Chokozanbil/ChoghaZanbil Ziggurat Iran
Chogha Zanbil (also Tchoga Zanbil and Čoġā Zanbīl) Al Untas Napirisa then later Dur Untash) is an ancient Elamite complex in the Khuzestan province of Iran. It is one of the few existing ziggurats outside Mesopotamia. It lies approximately 30 km (19 mi) southeast of Susa and 80 km (50 mi) north of Ahvaz. The construction date of the city is unclear due to uncertainty in the chronology of the reign of Untash-Napirisha but is clearly sometime in the 14th or 13th century BC. The conventionally assumed date is 1250 BC. The city is currently believed to have been destroyed by the Neo-Assyrian ruler Assurbanipal in about 645 BC, along with the Elamite capital of Susa though some researchers place the end of occupation in the late 12th century BC.[1] The ziggurat is considered to be the best preserved example of the stepped pyramidal monument by UNESCO.In 1979, Chogha Zanbil became the first Iranian site to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
History
Chogha Zanbil is typically translated as ‘basket mound.’ It was built about 1250 BC by the king Untash-Napirisha, mainly to honor the great god Inshushinak. Its original name was Dur Untash, which means ‘town of Untash’, but it is unlikely that many people, besides priests and servants, ever lived there. The complex is protected by three concentric walls which define the main areas of the town. It is known from inscriptions that the outer wall had seven gates, of which only 2 have been found. The middle wall had four gates and between the outer and middle walls was a shared temple dedicated to the chief Elamite god Napirisha and to Inshushinak. Most of the innermost 2.5 hectare area is wholly taken up with a great ziggurat dedicated to the main god, which was built over an earlier square temple with storage rooms also built by Untash-Napirisha.
The middle area holds eleven temples for other gods. These included Nabu, Adad, Shala, Inanna, Ninegal, Humban, Shimut, Pinikir, Manzat, and Nuska. There are also sanctuaries northeast of the ziggurat for the Elamite deities Isniqarab (Ishmekarab) and Kiririsha. A brick inscription mentioned a golden statue dedicated to the god Nahhunte. Brick inscriptions referring to twenty-two temples have been found but only about half of those have been located. In the outer area are royal palaces, a funerary palace containing five subterranean royal tombs.
Construction at the site, which included commercial and residential areas, continued after Untash-Napirisha’s death with numerous building phases and continued to be occupied until it was destroyed by the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal in about 645 BC. Some scholars speculate, based on the large number of temples and sanctuaries at Chogha Zanbil, that Untash-Napirisha attempted to create a new religious center (possibly intended to replace Susa) which would unite the gods of both highland and lowland Elam at one site.
The ziggurat originally measured 105.2 metres (345 ft) on each side and about 53 metres (174 ft) in height, in five levels, and was crowned with a temple. Mud brick was the basic material of the whole ensemble. The ziggurat was given a facing of baked bricks, a number of which have cuneiform characters giving the names of deities in the Elamite and Akkadian languages. Though the ziggurat now stands only 24.75 metres (81.2 ft) high, less than half its estimated original height, its state of preservation is unsurpassed.
