About This Gallery

Chogha Zanbil (Persian: چُغازَنبیل) is an ancient Elamite complex in the Khuzestan province of Iran. It is one of the few extant ziggurats outside of Mesopotamia. It lies approximately 25 kilometeres west Dezfoul, 45 kilometres south of Susa and 230 kilometres north of Abadan by way of Ahvaz, which is 120 kilometres away.

It was built about 1250 BCE by the king Untash-Napirisha, mainly to honour 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'. The inner 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 lesser gods. It is believed that twenty-two temples were originally planned, but the king died before they could be finished, and his successors discontinued the building work. In the outer area are royal palaces, a funerary palace containing five subterranean royal tombs.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chogha_Zanbil

Info

Users are able to upload content to ancientworldcities.com. Although users are bound by terms and conditions that prohibit infringement of copyright it is possible for infringements to take place.

If you believe that the images in this gallery infringe copyright, contact us so that we can take corrective action.

For more information see Terms and Conditions