1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,645 [music] 2 00:00:05,645 --> 00:00:07,944 Dr. Steven Zucker: We're in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin 3 00:00:07,944 --> 00:00:10,545 and one of the most astonishing objects they have 4 00:00:10,545 --> 00:00:12,138 --well it's not an object 5 00:00:12,138 --> 00:00:13,979 Dr. Beth Harris: It's a gate for a city 6 00:00:13,979 --> 00:00:16,397 --there were eight double gates that formed 7 00:00:16,397 --> 00:00:19,375 part of the walls around the ancient city of Babylon 8 00:00:19,375 --> 00:00:20,762 Dr. Zucker: It's huge 9 00:00:20,762 --> 00:00:22,692 Dr. Harris: It doesn't just impress us 10 00:00:22,692 --> 00:00:24,556 it impressed people--but it was built 11 00:00:24,556 --> 00:00:26,875 --in fact it was called one of the Wonders of the World 12 00:00:26,875 --> 00:00:29,210 Dr. Zucker: So Nebuchadnezzar--of biblical fame 13 00:00:29,210 --> 00:00:32,126 ascended to the throne and proceeded to rebuild 14 00:00:32,126 --> 00:00:34,637 the already ancient city of Babylon 15 00:00:34,637 --> 00:00:38,362 --this is a city that has its roots in the third millenia B.C. 16 00:00:38,362 --> 00:00:41,160 --but it had become a major political center 17 00:00:41,160 --> 00:00:44,477 under King Hammurabi in the 1700s B.C.E. 18 00:00:44,477 --> 00:00:48,906 --the city had remained populated but regained importance in the 6th century 19 00:00:48,906 --> 00:00:51,830 under Nebuchadnezzar II and under his father 20 00:00:51,830 --> 00:00:55,640 --and what we are seeing here is part of the enormous building campaign 21 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:58,109 that Nebuchadnezzar II had undertaken 22 00:00:58,109 --> 00:01:01,493 Dr. Harris: We may recognize Nebuchadnezzar from the Bible 23 00:01:01,493 --> 00:01:03,179 --from the book of Daniel 24 00:01:03,179 --> 00:01:07,673 --he's the ruler of Babylon who conquers and destroys the temple in Jerusalem 25 00:01:07,673 --> 00:01:11,262 --and whose responsible for the exile of the Jews 26 00:01:11,262 --> 00:01:13,289 Dr. Zucker: Clearly he was very powerful 27 00:01:13,289 --> 00:01:15,843 --he was able to undertake this enormous building campaign 28 00:01:15,843 --> 00:01:18,010 --you know he fortified and strengthened 29 00:01:18,010 --> 00:01:20,923 eleven miles of wall around the city of Babylon 30 00:01:20,923 --> 00:01:24,096 --he reconstructed the great ziggurat in Babylon 31 00:01:24,096 --> 00:01:27,057 which had the Temple of Marduk at its top 32 00:01:27,057 --> 00:01:30,041 and it's probably the source of the story of the Tower of Bable 33 00:01:30,041 --> 00:01:34,680 --he created palaces and he created this extraordinary gate 34 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:36,893 Dr. Harris: And hanging gardens which were also considered 35 00:01:36,893 --> 00:01:38,729 one of the wonders of the world 36 00:01:38,729 --> 00:01:41,556 --so the city of Babylon had eight double gates 37 00:01:41,556 --> 00:01:44,146 --the one we are looking at is one of those gates 38 00:01:44,146 --> 00:01:47,124 --and actually the smaller of the double gate 39 00:01:47,124 --> 00:01:49,915 --the other one would have been even larger 40 00:01:49,915 --> 00:01:51,875 if that's possible to imagine 41 00:01:51,875 --> 00:01:54,523 Dr. Zucker: In fact so large that the museum can't actually put it on display 42 00:01:54,523 --> 00:01:56,746 even in this very large space 43 00:01:56,746 --> 00:01:59,432 --this gate which would of course would have only been opened 44 00:01:59,432 --> 00:02:02,293 for the friendly--is at the end of a long processional way 45 00:02:02,293 --> 00:02:06,696 --lined with beautiful lions that speak very clearly of pride 46 00:02:06,696 --> 00:02:09,663 --of power--and of Nebuchadnezzar's rule 47 00:02:09,663 --> 00:02:11,971 Dr. Harris: The lions that we see on processional way 48 00:02:11,971 --> 00:02:15,493 