Elam is one of the first civilizations on record
based in the far west and south-west of what is
modern-day Iran (in the Ilam Province and the
lowlands of Khuzestan). It lasted from around
2700 BC to 539 BC, coming after what is known
as the Proto-Elamite period, which began around
3200 BC when Susa, the later capital of the
Elamites began to receive influence from the
cultures of the Iranian plateau to the east.
Ancient Elam lay to the east of Sumer and Akkad
(modern-day Iraq). In the Old Elamite period, it
consisted of kingdoms on the Iranian plateau,
centered in Anshan, and from the mid-2nd
millennium BC, it centered in Susa in the
Khuzestan lowlands. Its culture played a crucial
role in the Persian Empire, especially during the
Achaemenid dynasty that succeeded it, when the
Elamite language remained in official use. The
Elamite period is considered a starting point for
the history of Iran (although there were older
civilizations in Iranian plateau like Mani
civilization in Azarbaijan and Shar-e sookhteh in
Zabol and other indigenous civilizations who lived
in Iranian plateau but weren't as established as
Elamites).
The Elamite language was not related to any
Iranian languages, but may be part of a larger
group known as Elamo-Dravidian.
The Elamites called their country Haltamti (in later
Elamite, Atamti), which the neighboring
Akkadians rendered as Elam. Elam means
"highland". Additionally, the Haltamti are known
as Elam in the Hebrew Old Testament, where they
are called the offspring of Elam, eldest son of
Shem (see Elam (Hebrew Bible)).
The high country of Elam was increasingly
identified by its low-lying later capital, Susa.
Geographers after Ptolemy called it Susiana. The
Elamite civilization was primarily centered in the
province of what is modern-day Khuzestan,
however it did extended into the later province of
Fars in prehistoric times. In fact, the modern
provincial name Khuzestan is derived from the
Old Persian root Hujiya, meaning "Elam".
Knowledge of Elamite history remains largely
fragmentary, reconstruction being based on
mainly Mesopotamian sources. The city of Susa
was founded around 4000 BC, and during its
early history, fluctuated between submission to
Mesopotamian and Elamite power. The earliest
levels (22-17 in the excavations conducted by Le
Brun, 1978) exhibit pottery that has no equivalent
in Mesopotamia, but for the succeeding period,
the excavated material allows identification with
the culture of Sumer of the Uruk period.
Proto-Elamite influence from the Persian plateau
in Susa becomes visible from about 3200 BC,
and texts in the still undeciphered Proto-Elamite
script continue to be present until about 2700
BC. The Proto-Elamite period ends with the
establishment of the Awan dynasty. The earliest
known historical figure connected with Elam is
the king Enmebaragesi of Kish (c. 2650 BC?),
who subdued it, according to the Sumerian king
list. However, real Elamite history can only be
traced from records dating to beginning of the
Akkadian Empire in around 2300 BC onwards.
Elamite civilization grew up east of the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers, in the watershed of the river
Karun. In modern terms, Elam included more than
Khuzestan; it was a combination of the lowlands
and the immediate highland areas to the north
and east. Some Elamite sites, however, are found
well outside this area, spread out on the Iranian
plateau; examples of Elamite remains farther
north and east in Iran are Sialk in Isfahan
Province and Jiroft in Kerman Province. Elamite
strength was based on an ability to hold these
various areas together under a coordinated
government that permitted the maximum
interchange of the natural resources unique to
each region. Traditionally, this was done through
a federated governmental structure.
- (PH.0183)
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