Neo-Babylonian

Ishtar Gate

The Ishtar Gate and the entrance to Babylon

Colored bricks and animals decorated one of the great entrances to Babylon.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

**DOCUMENTED HISTORICAL REPRODUCTION · Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Vorderasiatisches Museum, Pergamonmuseum · CC0 1.0**
Physical replica · Exact correspondence
Partial view of the museum assembly of the Ishtar Gate in Berlin: physical reconstruction with ancient fragments and modern additions.
Kurt Kaiser · Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Vorderasiatisches Museum, Pergamonmuseum · Inventory: Sin inventario unitario en la ficha de conjunto · Componentes: VA Bab 01408–01456 y VA Bab 07661 · CC0 1.0
Source and provenance ↗Terms of use ↗

History and context

The relief animals and glaze were part of a monumental entrance to Babylon. The door reminds us that architecture communicated: the visitor did not find just a passage between walls, but a carefully constructed image of the city.

What is seen in Berlin is a reconstruction of the outer door, the smallest one. It brings together ancient fragments and extensive modern parts. Recognizing this montage does not diminish its interest: it allows us to understand how much work was required to study, organize and display the remains.

Evidence and interpretation

Museographic reconstruction with original material, not complete transfer of the entire old door. The components have their own inventories; The linked sheet describes the set.

Catalogue facts

Date of piece: 7th–6th centuries BCE · work of Nebuchadnezzar II
Culture and period: Neo-Babylonian
Provenance: Babylon, Iraq
Material: Glazed brick; museographic setup with modern additions
Inventory: Ischtar-Tor assembly · SMB object 1744146

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

You are viewing

7th–6th centuries BCE · work of Nebuchadnezzar II

Ishtar Gate

Sumer

Wide interval of the piece and its phases; The museum setup is modern.

Current record

Architecture8 dated objects

2 / 8In the centre: Ishtar Gate

Also connected, without a comparable date (13)

These objects are not placed after the others: an unknown date does not mean a more recent object.

A White Wall on the DanubeCeltic worlds · 6th century BCE
CemeteryIndus civilisation · ca. 2600–1900 BCE
Dia’s strataMande Worlds · 9th century BCE–2nd millennium CE
Four gardens and waterAchaemenid Persia · 6th century BCE
Jenne-jeno contextsMande Worlds · ca. 250 BCE–1400 CE
Kumbi SalehMande Worlds · medieval occupation; prominent phases between the 11th and 13th centuries
Livestock and moundsNubia, Kerma and Kush · c. 2050–1500 BCE
LothalIndus civilisation · ca. 2400–1600 BCE
Rice on stiltsYayoi Japan · Especially 1st–3rd centuries CE
Rome learns in terracottaEtruscans and Rome · End of the sixth century BCE
The altar cordVedic and later Indian worlds · Approximate composition and transmission c. 800–500 BCE, with revisions
The quarry remained visibleGojoseon and early Korea · Mainly 6th–5th centuries BCE
Tichitt wallsMande Worlds · II–I millennia BCE

You can scroll the first group without JavaScript. The other topics are also available below.

Ceramics

Dolní Věstonice I · ≈29,000–27,000 years · Prehistory
Before Sumer · mid-6th–5th millennium BCE · Sumer
Twin-chambered vessel from Cova de l’Or · Early Neolithic · VI–V millennia BCE · Prehistory
Before Egypt · ca. 4400–3800 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Before Nubia · V–IV millennium BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Before Gojoseon · Middle Neolithic, c. 4000 BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Bevel-rimmed bowl · ca. 3500–3000 BCE · Sumer
Before Yayoi · Middle Jōmon, ca. 3000 BCE · Yayoi Japan
Vasiliki · ca. 2500–2200 BCE · Greek worlds
Before the Greeks · c. 2400–2200 BCE · Greek worlds
Cemetery R-37 · ca. 2550–2030 BCE · Indus civilisation
Before Ancient China · c. 2500–2000 BCE · Ancient China
Longshan · c. 2500–2000 BCE · Ancient China
Kerma vessel · c. 1802–1640 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Burial at K IV · circa 1750–1550 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Before Vedic India · c. 1900–1300 BCE · Vedic and later Indian worlds
Osmankayası and Ilıca · ca. 1700/1650–1200 BCE · Hittites
Grey bowl from Hastinapura · c. 1100–800 BCE in the classical sequence of Hastinapura · Vedic and later Indian worlds
Before Etruscans and Rome · ca. 850–800 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The urn under the helmet · 9th–8th centuries BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Ceramic stand 1010 · 8th–7th centuries BCE · orientalizing · Iberians
Ishtar Gate · 7th–6th centuries BCE · work of Nebuchadnezzar II · Sumer — You are viewing
Glazed brick guards · 522–486 BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Orpheus among the Thracians · circa 440 BCE; attributed to the London Painter E 497. · Thracians
The Attic krater that took on a new life in Cástulo · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
Thoth in the form of a baboon · 664–30 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Leipzig Fish Plate · Last third 4th–early 3rd century BCE · Greek worlds
Dove of the Amarejo · 3rd century BCE · Iberians
Vas dels Guerrers · 3rd–early 2nd century BCE · Iberians
Warriors' Vase · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Iberians
Northern mound · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Yayoi Japan
Kalathos of Alcorisa · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Iberians
Urewe vessel · regional range c. 800 BCE–650 CE · Bantu-speaking worlds
Two rows of coffins · Mainly Middle Yayoi, 2nd century BCE–1st century CE · Yayoi Japan
Ceramics that continued · Last third of the 2nd century BCE–1st century CE · Iberians
Egyptian oil lamp with a fish, held in Laon · 3rd–4th centuries CE · Ancient Egypt
Laon lamp with fish · 3rd–4th centuries CE · Etruscans and Rome
Kabusanza, ca. 400 · ca. 400 CE · Batwa / Twa histories
Missing grave goods · 13th–15th centuries according to the heritage overview · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Glass

