Ziggurat
of Chogha Zanbil
The first
known modern civilization in Iran started in this magnificent province. Susa
is one of the oldest cities in the world. In fact a prehistoric settlement from
at least the fourth millennium BC and an important Elamite city from about the
middle of the third millennium, Susa reached its first peak under the reign
of Untash Gal, who built Susa as his administrative capital and founded Chogha
Zanbil as his religious center. Alongside the Dez River, the remarkably well-preserved
ziggurat of Chogha Zanbil (Ziggurat is the Sumerian word for such massive buildings)
is the best surviving example of Elamite architecture anywhere, and it has now
been registered with UNESCO as one of the only two World Heritage Sites in Iran.
The temple represents a splendid symbol of a highly developed architecture.
The building is square in shape and consisted of five stories, each of which
is smaller than the one below it giving a conic appearance to the building.
The main temple is constructed on the last floor. Construction materials of
the temple are mainly glazed kiln-fired bricks of high quality bound together
with a very strong mortar (containing natural bitumen). The mud brick is used
between walls and plates. The walls of the Ziggurat were extensively faced with
glazed kiln-fired brick, blue and green and of a metallic shimmer. Invalid ivory
mosaics were also used and wooden
doors were decorated with opaque glass mosaics which depicted prancing animals.
Ghirshman (French archeologist) gives a height of 62m for the Ziggurat and a
length of 105.20m for each side of the first floor. Now only three levels remain,
reaching a total height of some 25m (82 ft). It's hard to believe that such
an imposing landmark was lost to the world for more than 2500 years, which it
was until being accidentally spotted in 1935 during an oil company's aerial
survey. What shocks one in the Choga Zanbil architecture, is the initiative
of the artists of the period in devising and constructing a potable water treatment
system. The water from refinery was used by the worshippers and other dwellers
of the city. The water was craned to the system (from 35 km, Karkhe River) through
a network of canals constructed on accepted scientific principles, where it
was treated. It shows that the communicating vessels law had been discovered
and practically applied in Iran almost 3,700 year before Pascal. No doubt, this
system was man's first invention for water treatment, which was first carried
out by Iranians. Cylindrical seals recovered in excavations in Choga zanbil
are among the first glassware manufactured in Iran. Professor A.U. Pope, writes
in connection with this temple: Choga Zanbil is the earliest known Iranian monument
of imposing dimensions and character, rivaling the pyramids of Egypt.
Susa was burnt around 640 BC by the Assyrian Ashurbanipal, at about the same
time he destroyed Chogha Zanbil, but it came back to prominence and its Golden
Age began with the advent of Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenian
Empire of Iran.
Last Updated On
21/04/2003