[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.00,0:00:05.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[music]
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.64,0:00:07.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Steven Zucker: We're in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.94,0:00:10.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and one of the most astonishing objects they have
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.54,0:00:12.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--well it's not an object
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.14,0:00:13.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Beth Harris: It's a gate for a city
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.98,0:00:16.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--there were eight double gates that formed
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.40,0:00:19.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,part of the walls around the ancient city of Babylon
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.38,0:00:20.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Zucker: It's huge
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.76,0:00:22.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Harris: It doesn't just impress us
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.69,0:00:24.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it impressed people--but it was built
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.56,0:00:26.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--in fact it was called one of the Wonders of the World
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.88,0:00:29.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Zucker: So Nebuchadnezzar--of biblical fame
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.21,0:00:32.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ascended to the throne and proceeded to rebuild
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.13,0:00:34.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the already ancient city of Babylon
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.64,0:00:38.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--this is a city that has its roots in the third millenia B.C.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.36,0:00:41.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--but it had become a major political center
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.16,0:00:44.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,under King Hammurabi in the 1700s B.C.E.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.48,0:00:48.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--the city had remained populated but regained importance in the 6th century
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.91,0:00:51.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,under Nebuchadnezzar II and under his father
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.83,0:00:55.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--and what we are seeing here is part of the enormous building campaign
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.64,0:00:58.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that Nebuchadnezzar II had undertaken
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.11,0:01:01.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Harris: We may recognize Nebuchadnezzar from the Bible
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.49,0:01:03.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--from the book of Daniel
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.18,0:01:07.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--he's the ruler of Babylon who conquers and destroys the temple in Jerusalem
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.67,0:01:11.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--and whose responsible for the exile of the Jews
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.26,0:01:13.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Zucker: Clearly he was very powerful
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.29,0:01:15.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--he was able to undertake this enormous building campaign
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.84,0:01:18.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--you know he fortified and strengthened
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.01,0:01:20.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,eleven miles of wall around the city of Babylon
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.92,0:01:24.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--he reconstructed the great ziggurat in Babylon
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.10,0:01:27.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which had the Temple of Marduk at its top
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.06,0:01:30.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's probably the source of the story of the Tower of Bable
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.04,0:01:34.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--he created palaces and he created this extraordinary gate
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.68,0:01:36.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Harris: And hanging gardens which were also considered
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.89,0:01:38.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one of the wonders of the world
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.73,0:01:41.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--so the city of Babylon had eight double gates
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.56,0:01:44.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--the one we are looking at is one of those gates
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.15,0:01:47.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--and actually the smaller of the double gate
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.12,0:01:49.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--the other one would have been even larger
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.92,0:01:51.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if that's possible to imagine
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.88,0:01:54.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Zucker: In fact so large that the museum can't actually put it on display
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.52,0:01:56.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even in this very large space
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.75,0:01:59.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--this gate which would of course would have only been opened
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.43,0:02:02.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the friendly--is at the end of a long processional way
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.29,0:02:06.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--lined with beautiful lions that speak very clearly of pride
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.70,0:02:09.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--of power--and of Nebuchadnezzar's rule
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.66,0:02:11.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Harris: The lions that we see on processional way
Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.97,0:02:15.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,represent Ishtar--one of the Babylonians goddesses
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.49,0:02:19.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--the goddess of war and wisdom and sexuality
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.36,0:02:21.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Zucker: They're raised up to eye-level
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.55,0:02:24.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they're a little bit smaller than life size
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.32,0:02:25.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they are pretty big
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.97,0:02:27.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Harris: And they are frightening
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.57,0:02:29.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--they're mouths are open in these ferocious roars
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.74,0:02:31.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Zucker: It's true they are snarling aren't they
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.74,0:02:33.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Harris: They are--but the fact that they are placed
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.69,0:02:36.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in this very regular way--makes them seem
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.09,0:02:38.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as though they are trained or controlled
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.63,0:02:40.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by King Nebuchadnezzar himself
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.64,0:02:42.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Zucker: It makes us fear not only the lions
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.86,0:02:44.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it makes us fear the king
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.91,0:02:46.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--the image of a lion is beautiful
Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.89,0:02:50.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--this faience of raised to create kind of relief sculpture
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.02,0:02:53.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--so in addition to the lions--there are two other animals forms
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.07,0:02:55.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that decorate the gate and they're both meant
Dialogue: 0,0:02:55.34,0:02:57.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be as ferocious as the lions
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.46,0:02:59.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--a kind of ancient bull known as an auroch
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.89,0:03:02.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--these were supposed to be terribly fierce
Dialogue: 0,0:03:02.09,0:03:04.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--and then alternating with the rows of auroch
Dialogue: 0,0:03:04.70,0:03:06.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are a kind of mesopetamian dragon
