Prehistorically the area was well settled during the
Ubaid period and shared many aspects of Ubaid cultures. Knowledge of Elamite history remains largely fragmentary, reconstruction being based on mainly
Mesopotamian (
Sumerian,
Akkadian,
Assyrian, and
Babylonian) sources. The history of Elam is conventionally divided into three periods, spanning more than two millennia. The period before the first Elamite period is known as the proto-Elamite period: •
Proto-Elamite: c. 3200 – c. 2700 BC (Proto-Elamite script in Susa) •
Old Elamite period: c. 2700 – c. 1500 BC (earliest documents until the
Sukkalmah Dynasty) •
Middle Elamite period: c. 1500 – c. 1100 BC (Anzanite dynasty until the Babylonian invasion of Susa) •
Neo-Elamite period: c. 1100 – 540 BC (characterized by Assyrian and Median influence. 539 BC marks the beginning of the Achaemenid period.)
Proto-Elamite (c. 3200 – c. 2700 BC) ''. Kneeling bull holding a spouted vessel, Proto-Elamite period, (3100–2900 BC) Proto-Elamite civilization grew up east of the
Tigris and
Euphrates alluvial plains; it was a combination of the lowlands and the immediate highland areas to the north and east. At least three proto-Elamite states merged to form Elam:
Anshan,
Awan, and
Shimashki. References to Awan are generally older than those to Anshan, and some scholars suggest that both states encompassed the same territory, in different eras (see Hanson, Encyclopædia Iranica). To this core
Shushiana was periodically annexed and broken off. In addition, some Proto-Elamite sites are found well outside this area, spread out on the
Iranian plateau; such as
Warakshe,
Sialk (now a suburb of the modern city of
Kashan) and
Jiroft in
Kerman Province. The state of Elam was formed from these lesser states as a response to invasion from Sumer during the Old Elamite period. 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. III) cylinder seal, 3150–2800 BC. The Proto-Elamite city of Susa was founded around 4000 BC in the watershed of the river
Karun. It is considered to be the site of Proto-Elamite cultural formation. During its early history, it 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 Mesopotamia in Susa becomes visible from about 3200 BC, and texts in the still undeciphered Proto-Elamite writing system 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. Elamite history can only be traced from records dating to beginning of the
Akkadian Empire (2335–2154 BC) onwards. The Proto-Elamite states in
Jiroft and
Zabol (not universally accepted), present a special case because of their great antiquity. In ancient
Luristan, bronze-making tradition goes back to the mid-3rd millennium BC, and has many Elamite connections. Bronze objects from several cemeteries in the region date to the
Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia) I, and to
Ur-III period c. 2900–2000 BC. These excavations include Kalleh Nisar,
Bani Surmah, Chigha Sabz, Kamtarlan, Sardant, and Gulal-i Galbi.
Old Elamite period (c. 2700 – c. 1500 BC) ,
Simurrum and Hurti. . The Old Elamite period began around 2700 BC. Historical records mention the conquest of Elam by
Enmebaragesi, the
Sumerian king of
Kish in
Mesopotamia. Three dynasties ruled during this period. Twelve kings of each of the first two dynasties, those of
Awan (or
Avan; c. 2400 – c. 2100 BC) and
Simashki (c. 2100 – c. 1970 BC), are known from a list from Susa dating to the
Old Babylonian period. Two Elamite dynasties said to have exercised brief control over parts of Sumer in very early times include Awan and
Hamazi; and likewise, several of the stronger
Sumerian rulers, such as
Eannatum of
Lagash and
Lugal-anne-mundu of
Adab, are recorded as temporarily dominating Elam.
