuchadnezzar II directly link himself to.
This gate was built bricks molded from the clay of the river valley. The blue color was created with a technique called faience which involves the use of copper. This technique was also used by the Egyptian and other parts of the ancient world. The first fragments of the wall were found in 1851. Thorough excavation began in 1899 and the brick form which the gate was constructed were found in 1902. The quality and quantity of pieces found by archaeologist sparked the idea of reconstruction. Today the restored gate is displayed in Berlin at the Staatliche Museum.
Dr. Zucker, Steven, and Beth Dr. Harris. Neo-Babylonian Art: Ishtar Gate and Processional Way. Smarthistory. N.p., 13 Apr. 2012. Web. 29 Sept. 2013.
King, Leo. "The Ishtar Gate." Ceramics Technical 26 (2008): 51-53. Art Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 29 Sept. 2013.
Kleiner, Fred S. Gardner’s Art through the Age: A Global History. 14th ed. Vol. 1. Boston: Clark Baxter, 2012. Ebook Reader.
