Chogha Zanbil (also Tchoga Zanbil and Čoġā Zanbīl) (;

Elamite Elamite, also known as Hatamtite and formerly as Scythic, Median, Amardian, Anshanian and Susian, is an extinct language that was spoken by the ancient Elamites. It was recorded in what is now southwestern Iran from 2600 BC to 330 BC. Elamite i ...

: Al Untas Napirisa then later Dur Untash) is an ancient

Elam Elam () was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of modern-day southern Iraq. The modern name ''Elam'' stems fr ...

ite complex in the

Khuzestan Khuzestan province () is one of the 31 Provinces of Iran. Located in the southwest of the country, the province borders Iraq and the Persian Gulf, covering an area of . Its capital is the city of Ahvaz. Since 2014, it has been part of Iran's ...

province of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. It is one of the few existing

ziggurat A ziggurat (; Cuneiform: 𒅆𒂍𒉪, Akkadian: ', D-stem of ' 'to protrude, to build high', cognate with other Semitic languages like Hebrew ''zaqar'' (זָקַר) 'protrude'), ( Persian: Chogha Zanbilچغازنجبیل) is a type of massive ...

s outside

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

. It lies approximately southeast of

Susa Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...

and north of

Ahvaz Ahvaz (; ) is a city in the Central District of Ahvaz County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is home to Persians, Arabs and other groups such as Qashqai and Kurds. Languages spok ...

. 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 Ashurbanipal (, meaning " Ashur is the creator of the heir")—or Osnappar ()—was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 669 BC to his death in 631. He is generally remembered as the last great king of Assyria. Ashurbanipal inherited the th ...

in about 645 BC, along with the Elamite capital of

though some researchers place the end of occupation in the late 12th century BC. The ziggurat is considered to be the best preserved example of the stepped pyramidal monument by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. In 1979, Chogha Zanbil became the first Iranian site to be inscribed on the

World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

History

''Chogha Zanbil'' is typically translated as 'basket mound.' It was built about 1250 BC by the king

Untash-Napirisha Untash-Napirisha was king of Elam (in present-day southwest Iran) during the Middle Elamite period, circa 1300 BCE. He was the son of the previous Elamite king, Humban-Numena and of a daughter (or granddaughter) of Kurigalzu. He was named afte ...

, mainly to honor the great god

Inshushinak Inshushinak (also Šušinak, Šušun; Linear Elamite: ''Insušinak'', Cuneiform: '' dInšušinak'') was the tutelary god of the city of Susa in Elam. His name has a Sumerian etymology, and can be translated as "lord of Susa". He was associat ...

. 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 Napirisha (Linear Elamite: ''Napirriša'') was a major Elamite deity. He likely originated from Anshan. Name The name Napirisha is written logographically as dGAL. Hinz had in 1965 suggested that the name should be read as Napirisha ("napi ...

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.R. Ghirshman, "The Ziggurat of Tchoga-Zanbil", Scientific American, vol. 204, pp. 69–76, 1961 The middle area holds eleven temples for other gods. These included

Nabu Nabu (, ) is the Babylonian patron god of literacy, scribes, wisdom, and the rational arts. He is associated with the classical planet Mercury in Babylonian astronomy. Etymology and meaning The Akkadian means 'announcer' or 'authorised pe ...

Adad Hadad (), Haddad, Adad ( Akkadian: 𒀭𒅎 '' DIM'', pronounced as ''Adād''), or Iškur ( Sumerian) was the storm- and rain-god in the Canaanite and ancient Mesopotamian religions. He was attested in Ebla as "Hadda" in c. 2500 BCE. From ...

Shala Shala (Šala) was a Mesopotamian goddess of weather and grain and the wife of the weather god Adad. It is assumed that she originated in northern Mesopotamia and that her name might have Hurrian origin. She was worshiped especially in Karka ...

Inanna Inanna is the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, love, and fertility. She is also associated with political power, divine law, sensuality, and procreation. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akk ...

Ninegal Ninegal (also spelled Ninegalla) or Belat Ekalli (Belet-ekalli) was a Mesopotamian goddess associated with palaces. Both her Sumerian and Akkadian name mean "lady of the palace." From Mesopotamia the worship of Ninegal spread to Elam in the e ...

Humban Humban (, ''dhu-um-ban'', also ''dhu-ban'', Huban) was an Elamite god. He is already attested in the earliest sources preserving information about Elamite religion, but seemingly only grew in importance in the neo-Elamite period, in which many kin ...

, Shimut,

Pinikir Pinikir, also known as Pinigir, Pirengir, Pirinkir, and Parakaras, was an Ancient Near Eastern astral goddess who originates in Elamite religious beliefs. While she is only infrequently attested in Elamite documents, she achieved a degree of prom ...

Manzat Manzat (; Auvergnat: ''Manzac'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. See also *Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department The following is a list of the 463 communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department of Fran ...

, and

Nuska Nuska or Nusku, possibly also known as Našuḫ, was a Mesopotamian god best attested as the sukkal (divine vizier) of Enlil. He was also associated with fire and light, and could be invoked as a protective deity against various demons, such as ...

. There are also sanctuaries northeast of the ziggurat for the Elamite deities Isniqarab (

Ishmekarab Ishmekarab (Išmekarab) or Ishnikarab (Išnikarab) was a Mesopotamian deity of justice. The name is commonly translated from Akkadian as "he heard the prayer," but Ishmekarab's gender is uncertain and opinions of researchers on whether the deity w ...

