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Great Gate of Ishtar
This is a reconstruction of the Great Gate of Ishtar that stood at the entrance to the ancient city of Babylon. The Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II (r. 605/604-562 BCE) ordered the gate to be constructed in c. 575 BCE and it features lions, young bulls (aurochs), and dragons (sirrush) against a vibrant cobalt blue glazed background. The reconstruction is at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany. Photo was taken in 2006 CE.
Questions & Answers
What does the name Babylon mean?
- Babylon comes from the Akkadian word "Bav-il" meaning "Gate of the Gods."
Were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon real?
- Most modern-day scholars believe the Hanging Gardens were actually located in Nineveh during the time of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
What was Babylon most famous for in ancient times?
- Babylon was famous as an intellectual, religious, and cultural center. It was also known for its great walls and the Ishtar Gate.
Who was the patron deity of Babylon?
- The patron deity of Babylon changed with the times but, primarily, was Marduk or Ishtar.
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License & Copyright
Based on Wikipedia content that has been reviewed, edited, and republished.
Original image by Rictor Norton. Uploaded by Kim Martins, published on 28 September 2019. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.