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.97,0:03:09.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is really a composite beast
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.22,0:03:11.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--the front paws are those of lions
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.96,0:03:15.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--the head and neck come from a snake or serpent
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.06,0:03:17.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--the hind legs come from an eagle perhaps
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.62,0:03:19.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Beth Harris: And their tails
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.20,0:03:21.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have a stinger like a scorpion
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.13,0:03:23.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Zucker: Those dragons are associated with Marduk
Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.64,0:03:25.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--the patron god of the city
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.69,0:03:28.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--and Nebuchadnezzar associated himself directly with Marduk
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.90,0:03:31.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--the aurochs--that is these bulls
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.02,0:03:33.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--are associated with the god Adad
Dialogue: 0,0:03:33.50,0:03:35.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--a god associated with storms
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.34,0:03:37.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--with the fertility of the land
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.14,0:03:38.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--with the harvest
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.62,0:03:41.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--all of these animals speak to protecting the city
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.12,0:03:42.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--but also providing for the city
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.89,0:03:44.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Harris: They are ferocious animals
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.62,0:03:48.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--but they're also represented in a very regular way
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.67,0:03:51.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,along the procession and on the tower and archway of the gate
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.63,0:03:54.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--so that there is symmetry
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.90,0:03:57.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--a sense of order in the way they are represented
Dialogue: 0,0:03:57.30,0:04:00.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Zucker: One of the most extraordinary aspects of these towers
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.72,0:04:03.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--of the gate as a whole--is the color
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.17,0:04:06.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--this is an arid place where the sun is bright--where is gets really hot
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.65,0:04:11.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--and you can imagine how brilliant the blues and greens would have been
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.14,0:04:17.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not in the context of the museum--but in the context of the edge of a desert
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.10,0:04:19.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--in Mesopotamia there was a real problem
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.34,0:04:21.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--you know the Egyptians were able to build
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.42,0:04:23.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their Great Pyramids and other monuments
Dialogue: 0,0:04:23.77,0:04:26.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,out of the native stone that surrounded them
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.07,0:04:28.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--but in Mesopotamia they didn't have that
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.69,0:04:31.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--this was a river valley--Babylon is on the banks of the Euphrates
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.49,0:04:34.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--in fact the Euphrates cuts right through the city
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.11,0:04:36.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--when the Mesopotamians wanted to build
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.57,0:04:38.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they created buildings out of brick
Dialogue: 0,0:04:38.95,0:04:40.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--created from the clay of the river valley
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.97,0:04:43.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--the brilliant blue that we see on the surface of the gate is faience
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.54,0:04:46.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--this is a technique that was known to the ancient Egyptians
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.30,0:04:49.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and other parts of the ancient world
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.01,0:04:51.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--and it uses copper to create this brilliant blue
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.61,0:04:53.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--and this is a beautiful example
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.84,0:04:58.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Harris: So the gate is massive--it's frightening--it's decorative
Dialogue: 0,0:04:58.69,0:05:00.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--and it's brilliantly colored
Dialogue: 0,0:05:00.94,0:05:03.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--no wonder Nebuchadnezzar was so proud of it
Dialogue: 0,0:05:03.44,0:05:05.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and wrote an inscription on the side
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.39,0:05:07.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Zucker: Let's go read that
Dialogue: 0,0:05:07.60,0:05:10.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--now we're sure where the inscription was originally placed on the wall
Dialogue: 0,0:05:10.59,0:05:13.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--but in this reconstruction it's on the left side of the left tower
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.92,0:05:18.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--here's an excerpt, "I Nebuchadnezzar laid the foundation of the gates
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.38,0:05:22.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,down to the ground water level--and had them built out of pure blue stone
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.54,0:05:26.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--upon the walls in the inner room of the gate are bulls and dragons
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.37,0:05:31.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--and thus I magnificently adorned them with luxurious splendour for all mankind to behold in awe
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.39,0:05:37.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Harris: And we are in awe two and a half millenia later
Dialogue: 0,0:05:37.99,0:05:41.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Zucker: Nebuchadnezzar understood his place in history
Dialogue: 0,0:05:41.24,0:05:44.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he actually wrote inscriptions in his new buildings
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.72,0:05:49.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that not only identified them and identified their purpose and him as their patron
Dialogue: 0,0:05:49.32,0:05:53.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--but also asked future rulers to rebuild them for him
Dialogue: 0,0:05:53.39,0:05:56.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Harris: It's as though he knew that empires come and go
Dialogue: 0,0:05:56.90,0:05:59.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Zucker: And that he could speak across history
Dialogue: 0,0:05:59.84,0:06:03.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--and in our time--the ruler of Mesopotamia which we now call Iraq
Dialogue: 0,0:06:03.14,0:06:05.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,seemed to pay attention
Dialogue: 0,0:06:05.69,0:06:09.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Saddam Hussein actually had begun the rebuilding of parts of Babylonia
Dialogue: 0,0:06:09.81,0:06:14.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--he built his own palace a few hundred meters away from the Ishtar Gate
Dialogue: 0,0:06:14.30,0:06:17.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--and began the reconstruction of parts of the city as well
Dialogue: 0,0:06:17.52,0:06:21.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--that came to a halt of course in the recent military actions against him
Dialogue: 0,0:06:21.49,0:06:24.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--and of course he was ultimately deposed and killed
Dialogue: 0,0:06:24.14,0:06:27.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Harris: And what it meant to rebuild this legendary city
Dialogue: 0,0:06:27.74,0:06:30.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Zucker: Saddam Hussein was very much rebuilding it
Dialogue: 0,0:06:30.19,0:06:32.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not for Nebuchadnezzar but for his own political ambition
Dialogue: 0,0:06:32.69,0:06:35.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Harris: Reclaiming the power of Nebuchadnezzar for himself
Dialogue: 0,0:06:35.52,0:06:37.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Zucker: That's right and the power of ancient Mesopotamia
Dialogue: 0,0:06:37.92,0:06:54.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[music]