Awan dynasty The Awan dynasty (2350–2150 BC) was partly contemporary with that of the Mesopotamian emperor
Sargon of Akkad, who not only defeated the Awan king
Luh-ishan and subjected
Susa, but attempted to make the
East Semitic Akkadian the official language there. From this time, Mesopotamian sources concerning Elam become more frequent, since the Mesopotamians had developed an interest in resources (such as wood, stone, and metal) from the Iranian plateau, and military expeditions to the area became more common. With the collapse of Akkad under Sargon's great-great-grandson,
Shar-kali-sharri, Elam declared independence under the last Awan king,
Kutik-Inshushinak (c. 2240 – c. 2220 BC), and threw off the Akkadian language, promoting in its place the brief
Linear Elamite script. Kutik-Inshushinnak conquered Susa and Anshan, and seems to have achieved some sort of political unity. Following his reign, the Awan dynasty collapsed as Elam was temporarily overrun by the
Guti, another pre-Iranic people from what is now north west Iran who also spoke a
language isolate.
Shimashki dynasty About a century later, the Sumerian king
Shulgi of the
Neo-Sumerian Empire retook the city of
Susa and the surrounding region. During the first part of the rule of the Simashki dynasty, Elam was under intermittent attack from the
Sumerians of
Mesopotamia and also
Gutians from northwestern Iran, alternating with periods of peace and diplomatic approaches. The Elamite state of Simashki at this time also extended into northern Iran, and possibly even as far as the Caspian Sea.
Shu-Sin of Ur gave one of his daughters in marriage to a prince of
Anshan. But the power of the Sumerians was waning;
Ibbi-Sin in the 21st century did not manage to penetrate far into Elam, and in 2004 BC, the Elamites, allied with the people of Susa and led by king
Kindattu, the sixth king of Simashki, managed to sack
Ur and lead
Ibbi-Sin into captivity, ending the
third dynasty of Ur. The
Akkadian kings of
Isin,
successor state to Ur, managed to drive the Elamites out of Ur, rebuild the city, and to return the statue of
Nanna that the Elamites had plundered.
Sukkalmah dynasty (also called
Epartid Dynasty after his name).
Louvre Museum, reference Sb 6225. King Ebarat appears enthroned. The inscription reads
"Ebarat the King. Kuk Kalla, son of Kuk-Sharum, servant of Shilhaha". The succeeding dynasty, often called the
Sukkalmah dynasty (c. 1970 – c. 1770 BC) after "Great regents", the title borne by its members, also called the Epartid dynasty after the name of its founder Ebarat/ Eparti, was roughly contemporary with the
Old Assyrian Empire, and Old
Babylonian period in Mesopotamia, being younger by approximately sixty years than the Akkadian-speaking
Old Assyrian Empire in
Upper Mesopotamia, and almost seventy-five years older than the Old
Babylonian Empire. This period is said by many to be confusing and difficult to reconstruct. It was apparently founded by Eparti I. During this time, Susa was under Elamite control, but Akkadian-speaking Mesopotamian states such as
Larsa and
Isin continually tried to retake the city. Around 1850 BC
Kudur-Mabuk, apparently king of another
Akkadian state to the north of Larsa, managed to install his son,
Warad-Sin, on the throne of Larsa, and Warad-Sin's brother,
Rim-Sin, succeeded him and conquered much of southern Mesopotamia for
Larsa. Notable Eparti dynasty rulers in Elam during this time include
Shirukduh (c. 1850 BC), who entered various military coalitions to contain the power of the south Mesopotamian states. Siruk-tuh was the king of Elam when Hammurabi first ruled, he and later kings of the Elamite dynasty were referred to as "great king" and "father" by kings in Syria and Mesopotamia and were the only kings that the Mesopotamian Kings considered to be higher in status than themselves.
Siwe-Palar-Khuppak, who for some time was the most powerful person in the area, respectfully addressed as "Father" by Mesopotamian kings such as
Zimrilim of
Mari,
Shamshi-Adad I of
Assyria, and even
Hammurabi of Babylon. During his reign alone, Elam interfered extensively with Mesopotamian politics, allowing messengers and envoys to travel far west to
Emar and
Qatna in Syria. His messenger reached Emar and sent his three servants to King
Amut-piʾel II of Qatna (1772–1762 BC), and the king of Qatna also sent two messengers to Elam. The Elamite rulers had become increasingly involved in Mesopotamian politics during the
Sukkalmah dynasty. In fact,
Rim-Sin of
Larsa himself was of Elamite descent, notwithstanding his Akkadian name.
