Chogha Zanbil

If you’ve heard of the Elamites and are somewhat familiar with this ancient civilization and its history, then you’ve definitely heard of or even seen the bread of Chogha Zanbil. The Chogha Zanbil complex is essentially a city remnant from the Elamite period, and the ziggurat of Chogha Zanbil, or the temple of Chogha Zanbil, is an astonishing, prominent, and most significant remaining structure of this ancient city. This city was built in the second half of the second millennium BC by order of one of the most powerful Elamite kings. In 640 BC, at the command of Ashurbanipal, the Assyrian king, during the war with Humban-Haltash, the last Elamite king, Chogha Zanbil was destroyed. When Chogha Zanbil was discovered, before the scientific and archaeological explorations of this site, it resembled a large mound resembling a basket, hence it became known by the local name of Chogha Zanbil. This name is a compound of two words: “Chogha,” which in the Luri language means mound, and “Zanbil,” meaning basket. The bricks with cuneiform inscriptions on them are curse tablets from Chogha Zanbil, which unfortunately some people think are valuable monetarily and steal them, whereas they have no monetary value and are only highly valuable historically.