The Ishtar Gate (or Istar) was one of the 8 monumental gates (15 meters high by 24.5 meters wide) of the inner wall of Babylon, through which the temple of Marduk was accessed, where the new year festivities were celebrated. The name Ishtar is received from the goddess Ishtar, to whom it was consecrated.

It was built in the year 575 BC. C. of the century BC. C. by Nebuchadnezzar II on the north side of the city.[1] It is composed of adobe and glazed ceramics, most of which were blue due to lapis lazuli, which made it contrast strongly with all the buildings around it, which were golden or reddish. The latter are arranged by drawing the silhouette of dragons, bulls "Bull (animal)"), lions "Lion (animal)") and mythological beings. The lower part and the arch of the door are decorated by rows of large daisy-like flowers "Daisy (flower)"). The Istar Gate also originally had two sphinxes "Sphinx (sculpture)") inside the arch of the gate, which have been lost today.

The remains of the original gate were discovered by the Germans during the German archaeological campaigns from 1902 to 1914. Most were moved to Germany, where the gate was reconstructed in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin in 1930, where it is currently displayed. Some of the original reliefs of lions, dragons and bulls are currently housed in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Oriental Institute in Chicago, the Rhode Island School of Design Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts "Museum of Fine Arts (Boston)") in Boston.

During Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq, large areas of old Babylon began to be rebuilt, including the Ishtar Gate, whose replica was built on the ancient site of the original. The plan was to turn it into the gateway to a new Iraqi archaeological museum that was never built.[3]​.

During the war, occupation forces caused substantial damage to the Ishtar Gate, one of the most famous monuments of antiquity.

In 2009 the new authorities opened the site to tourism.

Theft is a persistent reality.[5]​.

In 2019, the United Nations declared the site a world heritage site (UNESCO World Heritage Site).[6]​.