Kudur-Nahhunte, who plundered the temples of southern Mesopotamia, the north being under the control of the
Old Assyrian Empire. But Elamite influence in southern Mesopotamia did not last. Around 1760 BC, Hammurabi drove out the Elamites, overthrew Rim-Sin of Larsa, and established a short lived
Babylonian Empire in Mesopotamia. Little is known about the latter part of this dynasty, since sources again become sparse with the
Kassite rule of Babylon (from c. 1595 BC).
Trade with the Indus Valley Civilization Many archaeological finds suggest that maritime trade along the shores of Africa and Asia started several millennia ago. Trade between the
Indus Valley Civilization and the cities of Mesopotamia and Elam, can be inferred from numerous find of Indus artifacts, particularly in the excavation at
Susa. Various objects made with shell species that are characteristic of the Indus coast, particularly
Trubinella pyrum and
Fasciolaria trapezium, have been found in the archaeological sites of Mesopotamia and Susa dating from around 2500–2000 BC.
Carnelian beads from the Indus were found in Susa in the excavation of the tell of the citadel. In particular, carnelian beads with an etched design in white were probably imported from the Indus Valley, and made according to a technique of acid-etching developed by the
Harappans. Exchanges seem to have waned after 1900 BC, together with the disappearance of the Indus valley Civilization. File:Indus round seal with impression Elongated buffalo with Harappan scrpit imported to Susa in 2600-1700 BCE LOUVRE Sb5614.jpg|Indus round seal with impression. Elongated buffalo with Harappan symbol imported to Susa in 2600–1700 BC. Found in the tell of the Susa acropolis.
Louvre Museum, reference Sb 5614 File:Indus carnelian beads with white design imported to Susa in 2600-1700 BCE LOUVRE Sb 13099.jpg|Indus
carnelian beads with white design, etched in white with an acid, imported to Susa in 2600–1700 BC. Found in the tell of the Susa acropolis.
Louvre Museum, reference Sb 17751. These beads are identical with beads found in the Indus Civilization site of
Dholavira. File:Indus bracelet made of Fasciolaria Trapezium or Xandus Pyrum imported to Susa in 2600-1700 BCE LOUVRE Sb14473.jpg|Indus bracelet made of
Fasciolaria trapezium or
Turbinella pyrum imported to Susa in 2600–1700 BC. Found in the tell of the Susa acropolis. Louvre Museum, reference Sb 14473. This type of bracelet was manufactured in
Mohenjo-daro,
Lothal and
Balakot. File:Indus Valley Civilization weight excavated in Susa. Louvre Museum Sb 17774.jpg|Indus Valley Civilization weight in veined
jasper, excavated in Susa in a 12th-century BC princely tomb. Louvre Museum Sb 17774.
Middle Elamite period (c. 1500 – c. 1100 BC) Anshan and Susa The Middle Elamite period began with the rise of the Anshanite dynasties around 1500 BC. Their rule was characterized by an "Elamisation" of Susa, and the kings took the title "king of Anshan and Susa". While the first of these dynasties, the
Kidinuids continued to use the Akkadian language frequently in their inscriptions, the succeeding
Igihalkids and
Shutrukids used Elamite with increasing regularity. Likewise, Elamite language and culture grew in importance in Susiana. The Kidinuids (c. 1500 – 1400 BC) are a group of five rulers of uncertain affiliation. They are identified by their use of the older title, "king of Susa and of Anshan", and by calling themselves "servant of
Kirwashir", an Elamite deity, thereby introducing the pantheon of the highlands to Susiana. The city of Susa itself is one of the oldest in the world dating back to around 4200 BC. Since its founding Susa was known as a central power location for the Elamites and for later Persian dynasties. Susa's power would peak during the Middle Elamite period, when it would be the region's capital.
