New research: Ishtar Gate didn't celebrate Conquest & wasn't built in phases

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Babylon's bright-blue Ishtar Gate was thought to have been built to celebrate the conquest of Jerusalem — but a new analysis finds that it may have been erected years later.

The iconic glazed-brick edifice, which King Nebuchadnezzar II ordered to be built and decorated with wild bulls and mušhuššu-dragons while ruling the Babylonian empire from 605 to 562 B.C., was constructed in three phases and served as the entrance to the ancient city of Babylon, located in southern Mesopotamia. 

While it's known that Nebuchadnezzar II ordered the first phase, as these bricks are inscribed with his name, it was less clear if some time had passed before the second and third phases were completed, according to the study. Some researchers even wondered if Nebuchadnezzar II had died before the gate's completion.

To set the record straight, archaeologists collected tiny samples from five of the fired mud bricks from the Ishtar Gate (now reconstructed at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin) spread across the three phases and measured the geomagnetic fields of each one in a process known as archaeomagnetism.

This new analysis determined that there were no "significant chronological gaps" between each construction phase and that the "gate complex was constructed some time after the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem" that took place in 586 B.C. During the conquest of Jerusalem, the Babylonians destroyed Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple; burned down the city; and exiled the Jews to southern Mesopotamia, also known as Babylonia.

 

 

 

 

Source: https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/babylons-ishtar-gate-may-have-a-totally-different-purpose-than-we-thought-magnetic-field-measurements-suggest?utm_term

[LilMonst3r 5,681]

So beautiful imagine what it looked like in its heyday.. 🥰

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14 hours ago, myluis617 said:

So beautiful imagine what it looked like in its heyday.. 🥰

Thankfully we know how it looked like into the present day. The same can't be said about other monuments in Iraq like Taq Kasra, which was the facade of the palace of Ctesiphon - the capital of the Sassanid Empire.

[Horny Chicken 10,932]

I love middle eastern art so very much. 

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3 hours ago, Roronoa said:

I love middle eastern art so very much. 

Notwhitstand the debate of whether not not Iran is part of the Middle East, I think the mosque architecture in Iran and Iraq (particularely the honeycomb ceilings) are mesmerising:

Vank Cathedral (church built by Armenians in Iran with heavy influence from the local Persian style) is also breathtaking, like I look at it and I am in awe.

Honorable mention goes to Shah Cheragh shrine and the Umayyad Mosque (Syria) and its heavy Byzantine influence.

[crazygato 610]

Beautiful Babylon, but just like her ancient counterpart, she will fall, never to be seen agin...

[Guest]

i love how Babylon is a thing now. 

(just kidding uh it was interesting and mesmerising)

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3 hours ago, crazygato said:

Beautiful Babylon, but just like her ancient counterpart, she will fall, never to be seen agin...

Seeing sheep grazing in the ruins of Hatussa, one of the most powerful Ancient cities, is one of the most most poetic and profounds sights ever. Everything will be gone sooner or later.

I don't get which Babylon are you talking about though, Berlin? The US?  I think seeing sheep grazing in the ruins of the White House after a nuclear war would be equally sad and profound.

[LilMonst3r 5,681]

4 hours ago, FfFfFfFF said:

Notwhitstand the debate of whether not not Iran is part of the Middle East, I think the mosque architecture in Iran and Iraq (particularely the honeycomb ceilings) are mesmerising:

Vank Cathedral (church built by Armenians in Iran with heavy influence from the local Persian style) is also breathtaking, like I look at it and I am in awe.

Honorable mention goes to Shah Cheragh shrine and the Umayyad Mosque (Syria) and its heavy Byzantine influence.

Wow all that beauty 😍