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Primary sourceArtifactc. 604–562 BCE

Throne room façade of Nebuchadnezzar II

Neo-Babylonian builders under Nebuchadnezzar II · c. 604–562 BCE

A glazed-brick wall with lions and palm columns from the throne room of Nebuchadnezzar's Southern Palace in Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar commissioned this façade for his throne room, the setting of his royal audiences.

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Large wall panel of blue glazed bricks with a crenellated top edge. Four tall yellow columns with turquoise-blue flower capitals stand in a dark blue field. Above them are rows of blue and white rosettes, and below are three walking yellow lions.
Throne room façade of Nebuchadnezzar II, 604–562 BCE. Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin.

About this source

What it is

This glazed-brick façade decorated the throne room of Nebuchadnezzar II's Southern Palace in Babylon, built by Neo-Babylonian builders around 604–562 BCE. It was excavated by Robert Koldewey in the early twentieth century and is now reconstructed in the Vorderasiatisches Museum in Berlin, displayed alongside the Ishtar Gate.

Why it matters

The throne room was where Nebuchadnezzar held official royal receptions, so its decoration of columns, rosettes, and striding lions was designed to impress visitors and display royal authority. The lions were likely arranged to face the main entrance, directing attention toward the king's throne.

Look closer

  • Why might a king decorate the room where he received visitors so elaborately?
  • What do the lion figures and columns suggest about the image Nebuchadnezzar wanted to project?
  • This façade was partly reconstructed from fragments — how might reconstruction change what we can know about the original?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Nebuchadnezzar II on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Nebuchadnezzar II (scribes writing for him) · 604-562 BC

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