DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.67683#0108
66 CHALDEAN OR SECOND BABYLONIAN PERIOD
Nebuchadnezzar who punished rebellious Judah with exile. Com-
merce and business flourished. The science of astronomy made
advances. The Chaldeans divided the circle into 360 degrees,
laid out the signs of the zodiac, and knew at least five planets.
But the power and magnificence of Chaldean Babylon was short-
lived, for in 539 she opened her gates to Cyrus the Persian.
Today very little remains of Babylon. Until recently nothing
but a mound marked the traditional site of the city. Since then
excavators have unearthed the Ishtar Gate (Fig. 41), which gives
us a suggestion of the splendor of Chaldean days. It was a double
Fig. 42.. Ishtar Gate, Restored. Babylon. 606-539 b.c. (Koldewey)
gate with six great towers and decorated with glazed tile. The
Chaldeans, without a supply of stone, could not adopt the
Assyrian scheme of decorating with stone reliefs, but utilized the
available clay, molding it into low reliefs and glazing it bril-
liantly. So on this gate rose tier after tier of animals, forty feet
into the air. The approach to the gateway was by Procession
Street, along which parades passed on festive occasions, carrying
the images of the gods and goddesses. The walls lining each
side of the street were also decorated with glazed tile, on which
were represented processions of lions (Pl. 2.3 c), some white with
yellow manes and tails, others yellow with red manes. It is the
same ferocious lion we met in Assyria, but conventionalized
enough to be purely decorative rather than realistic. Behind the
Nebuchadnezzar who punished rebellious Judah with exile. Com-
merce and business flourished. The science of astronomy made
advances. The Chaldeans divided the circle into 360 degrees,
laid out the signs of the zodiac, and knew at least five planets.
But the power and magnificence of Chaldean Babylon was short-
lived, for in 539 she opened her gates to Cyrus the Persian.
Today very little remains of Babylon. Until recently nothing
but a mound marked the traditional site of the city. Since then
excavators have unearthed the Ishtar Gate (Fig. 41), which gives
us a suggestion of the splendor of Chaldean days. It was a double
Fig. 42.. Ishtar Gate, Restored. Babylon. 606-539 b.c. (Koldewey)
gate with six great towers and decorated with glazed tile. The
Chaldeans, without a supply of stone, could not adopt the
Assyrian scheme of decorating with stone reliefs, but utilized the
available clay, molding it into low reliefs and glazing it bril-
liantly. So on this gate rose tier after tier of animals, forty feet
into the air. The approach to the gateway was by Procession
Street, along which parades passed on festive occasions, carrying
the images of the gods and goddesses. The walls lining each
side of the street were also decorated with glazed tile, on which
were represented processions of lions (Pl. 2.3 c), some white with
yellow manes and tails, others yellow with red manes. It is the
same ferocious lion we met in Assyria, but conventionalized
enough to be purely decorative rather than realistic. Behind the