Kassite invasions Of the Igehalkids (c. 1400 – 1210 BC), ten rulers are known, though their number was possibly larger. Some of them married
Kassite princesses. The Kassites were also a
language isolate speaking people from the
Zagros Mountains who had taken
Babylonia shortly after its sacking by the
Hittite Empire in 1595 BC. The Kassite king of Babylon
Kurigalzu II who had been installed on the throne by
Ashur-uballit I of the
Middle Assyrian Empire (1366–1020 BC), temporarily occupied Elam around 1320 BC, and later (c. 1230 BC) another Kassite king,
Kashtiliash IV, fought Elam unsuccessfully. Kassite-Babylonian power waned, as they became dominated by the northern Mesopotamian
Middle Assyrian Empire. Kiddin-Khutran of Elam repulsed the Kassites by defeating
Enlil-nadin-shumi in 1224 BC and
Adad-shuma-iddina around 1222–1217 BC. Under the Igehalkids,
Akkadian inscriptions were rare, and Elamite highland gods became firmly established in Susa.
Elamite Empire ziggurat site, built c. 1250 BC. Under the
Shutrukids (c. 1210 – 1100 BC), the Elamite empire reached the height of its power.
Shutruk-Nakhkhunte and his three sons, Kutir-Nakhkhunte II, Shilhak-In-Shushinak, and Khutelutush-In-Shushinak were capable of frequent military campaigns into Kassite Babylonia (which was also being ravaged by the empire of
Assyria during this period), and at the same time were exhibiting vigorous construction activity—building and restoring luxurious temples in Susa and across their Empire. Shutruk-Nakhkhunte raided Babylonia, carrying home to Susa trophies like the statues of
Marduk and
Manishtushu, the
Manishtushu Obelisk, the
Stele of Hammurabi and the
stele of
Naram-Sin. In 1158 BC, after much of Babylonia had been annexed by
Ashur-Dan I of Assyria and Shutruk-Nakhkhunte, the Elamites defeated the Kassites permanently, killing the Kassite king of Babylon,
Zababa-shuma-iddin, and replacing him with his eldest son, Kutir-Nakhkhunte, who held it no more than three years before being ejected by the native Akkadian-speaking
Babylonians. The Elamites then briefly came into conflict with
Assyria, managing to take the Assyrian city of
Arrapha (modern
Kirkuk) before being ultimately defeated and having a treaty forced upon them by
Ashur-dan I. Kutir-Nakhkhunte's son Khutelutush-In-Shushinak was probably born of Kutir-Nakhkhunte and his own daughter, Nakhkhunte-utu. He was defeated by
Nebuchadnezzar I of Babylon, who sacked Susa and returned the
statue of Marduk, but who was then himself defeated by the Assyrian king
Ashur-resh-ishi I. He fled to Anshan, but later returned to Susa, and his brother
Shilhana-Hamru-Lagamar may have succeeded him as last king of the Shutrukid dynasty. Following Khutelutush-In-Shushinak, the power of the Elamite empire began to wane seriously, as after the death of this ruler, Elam disappears into obscurity for more than three centuries.
Neo-Elamite period (c. 1100 – 540 BC) Neo-Elamite I (c. 1100 – c. 770 BC) Very little is known of this period. Anshan was still at least partially Elamite. There appear to have been unsuccessful alliances of Elamites, Babylonians,
Chaldeans and other peoples against the powerful
Neo Assyrian Empire (911–605 BC); the Babylonian king
Mar-biti-apla-ushur (984–979 BC) was of Elamite origin, and Elamites are recorded to have fought unsuccessfully with the Babylonian king
Marduk-balassu-iqbi against the
Assyrian forces under
Shamshi-Adad V (823–811 BC).
