The Ishtar Gate led to Babylon’s Processional Way, which stretched for over half a mile across the city. A statue of the god Marduk was carried along it during the New Year Festival.

The Great Gate of Ishtar which stood at the entrance to Babylon has inspired awe since the 6th Century BC. Amanda Ruggeri finds out why.

Babylon's bright-blue Ishtar Gate was thought to have been built to celebrate the conquest of Jerusalem — but a new analysis finds that it may have been erected years later.