ProvenioArt Intelligence
Sign InExplore
mesopotamiababylonian

Ishtar Gate

The eighth gate of the inner city of Babylon (c. 575 BCE), constructed under Nebuchadnezzar II. Decorated with glazed blue lapis-lazuli-coloured bricks bearing reliefs of dragons (mušḫuššu) and bulls (rimi). Excavated by Robert Koldewey 1902–1914; reconstructed fragments held at the Pergamon Museum, Berlin. Remaining fragments distributed across multiple institutions. Iraq has requested repatriation.

Scholarly Significance

Anchor the Neo-Babylonian art cluster with the Ishtar Gate, the most spectacular surviving example of Babylonian glazed-brick architecture and a centrepiece of repatriation debate.

Notes

  • ·Constructed under Nebuchadnezzar II (r. 605–562 BCE) as the eighth gate in Babylon's inner city wall, dedicated to the Babylonian goddess Ishtar (goddess of love and war).
  • ·The gate's facade was covered with glazed bricks in a distinctive deep blue (representing lapis lazuli), with molded relief figures of alternating rows of mušḫuššu (horned dragon, sacred to Marduk) and bulls (rimi, sacred to Adad) in blue, yellow, and gold-brown tones.
  • ·Connected to the Processional Way (Aibur-shabu), a paved road lined with glazed brick lions leading to the gate; used during the Babylonian New Year (Akitu) festival.
  • ·Robert Koldewey began excavations at Babylon in 1902; the gate was largely excavated 1902–1906. Koldewey shipped the excavated bricks to Berlin under Ottoman-era excavation permits that granted Germany rights to moveable finds.
  • ·The Pergamon Museum's reconstruction (opened 1930) uses original glazed bricks arranged on a modern brick core; approximately 8 m of the gate's original 14 m height was excavated. Upper portions are reconstructed.
  • ·Fragments from the gate are held at the Istanbul Archaeology Museums, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the Oriental Institute (Chicago), the Röhsska Museum (Gothenburg), and Yale University Art Gallery, among others.
  • ·Iraq has repeatedly requested the return of the Ishtar Gate and associated Babylonian antiquities, particularly since the 1990s. No agreement has been reached with Germany.
  • ·The Pergamon Museum (main building) has been closed for renovation since 2023; the Ishtar Gate remains accessible in a separate wing.