represent Ishtar--one of the Babylonians goddesses 49 00:02:15,493 --> 00:02:19,357 --the goddess of war and wisdom and sexuality 50 00:02:19,357 --> 00:02:21,554 Dr. Zucker: They're raised up to eye-level 51 00:02:21,554 --> 00:02:24,323 and they're a little bit smaller than life size 52 00:02:24,323 --> 00:02:25,973 but they are pretty big 53 00:02:25,973 --> 00:02:27,573 Dr. Harris: And they are frightening 54 00:02:27,573 --> 00:02:29,739 --they're mouths are open in these ferocious roars 55 00:02:29,739 --> 00:02:31,736 Dr. Zucker: It's true they are snarling aren't they 56 00:02:31,736 --> 00:02:33,687 Dr. Harris: They are--but the fact that they are placed 57 00:02:33,687 --> 00:02:36,092 in this very regular way--makes them seem 58 00:02:36,092 --> 00:02:38,628 as though they are trained or controlled 59 00:02:38,628 --> 00:02:40,644 by King Nebuchadnezzar himself 60 00:02:40,644 --> 00:02:42,856 Dr. Zucker: It makes us fear not only the lions 61 00:02:42,856 --> 00:02:44,908 but it makes us fear the king 62 00:02:44,908 --> 00:02:46,889 --the image of a lion is beautiful 63 00:02:46,889 --> 00:02:50,024 --this faience of raised to create kind of relief sculpture 64 00:02:50,024 --> 00:02:53,074 --so in addition to the lions--there are two other animals forms 65 00:02:53,074 --> 00:02:55,337 that decorate the gate and they're both meant 66 00:02:55,337 --> 00:02:57,458 to be as ferocious as the lions 67 00:02:57,458 --> 00:02:59,889 --a kind of ancient bull known as an auroch 68 00:02:59,889 --> 00:03:02,091 --these were supposed to be terribly fierce 69 00:03:02,091 --> 00:03:04,703 --and then alternating with the rows of auroch 70 00:03:04,703 --> 00:03:06,973 are a kind of mesopetamian dragon 71 00:03:06,973 --> 00:03:09,222 which is really a composite beast 72 00:03:09,222 --> 00:03:11,957 --the front paws are those of lions 73 00:03:11,957 --> 00:03:15,057 --the head and neck come from a snake or serpent 74 00:03:15,057 --> 00:03:17,619 --the hind legs come from an eagle perhaps 75 00:03:17,619 --> 00:03:19,202 Dr. Beth Harris: And their tails 76 00:03:19,202 --> 00:03:21,126 have a stinger like a scorpion 77 00:03:21,126 --> 00:03:23,645 Dr. Zucker: Those dragons are associated with Marduk 78 00:03:23,645 --> 00:03:25,688 --the patron god of the city 79 00:03:25,688 --> 00:03:28,905 --and Nebuchadnezzar associated himself directly with Marduk 80 00:03:28,905 --> 00:03:31,016 --the aurochs--that is these bulls 81 00:03:31,016 --> 00:03:33,503 --are associated with the god Adad 82 00:03:33,503 --> 00:03:35,343 --a god associated with storms 83 00:03:35,343 --> 00:03:37,136 --with the fertility of the land 84 00:03:37,136 --> 00:03:38,624 --with the harvest 85 00:03:38,624 --> 00:03:41,119 --all of these animals speak to protecting the city 86 00:03:41,119 --> 00:03:42,892 --but also providing for the city 87 00:03:42,892 --> 00:03:44,624 Dr. Harris: They are ferocious animals 88 00:03:44,624 --> 00:03:48,674 --but they're also represented in a very regular way 89 00:03:48,674 --> 00:03:51,634 along the procession and on the tower and archway of the gate 90 00:03:51,634 --> 00:03:54,902 --so that there is symmetry 91 00:03:54,902 --> 00:03:57,305 --a sense of order in the way they are represented 92 00:03:57,305 --> 00:04:00,725 Dr. Zucker: One of the most extraordinary aspects of these towers 93 00:04:00,725 --> 00:04:03,167 --of the gate as a whole--is the color 94 00:04:03,167 --> 00:04:06,652 --this is an arid place where the sun is bright--where is gets really hot 95 00:04:06,652 --> 00:04:11,138 --and you can imagine how brilliant the blues and greens would have been 96 00:04:11,138 --> 00:04:17,101 not in the context of the museum--but in the context of the edge of a desert 97 00:04:17,101 --> 00:04:19,336 --in Mesopotamia there was a real problem 98 00:04:19,336 --> 00:04:21,416 --you know the Egyptians were able to build 99 00:04:21,416 --> 00:04:23,772 