Heritage with Related Tags
Tchogha Zanbil
Chogha Zanbil is the remains of a sacred Elamite city surrounded by three massive concentric walls. Construction began around 1250 BC but was left unfinished after the invasion of Ashurbanipal, as evidenced by the thousands of unused bricks left on the site.
Ashur (Qal'at Sherqat)
The ancient city of Ashur is located on the Tigris River in northern Mesopotamia, in a special geo-ecological zone, at the junction of rain-fed and irrigated agriculture. The city dates back to the 3rd millennium BC. From the 14th to the 9th century BC, it was the first capital of the Assyrian Empire, a city-state and trading platform of international importance. It was also the religious capital of the Assyrians, associated with the god Ashur. The city was destroyed by the Babylonians, but revived during the Parthian period in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.
Erbil Citadel
Erbil Citadel is a fortification located on top of an imposing ovoid mound (a hill formed by generations of people living and rebuilding on the same site) in the Kurdistan region of Erbil Governorate. A continuous high 19th-century wall still gives the visual impression of an impregnable fortress overlooking the city of Erbil. The citadel features a peculiar fan-shaped pattern that dates back to the late Ottoman period in Erbil. Written and pictorial historical records attest to the antiquity of the site's settlement - Erbil corresponds to ancient Arbela, an important Assyrian political and religious centre - while archaeological discoveries and investigations have shown that the mound conceals layers and remains of previous settlements.
Ancient City of Damascus
Founded in the third millennium BC, Damascus is one of the oldest cities in the Middle East. In the Middle Ages, it was a thriving craft center specializing in swords and lace. The city has 125 monuments from different historical periods, the most spectacular of which is the 8th-century Umayyad Great Mosque, built on the site of an Assyrian temple.