Ishtar Gate
Ishtar Gate (in Assyrian: ܕܵܪܘܲܐܙܵܐ ܕܥܲܫܬܵܪ) is the eighth gate of the inner city of Babylon, which was built by Nebuchadnezzar in 575 BC in the north of the city as a dedication to Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess. In 1899 AD, the German prospector Robert Coldaway revealed the first features of this city.
The blue color that gave the Ishtar Gate an unparalleled charm and beauty that rivaled the blue of the seas and the sky in splendor.
At the time of its manufacture, around the sixth century BC, it needed to mix two chemical substances with very precise weights and a very high temperature, which was strangely high in relation to the capabilities of that time. Scientists at the German Pergamon Museum needed a modern sensitive balance to reach the exact percentage of weights.
How did the Babylonians weigh? How did they get the fire to that high level?
The strangest thing, and perhaps coincidence played a role in increasing the beauty of the matter, is that the gate is decorated with 575 prominent animal shapes, including dragons known as serous and bulls, and this number coincides with the year of construction of the gate, which was built in 575 BC!
The Germans found the original Ishtar Gate in the days of the Ottoman Empire, and it was transported to Germany and placed in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin and is still in the museum to this day. The gate is named after the goddess of Venus (Ishtar), which according to Babylonian mythology means that she is in control of human affairs because she is the mistress of the major gods (Ono, Enlil, Assyria). It was said that Nebuchadnezzar II built it out of love for his wife, and the gate is entirely covered with blue alabaster, white marble, and colored tiles. It was decorated with 575 prominent animal figures, including dragons known as sirosh and bulls. On its walls are wall statues representing the lion, the bull, and the mythical animal called (Mashkhshu), which represents the symbol of the god Marduk.
Source: website