Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft

The Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft (DOG; in English, German Oriental Company or German Oriental Society) is an Eingetragener Verein – a registered voluntary association - based at Berlin in Germany.

The DOG was officially founded in January 1898 to foster public interest in oriental antiquities, and to promote related archaeological research. It competed with similar bodies in France and England, and reflected an increased enthusiasm to learn about the Bible lands in the late 19th century. DOG focussed on the cultures of the Middle East from early times to the Islamic period.

The founders of the DOG included a galaxy of powerful, well-connected and wealthy members of German society, including Henri James Simon and banker Franz von Mendelssohn. Their wealth enabled the DOG to undertake expensive excavations in the Middle East. Kaiser Wilhelm II developed an interest in archaeology, and took the DOG under his protection from 1901, funding excavations with grants from Imperial funds. It was officially a subsidiary of the German museum administration, so its finds automatically belonged to the Prussian state. Its work was aided by friendly relations established between the German and Ottoman Empires.

Work was interrupted by the World Wars. The DOG was reestablished in 1947, and celebrated its centennial at the Pergamon Museum in 1998.

DOG undertook excavations in Babylon from 1899 to 1917, directed by Robert Koldewey, uncovering the Ishtar Gate, the palaces of Nebuchadnezzar, and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Koldewey also claimed to have discovered the Tower of Babel.

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