Elam

The area of southwestern Iran now called Khuzistan and long one of the leading kingdoms of the ancient Near East. In fact, Elam, centered in the hill country northwest of the Persian Gulf and adjoining the eastern Mesopotamian plains, was a thriving nation and a major player in Mesopotamian political history far longer than Sumeria, Assyria, or Babylonia. The site of Elam’s principal city, Susa (originally Susiana), existed as a village by circa 4000 B. c. and may have been inhabited long before. Modern scholars divide the major portions of Elamite history into four periods: Proto-Elamite (ca. 3200-ca. 2700 B. C.), Old Elamite (ca. 2700-ca. 1600 b. c.), Middle Elamite (ca. 1500-ca. 1100 b. c.), and Neo-Elamite (ca. 1100-539 b. c.).

Not much is known about Elam in the Proto-Elamite period. The first major Elamite dynasty, centered in the city of Awan—the location of which is still un-known—arose at the start of the old Elamite period. Some of the early Elamite rulers tried to extend their power into Su-meria, and surviving writings from the region mention wars between the Elamites and a number of Sumerian cities, notably Ur and Lagash. In about 2300 b. c. the Akkadians under King Sargon seized control of much of Elam and tried to impose the Akkadian language. Soon after Sargon’s death, however, the Elamites regained their independence and reinstated their own language. Although it utilized cuneiform characters in its written form, it was completely different than Sumerian, Semitic, or any of the Indo-European languages used in Mesopotamia. Some scholars think Elamite may have been related to some of the languages spoken in southern India. In the 1700s B. c., during the last phase of the old Elamite period, the Elamites fought Babylonia’s King Hammurabi, who delivered them a decisive defeat.

The Elamites steadily recovered from the shock of their defeat, and beginning in 1500 B. C., marking the beginning of the Middle Elamite period, the Elamite kingdom enjoyed its greatest power, influence, and expansion. The rulers of the period belonged to three dynasties—the Kidinuid, the Igihalkid, and the Shutrukid—and generally took the title “king of Anshan and Susa.” Elamite artisans became known far and wide for their skills in metalworking, weaving, and embroidery. Elamite traders roved across Mesopotamia to Palestine in the west and as far as India in the east. Some of the Shutrukid kings erected a new royal ceremonial center at Dur-Untash (now called Choga Zanbil), about 25 miles (40km) south of Susa. It featured a huge ziggurat, which is still well preserved and remains the largest human-made structure in Iran, along with palaces and shrines. Meanwhile, a sort of running feud developed between Elam and Kassite-controlled Babylonia. A number of wars and battles culminated with a major attack on Babylon in the early 1100s b. c. by the Elamite king Shutruk-Nahhunte I, in which the sacred statue of the god Mar-duk and the tablets of Hammurabi’s law code were removed to Susa. The Elamites completely destroyed Kassite power in Babylon in about 1158 b. c. Very soon afterward, a new Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar I, raided Elam and took back the stolen items.

Very little is known about Elam in the next three centuries, making up more than half of the Neo-Elamite period, because of a lack of written records. Sometime in the 700s B. C., Elam became involved in the ongoing power struggles between Assyria and Babylonia. When an Elamite ruler tried to help an Assyrian usurper steal the throne from King Ashurbanipal circa 645 B. C., that Assyrian monarch invaded Elam and devastated it, sacking Susa in the process. Although Assyrian power suddenly waned a few years later, the Medes, who had conquered Assyria, eliminated the last remaining remnants of Elamite independence. In 539 b. c. the Persians took control of the region of Elam. Susa was rebuilt under Persia’s King Darius I and became one of the capitals of the Persian Empire. The Persians, whose homeland of Fars adjoined Elam, were highly influenced by Elamite culture and retained much of it, including the Elamite language, which the Persians used for administrative purposes.

See Also: Hammurabi; Sargon of Akkad; Shutruk-Nahhunte I; Susa