Ishtar Gate

Welcome to Babylon!

Let Akitu begin! The new year’s celebrations have begun with the entrance of the king through the Ishtar Gate to the city of Babylon.

The Ishtar Gate is the eighth access gates to the city of Babylon and was built in 575BC by king Nebuchadnezzar II, second king of the Neo-Babylonian empire.  The gate is adorned with beautiful blue tiles, and two animals representing gods of the Babylonian pantheon: the dragon Mušḫuššu for Marduk and an auroch for Adad.

The model is not only a representation of this beautiful monument, but an ode to the history and culture that originated in Mesopotamia. The back of the model opens up to reveal some secrets:

Living Quarters

The back opens up to reveal a few scenes of daily life in Babylon during the time of construction of the gate. There is a board game called “The Game of Ur”, which consists of a race and a battle between two players to see who can get seven pieces across the board first. Plenty of clay tablets are stacked on the table, along with cylindrical seals and a tablet with the world’s oldest map. On the shelves sit a few frog-shaped weights and a little Mušḫuššu sculpture.

King’s Throne

The other part of the back has the throne, a staff, a chest and a tiled mosaic with floral themes and lions. There are close to no remains of babylonian furniture because it was all mostly made from wood.

Details

Dotted around the model, there are other important artifacts from the history of Babylon. The Basalt Monument of Esarhaddon sits in front of the model and tells the story of the reconstruction of Babylon by Neo-Assyrian king Esarhaddon. Next to it, sits a tamarisk plant typical of saline soils. In the footing of the other tower sits the Stele of Nabonidus showing the last ruler of Neo-Babylonian empire standing next to the moon god.

Model Dimensions:

Length: 40.5cm / 16in

Width: 28cm / 11in

Height: 28.8cm / 11.3in

Thank you for reading along and hope you like the model!