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Iraq (Babylon)
The Ishtar Gate of Babylon (Neo-Babylonian Empire)
2643
Constructed during the Neo-Babylonian period, specifically completed around c. 575 BCE under the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar II.
Architecturally, it served as the eighth fortified ceremonial gateway of the inner city of Babylon, designed to function simultaneously as an impregnable defensive portal, a sacred processional threshold dedicated to the goddess Ishtar, and a monumental display of imperial divine mandate and royal supremacy.
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