Chogha Zanbil

Chogha Zanbil
چغازنبيل (Persian) Dur Untash (Elamite)
Location within Iran Location within West and Central Asia
Interactive map of Chogha Zanbil
32°0′30″N 48°31′15″E
Type	Settlement
Cultures	Elamite
Location	Khuzestan Province, Iran
History
Built	c. 1250 BC
Built by	Untash-Napirisha
Abandoned	c. 645 BC
Site notes
Excavation dates	1935–39, 1946, 1951–1961, 1999, 2002, 2004–2005
Archaeologists	Roland de Mecquenem, Roman Ghirshman, Behzad Mofidi Nasrabadi
Condition	In ruins
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Tchogha Zanbil
Criteria	Cultural: (iii), (iv)
Reference	113
Inscription	1979 (3rd Session)

Chogha Zanbil 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. 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.