their Great Pyramids and other monuments 100 00:04:23,772 --> 00:04:26,070 out of the native stone that surrounded them 101 00:04:26,070 --> 00:04:28,691 --but in Mesopotamia they didn't have that 102 00:04:28,691 --> 00:04:31,492 --this was a river valley--Babylon is on the banks of the Euphrates 103 00:04:31,492 --> 00:04:34,109 --in fact the Euphrates cuts right through the city 104 00:04:34,109 --> 00:04:36,568 --when the Mesopotamians wanted to build 105 00:04:36,568 --> 00:04:38,950 they created buildings out of brick 106 00:04:38,950 --> 00:04:40,969 --created from the clay of the river valley 107 00:04:40,969 --> 00:04:43,542 --the brilliant blue that we see on the surface of the gate is faience 108 00:04:43,542 --> 00:04:46,299 --this is a technique that was known to the ancient Egyptians 109 00:04:46,299 --> 00:04:49,006 and other parts of the ancient world 110 00:04:49,006 --> 00:04:51,607 --and it uses copper to create this brilliant blue 111 00:04:51,607 --> 00:04:53,839 --and this is a beautiful example 112 00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:58,692 Dr. Harris: So the gate is massive--it's frightening--it's decorative 113 00:04:58,692 --> 00:05:00,935 --and it's brilliantly colored 114 00:05:00,935 --> 00:05:03,443 --no wonder Nebuchadnezzar was so proud of it 115 00:05:03,443 --> 00:05:05,391 and wrote an inscription on the side 116 00:05:05,391 --> 00:05:07,605 Dr. Zucker: Let's go read that 117 00:05:07,605 --> 00:05:10,592 --now we're sure where the inscription was originally placed on the wall 118 00:05:10,592 --> 00:05:13,919 --but in this reconstruction it's on the left side of the left tower 119 00:05:13,919 --> 00:05:18,383 --here's an excerpt, "I Nebuchadnezzar laid the foundation of the gates 120 00:05:18,383 --> 00:05:22,541 down to the ground water level--and had them built out of pure blue stone 121 00:05:22,541 --> 00:05:26,374 --upon the walls in the inner room of the gate are bulls and dragons 122 00:05:26,374 --> 00:05:31,386 --and thus I magnificently adorned them with luxurious splendour for all mankind to behold in awe 123 00:05:31,386 --> 00:05:37,990 Dr. Harris: And we are in awe two and a half millenia later 124 00:05:37,990 --> 00:05:41,241 Dr. Zucker: Nebuchadnezzar understood his place in history 125 00:05:41,241 --> 00:05:44,717 and he actually wrote inscriptions in his new buildings 126 00:05:44,717 --> 00:05:49,325 that not only identified them and identified their purpose and him as their patron 127 00:05:49,325 --> 00:05:53,390 --but also asked future rulers to rebuild them for him 128 00:05:53,390 --> 00:05:56,902 Dr. Harris: It's as though he knew that empires come and go 129 00:05:56,902 --> 00:05:59,842 Dr. Zucker: And that he could speak across history 130 00:05:59,842 --> 00:06:03,142 --and in our time--the ruler of Mesopotamia which we now call Iraq 131 00:06:03,142 --> 00:06:05,692 seemed to pay attention 132 00:06:05,692 --> 00:06:09,809 Saddam Hussein actually had begun the rebuilding of parts of Babylonia 133 00:06:09,809 --> 00:06:14,304 --he built his own palace a few hundred meters away from the Ishtar Gate 134 00:06:14,304 --> 00:06:17,518 --and began the reconstruction of parts of the city as well 135 00:06:17,518 --> 00:06:21,486 --that came to a halt of course in the recent military actions against him 136 00:06:21,486 --> 00:06:24,142 --and of course he was ultimately deposed and killed 137 00:06:24,142 --> 00:06:27,742 Dr. Harris: And what it meant to rebuild this legendary city 138 00:06:27,742 --> 00:06:30,193 Dr. Zucker: Saddam Hussein was very much rebuilding it 139 00:06:30,193 --> 00:06:32,688 not for Nebuchadnezzar but for his own political ambition 140 00:06:32,688 --> 00:06:35,524 Dr. Harris: Reclaiming the power of Nebuchadnezzar for himself 141 00:06:35,524 --> 00:06:37,925 Dr. Zucker: That's right and the power of ancient Mesopotamia 142 00:06:37,925 --> 00:06:54,388 [music]