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Choqa Zanbil is an ancient Elamite complex in the Khuzestan province of Iran. Choqa in the local Bakhtiari language means "hill". It is one of the few existing ziggurats outside of Mesopotamia.
Choga Zanbil was built around 1250 BC by the king Untash-Napirisha, mainly to honour the great god Inshushinak.
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.
The ziggurat is considered to be the best preserved example in the world. In 1979, Choqa Zanbil became the first Iranian site to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
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