Archaeological site, Near Eastern

Ancient Merv
Ancient Merv was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road. Its remains span several millennia of human history.
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Anjar
The historic city of Anjar dates from the early 8th century A.D and is a testimony of urban life and city planning in the Umayyad period.
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Ashur (Qal'at Sherqat)
Ashur owes its place on the list because it was the first capital of the Assyrian empire. The city was the centre for worship of the god Ashur and the goddess Ishtar/Inanna.
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Bisotun
Bisotun is an archaeological site located along a historical trade route in the Kermanshah Province of Iran, containing remains dating from pre-historic times through the history of ancient Persia.
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Derbent
Derbent has since antiquity been the gate to the Caucasus and has archaeological structures over 5,000 years old.
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Hatra
Hatra was added to the World Heritage List as the first site in Iraq. The ruined city can be considered as the symbol of Parthian power which for a long time threatened that of Rome.
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Hattusha
Hattusha is the old capital of the Hittites, a people that lived during the period of the Egyptian pharaohs.
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Itchan Kala
Itchan Kala is the inner town of Khiva, the last halting place for caravans before the desert in Iran.
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Kunya-Urgench
Kunya-Urgench is the heart of ancient Khorezm. Several outstanding architectural monuments have been preserved in Kunya-Urgench (Old Urgench).
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Nemrut Dag
In the first century BC, the Roman-Persian king Antiochus I of Commagene (a kingdom north of Syria and the Euphrates) ordered to build a grave and temples on this site.
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Palmyra
After Romans conquered Syria, Palmyra flourished and became known as city of palm-trees. Emperor Caracalla declared it a Roman colony, which made it a luxurious one: new constructions, streets, arches, temples and statues were built, making Palmyra one of the greatest cities of Roman empire.
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Parthian Fortresses of Nisa
Old and New Nisa are the remnants of one of the first capitals of the Parthian Empire. This Empire is among the most powerful and influential civilizations of the ancient world.
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Pasargadae
Pasargadae was a city in ancient Persia, and is today an archaeological site. Its ruins lie 87 km northeast of Persepolis and was the first capital of the Persian Empire.
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Persepolis
Persepolis was an ancient ceremonial capital of the second Iranian dynasty, the Achaemenid Empire. Archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest remains of Persepolis date from around 518 BC.
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Petra
On its inscription, the Nabatean city of Petra was described as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's heritage".
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Quseir Amra
Quseir Amra is a desert castle built in the early 8th century by the Umayyad caliph Walid I. It is one of the most important examples of early Islamic art and architecture.
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Samarra
Samarra Archaeological City is the site of a powerful Islamic capital city which ruled over the provinces of the Abbasid empire extending from Tunisia to Central Asia for a century.
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Takht-e Soleyman
Takht-e Soleyman, "The Throne of Solomon", is the holiest shrine of Zoroastrianism and the former Sassanid Empire.
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Tchogha Zanbil
Chogha Zanbil is an ancient Elamite complex in the Khuzestan province of Iran. It is one of the few extant ziggurats outside of Mesopotamia.
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