Neo-Elamite II (c. 770 – 646 BC) , and protecting wounded king
Teumman (kneeling), at the
Battle of Ulai, 653 BC. in 647 BC. Here, flames rise from the city as
Assyrian soldiers topple it with pickaxes and crowbars and carry off the spoils. The later Neo-Elamite period is characterized by a significant migration of
Indo-European speaking
Iranians to the Iranian plateau. Assyrian sources beginning around 800 BC distinguish the "powerful Medes", i.e. the actual
Medes,
Persians,
Parthians,
Sagartians, etc. Among these pressuring tribes were the
Parsu, first recorded in 844 BC as living on the southeastern shore of
Lake Urmiah, but who by the end of this period would cause the Elamites' original home, the Iranian Plateau, to be renamed Persia proper. These newly arrived
Iranian peoples were also conquered by Assyria, and largely regarded as vassals of the
Neo-Assyrian Empire until the late 7th century. More details are known from the late 8th century BC, when the Elamites were allied with the
Chaldean chieftain
Merodach-baladan to defend the cause of Babylonian independence from Assyria.
Humban-nikash I (743–717 BC) supported Merodach-baladan against
Sargon II, apparently without success; while his successor,
Shutruk-Nahhunte II (716–699 BC), was routed by Sargon's troops during an expedition in 710, and another Elamite defeat by Sargon's troops is recorded for 708. The Assyrian dominion over Babylon was underlined by Sargon's son
Sennacherib, who defeated the Elamites, Chaldeans and Babylonians and dethroned Merodach-baladan for a second time, installing his own son
Ashur-nadin-shumi on the Babylonian throne in 700. Shutruk-Nakhkhunte II, the last Elamite to claim the old title "king of Anshan and Susa", was murdered by his brother
Hallutash-Inshushinak I, who managed to briefly capture the Assyrian governor of Babylonia Ashur-nadin-shumi and the city of Babylon in 694 BC.
Sennacherib soon responded by invading and ravaging Elam. Khallushu was in turn assassinated by
Kutir-Nahhunte III, who succeeded him but soon abdicated in favor of
Humban-numena III (692–689 BC). Khumma-Menanu recruited a new army to help the Babylonians and Chaldeans against the Assyrians at the
battle of Halule in 691. Both sides claimed the victory in their annals, but Babylon was destroyed by
Sennacherib only two years later, and its Elamite allies defeated in the process. The reigns of
Humban-Haltash I (688–681 BC) and
Humban-Haltash II (680–675 BC) saw a deterioration of Elamite-Babylonian relations, and both of them raided
Sippar. At the beginning of
Esarhaddon's reign in
Assyria (681–669 BC), Nabu-zer-kitti-lišir, an ethnically Elamite governor in the south of Babylonia, revolted and besieged
Ur, but was routed by the
Assyrians and fled to Elam where the king of Elam, fearing Assyrian repercussions, took him prisoner and put him to the sword.
Urtaku (674–664 BC) for some time wisely maintained good relations with the Assyrian king
Ashurbanipal (668–627 BC), who sent wheat to Susiana during a famine. But these friendly relations were only temporary, and Urtaku was killed in battle during a failed Elamite attack on Assyria. His successor
Tepti-Humban-Inshushinak (664–653 BC) attacked Assyria, but was defeated and killed by
Ashurbanipal following the battle of the
Ulaï in 653 BC; and
Susa itself was sacked and occupied by the Assyrians. In this same year the Assyrian vassal
Median state to the north fell to the invading
Scythians and
Cimmerians under
Madyes, and displacing another Assyrian vassal people, the
Parsu (
Persians) to
Anshan which their king
Teispes captured that same year, turning it for the first time into an
Indo-Iranian kingdom under
Assyrian dominance that would a century later become the nucleus of the
Achaemenid dynasty. The
Assyrians successfully subjugated and drove the
Scythians and
Cimmerians from their
Iranian colonies, and the
Persians,
Medes and
Parthians remained vassals of Assyria. A brief respite to the Elamites was provided by the civil war between
Ashurbanipal and his own brother
Shamash-shum-ukin, whom their father
