The man who dug up Babylon - Robert Koldewey was struck during excavations - "The Road of Death", or, more precisely, "The Road for the processions of the god Marduk." The road of Marduk went from the banks of the Euphrates and the Great Gate to the main temple of Babylon - Esagil (a sanctuary with a high tower), dedicated to the god Marduk.
The road of Marduk in Babylon
This road, 24 meters wide, was as flat as a cord, and led first to the gate of the goddess Ishtar (a powerful fortified structure with four towers), and from there, along the royal palace and ziggurat, to the sanctuary of the god Marduk. In the middle, the road was paved with large stone slabs, and the entire length of it was framed by red brick stripes. The space between the gleaming stone slabs and matte paving was filled with black asphalt. On the underside of each slab was engraved in cuneiform: “I, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, son of Nabopalasar, king of Babylon. I paved the Babylonian path of pilgrims for the procession of the great lord Marduk with stone slabs … O Marduk! O great lord! Grant eternal life!"
It was a magnificent road, but still Marduk's road was a wonder of the world for another reason. In fact, it was a huge ravine, like a beautifully lined sluice canal. Nothing was visible, neither to the right nor to the left, because on both sides it was framed by smooth walls of seven meters high, ending in battlements, between which towers stood at the same distance from each other. The inside of the walls was lined with glittering glazed blue tiles, and against the cold blue background, lions with bright yellow manes and bared teeth with fangs walked menacingly. One hundred and twenty two-meter-high predators looked at the pilgrims, behind them dragons, half-horned crocodiles, half-dogs with a scaly body and huge bird claws instead of paws were grinning from the walls of the gate of the goddess Ishtar. These Babylonian dragons were over five hundred.
Marduk's road in the life of Babylon
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Why did pious Babylonian pilgrims have to walk this terrible road? After all, the Babylonian religion, although full of magic, miracles and fantastic creatures, was by no means a religion of horror. But the road of Marduk caused a feeling of fear and surpassed everything, even the temple of the Aztecs at Chichen Itza, which is called petrified horror. The researchers of the Babylonian religion have not been able to answer this question. Military historians suggest that the Marduk Road served not only for processions of pilgrims, but was also part of the defensive system of the largest fortress that has ever existed in the world.
Let's try to imagine what the enemy would have met if he decided to capture Babylon Nebuchadnezzar? First he would have had to cross a wide ditch into which the waters of the Euphrates would have been released. Suppose it succeeded … For such cases, in Mesopotamia, they used not boats, but air-inflated sheepskin skins, on which the warriors swam like on life buoys. (The workers of Koldevei in this way moved every morning to work from the right bank of the Euphrates.) Suppose that the enemy overcame the first, second, and third lines of walls.
And so he finds himself at the main gate, and having overcome this gate, he finds himself on a flat, paved and asphalted road leading to the royal palace. Then from the countless holes in the towers, a rain of arrows, spears and red-hot asphalt cores would fall on him. And there would not be the slightest opportunity for him to escape. In addition, the enemy would find himself between the walls, intimidating, - lions, gazing with a formidable look, and from the gates of the goddess Ishtar, hundreds of dragons would grill. The road of Marduk became a real death road for the enemy.
And yet Babylon fell … Fallen, although the walls of Nebuchadnezzar continued to stand and no one took possession of them … The Persian king Cyrus bribed the ruling elite, promising to keep all the privileges. And she opened the gates of the city walls and the main gate of the goddess Ishtar for him. And the shields of the soldiers saluting the new lord covered the mouths of the formidable lions on the walls of the road of Marduk.