Chogha Zanbil (Persian: چغازنبيل; Elamite: Dur Untash) is an ancient Elamite complex in the Khuzestan province of Iran. It is one of the few existent ziggurats outside of Mesopotamia. It lies approximately 30 km (19 mi) south-east of Susa and 80 km (50 mi) north of Ahvaz.
The Elamite name of this structure is Ziggurat Dūr Untash,[1] (/ˈzɪɡəræt/ ZIG-ər-at; from semetic Akkadian ziqqurat , D-stem of zaqāru “to build on a raised area”[2]) and Dur Untash is the combination of Elamite Dur (Place/resident/city) like Arabic “Dur/Dar” with the same meaning [3] and Untash the Elamite king who build it, However this structure is known by Its new Persian [4] name today “Chogha Zanbil” that has given to it [5][6] Chogha in Bakhtiari[citation needed] means “hill”[citation needed]. Choga Zanbil means ‘basket mound.'[7] 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’.
The ziggurat is considered to be the best preserved example of the stepped pyramidal monument by UNESCO.[9] In 1979, Chogha Zanbil became the first Iranian site to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