Esarhaddon had installed as the vassal king of Babylon. The Elamites gave support to Shamash-shum-ukin, but also engaged in fighting among themselves. Babylon was besieged in midsummer of 650 BC, and fell by 648 BC; Shamash-shum-ukin died in a fire. The Elamite kingdom was greatly weakened by rebellions and civil wars; kings from 651 to 640 had short reigns before being usurped, overthrown, or captured by the Assyrians. Having dealt with his brother, Ashurbanipal sensed an opportunity to devastate Elam. In 646 BC Ashurbanipal devastated Susiana with ease, and sacked Susa. He installed several vassal kings such as
Tammaritu, although these quickly broke off relations with Assyria over their pillages. The last Elamite king,
Humban-Haltash III, was captured in 640 BC by Ashurbanipal, who annexed and destroyed the country. In a tablet unearthed in 1854 by
Austen Henry Layard, Ashurbanipal boasts of the destruction he had wrought:
Neo-Elamite III (646–539 BC) tomb relief. The devastation was a little less complete than Ashurbanipal boasted, and a weak and fragmented Elamite rule was resurrected soon after with Shuttir-Nakhkhunte, son of Humban-umena III (not to be confused with Shuttir-Nakhkhunte, son of Indada, a petty king in the first half of the 6th century). Elamite royalty in the final century preceding the Achaemenids was fragmented among different small kingdoms, the united Elamite nation having been destroyed and colonised by the Assyrians. The three kings at the close of the 7th century (Shuttir-Nakhkhunte, Khallutush-In-Shushinak and Atta-Khumma-In-Shushinak) still called themselves "king of Anzan and of Susa" or "enlarger of the kingdom of Anzan and of Susa", at a time when the Achaemenid Persians were already ruling Anshan under Assyrian dominance. The various
Assyrian Empires, which had been the dominant force in the
Near East,
Asia Minor, the
Caucasus,
North Africa,
Arabian Peninsula and
East Mediterranean for much of the period from the first half of the 14th century BC, began to unravel after the death of
Ashurbanipal in 631 BC, descending into a series of bitter internal civil wars which also spread to Babylonia. The
Iranian Medes,
Parthians,
Persians and
Sagartians, who had been largely subject to Assyria since their arrival in the region around 1000 BC, quietly took full advantage of the anarchy in Assyria, and in 616 BC freed themselves from Assyrian rule. The Medians took control of Elam during this period.
Cyaxares the king of the
Medes,
Persians,
Parthians and
Sagartians entered into an alliance with a coalition of fellow former vassals of Assyria, including
Nabopolassar of
Babylon and
Chaldea, and also the
Scythians and
Cimmerians, against
Sin-shar-ishkun of Assyria, who was faced with unremitting civil war in Assyria itself. This alliance then attacked a disunited and war weakened Assyria, and between 616 BC and 599 BC at the very latest, had conquered its vast empire which stretched from the
Caucasus Mountains to
Egypt,
Libya and the
Arabian Peninsula, and from
Cyprus and
Ephesus to
Persia and the
Caspian Sea. The major cities in Assyria itself were gradually taken;
Arrapha (modern
Kirkuk) and
Kalhu (modern
Nimrud) in 616 BC,
Ashur,
Dur-Sharrukin and
Arbela (modern
Erbil) in 613,
Nineveh falling in 612,
Harran in 608 BC,
Carchemish in 605 BC, and finally
Dur-Katlimmu by 599 BC. Elam, already largely destroyed and subjugated by Assyria, thus became easy prey for the
Median dominated
Iranian peoples, and was incorporated into the
Median Empire (612–546 BC) and then the succeeding
Achaemenid Empire (546–332 BC), with Assyria suffering the same fate. (see
Achaemenid Assyria, Athura). Their successors Khumma-Menanu and Shilhak-In-Shushinak II bore the simple title "king", and the final king Tempti-Khumma-In-Shushinak used no honorific at all. In 540 BC, Achaemenid rule began in Susa.
Elymais (187 BC – 224 AD) Elymaïs was the location of the death of
Antiochus III the Great who was killed while pillaging a temple of
Bel in 187 BC. Following the rise and fall of the
Achaemenid Empire and the
Seleucid Empire, a new dynasty of Elamite rulers established
Elymais from 147 BC to 224 AD, usually under the suzerainty of the
Parthian Empire, until the advent of the unified
Sasanian Empire in 224 AD. ==Art==