Anshan is considered to be the origin of one of the world's oldest known civilizations. It was occupied continuously from before 4000 BC to 1000 BC and was politically tied to the
Elamites at Susa, as well as the
Mesopotamians. Its exact location was unknown to scholars until 1973 when artifacts, uncovered through archaeological digs at Tall-i Malyan, confirmed its location. Prior to that scholars only knew of it to be somewhere in the central
Zagros mountain range. During the
Proto-Elamite period (late fourth millennium BC), it became one of the main cities of the region, thanks to its location on important trade routes. During the '
Banesh period' (3400–2800), at , it was 5 times the size of
Susa. The
Marv Dasht area, where the highland city of Anshan is located, is a complex of several interconnected valleys and plains. During the mid-late Banesh Period (3100-2800 BC) Anshan also had a walled area of 200 hectares. It also featured a number of subsidiary villages and campsites. The Elamite city makes an appearance in the early Sumerian epic
Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta as being
en route between
Uruk and the legendary
Aratta, supposedly around the time writing was developed. At various times, Anshan provided, in its own right, the source for a number of Elamite dynasties that sometimes competed for extent and influence with other prominent Elamite cities. The earliest evidence of Anshan can be found in the
Sumerian King List where many references are made to rulers of
Awan.
Manishtushu claimed to have subjugated Anshan, but as the
Akkadian Empire weakened under his successors, the native governor of
Susa,
Kutik-Inshushinak, a scion of the
Awan dynasty, proclaimed his independence from Akkad and captured Anshan. Following this,
Gudea of
Lagash claimed to have subjugated Anshan in 2200 BC and the
Neo-Sumerian rulers
Shulgi and
Shu-Sin of
Ur are said to have maintained their own governors over the place. However their successor,
Ibbi-Sin, seems to have spent his reign engaged in a losing struggle to maintain control over Anshan, ultimately resulting in the Elamite sack of Ur in 2004 BC, at which time the statue of
Nanna, and Ibbi-Sin himself, were captured and removed to Anshan. In the Old Babylonian period, king
Gungunum of
Larsa dated his 5th regnal year after the destruction of Anshan. During the early Elamite period, the rulers were known as the kings of Awan, but later on, they are referred to as the kings of Anzan, Susa, and Elam. There is also evidence that suggests Awan may have been a political district that was a part of a larger Anshan. Particularly since it has been discovered that Anshan was politically and culturally advanced. and it seems probable that Anshan and Susa were in fact unified for much of the "Middle Elamite period". The last king to claim this title was Shutruk-Nahhunte II (ca. 717-699 BC). For another century during the period of Elamite decline, Anshan was a minor kingdom, until the Achaemenids in the 6th century BC embarked on a series of conquests from Anshan, which became the nucleus of the
Persian Empire. The most famous conqueror who rose from Anshan was
Cyrus the Great. Evidence of the connection to the Achaemenid Empire can be linked through writings on the Cyrus Cylinder which trace the lineage of
Cyrus the Great. Cyrus is referred to as the "king of the city of Anshan" and his ancestors as "the great king, king of the city of Anshan" ==Archaeology==