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There were different mythological adaptions for the winged lion: 1  Shedu in Sumerian, Akkadian, Persian, and Iranian tribes mythology was depicted as a winged lion. 2  He has often been depicted with a bull body instead of a lion body. 3  The winged lion was the heraldic symbol of Mark the Evangelist.
A closer view of the lions on the left side of the gate, which are actually leopards. The Lions are the symbol of Jerusalem and Judah, and is a common Jewish symbol. However, they were added by the Muslim Ottomans, in honor of the Mameluke Sultan Bybars ( 1223-1277), also known as the The Lion of Egypt and Syria.