) and

Kiririsha Kiririsha (Elamite: "great goddess") was a major goddess worshiped in Elam. Early scholarship incorrectly identified her as one and the same as Pinikir, an unrelated goddess from a different part of Elam. Character Kiririsha is regarded as one ...

. A brick inscription mentioned a golden statue dedicated to the god

Nahhunte Nahhunte was the Elamite sun god. While the evidence for the existence of temples dedicated to him and regular offerings is sparse, he is commonly attested in theophoric names, including these of members of Elamite royal families. Name and char ...

. 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 Subterranean(s) or The Subterranean(s) may refer to: * Subterranea (geography), underground structures, both natural and man-made Literature * ''Subterranean'' (novel), a 1998 novel by James Rollins * ''Subterranean Magazine'', an American fa ...

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

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

n king

Ashurbanipal Ashurbanipal (, meaning " Ashur is the creator of the heir")—or Osnappar ()—was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 669 BC to his death in 631. He is generally remembered as the last great king of Assyria. Ashurbanipal inherited the th ...

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

) which would unite the gods of both highland and lowland Elam at one site.Carlson, Evan, "Inscribed and Uninscribed Spaces in Al Untash Napirisha: Interaction and Segregation in a Late Second-Millennium De Novo Capital", Iran, vol. 52, pp. 29–52, 2014 The ziggurat originally measured on each side and about 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 high, less than half its estimated original height, its state of preservation is unsurpassed

Archaeology

The site, measuring 96 hectares in area, was originally discovered by a geologist doing oil exploration in the area. He found an inscribed brick and, being an amateur archaeologist, took it to excavators then working at the site of

. The inscription described the building of a sacred city by one "Untash-Gal". It was surveyed and excavated by Roland de Mecquenem in 1935-39 and 1946. Bull with elamite inscription - Late 2nd millen BC - National museum of Iran - inventory number 3213

Bull with elamite inscription - Late 2nd millen BC - National museum of Iran - inventory number 3213

Chogha Zanbil was excavated in six seasons (a total of 21 months) between 1951 and 1962 by

Roman Ghirshman Roman Ghirshman (, ''Roman Mikhailovich Girshman''; October 3, 1895 – 5 September 1979) was a Ukrainian-born French archeologist who specialized in ancient Persia. Ghirshman spent nearly thirty years excavating ancient Persian archeologic ...

with the French Archeological Mission. Almost 100,000 cubic yards of debris were removed in the process, using a crew of 100 to 125 workers at a time. Excavations exposed a quadrangle 1300 square foot wall enclosed sacred area with temples and courtyards. The five stage ziggurat stood at its center, with the corners oriented to the cardinal points. Every 11th level of bricks in the ziggurat was inscribed. Large gates were built into the four sides with three having stairs to the 2nd level and one, the southwest, to the 5th and highest level. At each gate there were half life sized statues, one, of blue-glazed terracotta with an inscription dedicated to the god Inshushinak. Excavation showed that the ziggurat was built in two phases, to the 2nd level first, with two temples, then subsequently to the 5th level. In one of the temples white and black glass tiles were found. Five tombs were found under rooms in the courtyard. Tomb 1 was apparently never used, Tomb V was robbed out in antiquity, Tomb II contained partially burned remains of five individuals (cremated elsewhere), and Tomb IV, completely undisturbed, contained an adult female between 40–60 years old accompanied by grave goods. A number of inscribed bricks were found (5257 in total with most in Elamite but with 67 in Akkadian). One read: Most recently the site was excavated by Behzad Mofidi Nasrabadi in 1999, 2002, 2004, and 2005. This included a 35 hectare magnetometer survey by the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ''Academia Holsator ...

Threats

Petroleum exploration due to increased global demand threatens the foundations of the site, as various seismic tests have been undertaken to explore for reserves of petroleum. Digging for oil has been undertaken as close as away from the ziggurat.

Gallery

File:Dur Untash - Chgoha Zanbil -چغازنبیل - Shush -Susa -Khuzesten -Iran 2011.jpg, Zigurat of Dur Untash File:Choqa Zanbil Darafsh 1 (36).JPG, Profile view of Dur Untash Zigurat structure File:The ziggurat at Aqar Quf.jpg, Similar Zigurat structures in Iraq: The ziggurat of

Dur-Kurigalzu Dur-Kurigalzu (modern ' in Baghdad Governorate, Iraq) was a city in southern Mesopotamia, near the confluence of the Tigris and Diyala rivers, about west of the center of Baghdad. It was founded by a Kassite king of Babylon, Kurigalzu I (di ...

File:Ancient ziggurat at Ali Air Base Iraq 2005.jpg, Similar Zigurat structures in Iraq: Ziggurat of Ur File:West Asiatic Architecture 68.jpg, The Ziggurat at Chogha Zanbil is one of the main Ziggurats File:Choqa Zanbil 2.jpg File:Glazed (originally blue) door plaque with boss. The Elamite cuneiform inscription reads "Palace of Untash-Napirisha, King of Elam". 13th centiury BCE. From Choga Zanbil, Iran. British Museum.jpg, Glazed (originally blue) door plaque with boss. The Elamite cuneiform inscription reads "Palace of Untash-Napirisha, King of Elam". 13th century BCE. From Chogha Zanbil, Iran. British Museum

References

External links

Chogha Zanbil

World Heritage profile
{{Authority control Archaeological sites in Iran World Heritage Sites in Iran Castles in Iran Ancient Near East temples Former populated places in Khuzestan province Shush County Buildings and structures in Khuzestan province Tourist attractions in Khuzestan province National works of Iran Elamite cities Ziggurats Pyramids in Iran