Ishtar Gate · 7th–6th centuries BCE · work of Nebuchadnezzar II · Sumer — You are viewing
Punic head pendant · Mid 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Roman glass oinochoe · Late 1st century BCE–early 1st century CE · Etruscans and Rome
Gladiators Cup of Chavagnes · 25–75 CE · Etruscans and Rome
Missing grave goods · 13th–15th centuries according to the heritage overview · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Travelling objects · Mainly Roman period · Garamantes

Kingship and power

Narmer Palette · ca. 3100 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Puabi headdress · ca. 2600–2450 BCE · Sumer
Ur-Nanshe relief · Mid-3rd millennium BCE · reign of Ur-Nanshe · Sumer
Stele of the Vultures · Towards 2450–2425 BCE · Sumer
Akkadian sovereign head · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · Sumer
Naram-Sin Stele · Reign of Naram-Sin, 2254–2218 BCE · Sumer
Sumerian King List · Towards 1800 BCE · Sumer
Stele of Hammurabi · Towards 1750 BCE · Sumer
Grave Circle A and Chrysolakkos · 18th–16th centuries BCE · Greek worlds
Burial at K IV · circa 1750–1550 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Tutankhamun's grave goods · death towards 1323 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Fu Hao’s burial goods · ca. 1200 BCE · Ancient China
Tribute to Assyria · c. 848 BCE · Phoenicians
Black Obelisk · 825 BCE · Sumer
Lamassu of Khorsabad · Reign of Sargon II · 721–705 BCE · Sumer
Kushite king · c. 721–664 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Stele of Esarhaddon · 7th century BC C. · 671 campaign BCE · Sumer
Ashurbanipal Hunt · 645–635 BCE · Sumer
Ishtar Gate · 7th–6th centuries BCE · work of Nebuchadnezzar II · Sumer — You are viewing
Twenty-three delegations · 6th–5th centuries BCE, mainly under Darius and Xerxes · Achaemenid Persia
Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar · first quarter of the 5th century BCE · Phoenicians
The archer in gold · Type introduced from the late 6th century; specimen from the 4th century BCE. · Achaemenid Persia
Susa grave goods · c. 350 BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Golyamata Kosmatka · End of the 4th century – beginning of the 3rd century BCE; ritual burial at the beginning of the III according to Iskra. · Thracians
Denarius of Carisius · ≈25–23 BCE · Iberians
The date of 292 · 292 CE · Maya worlds
Pakal’s grave goods · sealed on 28 August 683 CE · Maya worlds
Catalan Atlas · after 1375 and before November 1380 · Mande Worlds
Kuba ndop · ca. 1760 · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Before Persia · Central core c. seventeenth century BCE; Neo-Elamite additions between the ninth and sixth centuries BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Cyrus speaks as king of Babylon · After the conquest of Babylon in 539 BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Rome learns in terracotta · End of the sixth century BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The Banquet of Seuthes II · Towards 400 BCE. Anabasis episode · Thracians

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 14, 2026.

Divine animals in a fortified entrance

Bulls and dragons were not interchangeable ornaments: the catalog links the former to Adad and the latter to Marduk. The name Ishtar does not mean that every animal represents that goddess. The old entrance was double; Crossing it meant traveling about forty-eight meters. Its guard quarters included its own cistern. The complex brought together military protection, urban circulation and religious images: different aspects of the same monumental door.

Museum · Staatliche Museen zu Berlin · Ischtar-TorAccess recorded: September 14, 2026.

Where it is held

Vorderasiatisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Item or group in the record · Documented collection

Institution that preserves the piece; Check with the museum about its availability to visit.

The holding institution is documented; public display may change. Check its official record before visiting.

Sources and references

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin · Ischtar-Tor

Consult the part documentation

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Ishtar Gate

History and context

Evidence and interpretation

Catalogue facts

Objects connected through time

Ishtar Gate

Before Pre-Inca Cultures

Ishtar Gate

Heads on the wall

The god on the roof

Glazed brick guards

Twenty-three delegations

Torreáguila fountain spout

Zimbabwe birds

A closer look

Divine animals in a fortified entrance

Where it is held

Vorderasiatisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Sources and references

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