View source for Elam

{{Short description|Ancient pre-Iranian civilization between 3200 and 539 BC}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{Infobox archaeological culture
| name       = Elam<br />''Haltamti''<br />{{cuneiform|sux|𒁹𒄬𒆷𒁶𒋾}}<br/><small>{{nobold|3200–539 BC}}</small>
| map        = Elam Map-en.svg
| mapcaption = Map showing the area of the Elamite Empire (in orange) and the neighboring areas. The approximate [[Bronze Age]] extension of the [[Persian Gulf]] is shown.
| period     = Pre-[[Iranic]]
| dates      = 3200–539 BC
| precededby = [[Proto-Elamite]]
| followedby = [[Achaemenid Empire]]
| mapalt     = d
| region     = [[Iran]]<br />
{{Coord|29|54|N|52|24|E|source:fiwiki_type:country|display=title,inline}}
| altnames   = Elamites, Susiana
}}
{{History of Iran}}
{{Ancient history}}

'''Elam''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|iː|l|ə|m}}){{efn|[[Linear Elamite]]: [[File:Ha-ta-m-ti.jpg|62x62px]] ''hatamti''; [[Elamite cuneiform|Cuneiform Elamite]]: {{cuneiform|ela|𒁹𒄬𒆷𒁶𒋾}} {{Transliteration|elx|ḫalatamti}}; [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]]: {{cuneiform|sux|𒉏𒈠}} {{Transliteration|sux|elam}}; [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]]: {{cuneiform|akk|𒉏𒈠𒆠}} {{Transliteration|akk|elamtu}}; {{langx|he|עֵילָם}} ''ʿēlām''; {{langx|peo|𐎢𐎺𐎩}} ''hūja'')<ref>{{cite web|title=Elam (GN)|url=http://oracc.org/epsd2/cbd/sux/o0044139.html|website=Oracc: The Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Elamtu [ELAM] (GN)|url=http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/ribo/babylon6/cbd/qpn-x-places/x00000040.html|website=Oracc: The Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus|access-date=16 December 2020|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326032013/http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/ribo/babylon6/cbd/qpn-x-places/x00000040.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>}} was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of [[Iran]], stretching from the lowlands of what is now [[Khuzestan]] and [[Ilam Province]] as well as a small part of modern-day southern [[Iraq]]. The modern name ''Elam'' stems from the [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] transliteration ''elam(a)'', along with the later [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] ''elamtu'', and the [[Elamite]] ''haltamti.'' Elamite states were among the leading political forces of the [[Ancient Near East]].<ref>Elam: surveys of political history and archaeology, Elizabeth Carter and Matthew W. Stolper, University of California Press, 1984, p. 3</ref> In [[classical literature]], Elam was also known as [[Susiana]] ({{IPAc-en|US|ˌ|s|uː|ʒ|i|ˈ|æ|n|ə}} {{IPAc-en|UK|ˌ|s|uː|z|i|ˈ|ɑː|n|ə}}; {{langx|grc|Σουσιανή}} ''Sousiānḗ''), a name derived from its capital [[Susa]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopaedia Judaica, Volume 6|isbn=978-0028659343|page=283|last1=Skolnik|first1=Fred|last2=Berenbaum|first2=Michael|year=2007 |publisher=Macmillan Reference USA }}</ref>

Elam was part of the early [[Cities of the Ancient Near East|urbanization of the Near East]] during the [[Chalcolithic]] period (Copper Age). The emergence of written records from around 3000 BC also parallels [[Sumer]]ian history, where slightly earlier records have been found.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hock|first=Hans Heinrich|title=Language History, Language Change, and Language Relationship: An Introduction to Historical and Comparative Linguistics|year=2009|edition=2nd|publisher=Mouton de Gruyter|isbn=978-3110214291|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IsYkilw7Q-oC&q=Elam+earliest+writing&pg=PA69|page=69|access-date=2 October 2020|archive-date=18 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418051423/https://books.google.com/books?id=IsYkilw7Q-oC&q=Elam+earliest+writing&pg=PA69|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Gnanadesikan|first=Amalia|title=The Writing Revolution: Cuneiform to the Internet |year=2008 |publisher=Blackwell|isbn=978-1444304688|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_ZntngbI05cC&q=Elam+earliest+writing&pg=PA25|page=25}}</ref> In the Old Elamite period ([[Bronze Age|Middle Bronze Age]]), Elam consisted of kingdoms on the [[Iranian plateau]], centered in [[Anshan (Persia)|Anshan]], and from the mid-2nd millennium BC, it was centered in Susa in the Khuzestan lowlands.<ref>Elam: surveys of political history and archaeology, Elizabeth Carter and Matthew W. Stolper, University of California Press, 1984, p. 4</ref> Its culture played a crucial role during the [[Persian people|Persian]] [[Achaemenid dynasty]] that succeeded Elam, when the [[Elamite language]] remained among those in official use. Elamite is generally considered a [[language isolate]] or unrelated to any other languages. According to [[Daniel T. Potts]], [[Walther Hinz]] was less cautious in suggesting that the Elamites were [[Lurs|‘Proto-Lurs’]] — that is, ancestors of the inhabitants of modern-day [[Lurestan]] in western Iran.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Potts |first=Daniel T. |title=The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State |date=2016 |publisher=The Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781107476639 |edition=2nd |publication-date=2016 |pages=48 |language=en}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The Elamite language [[endonym]] of Elam as a country appears to have been ''Hatamti'' ([[File:Ha-ta-m-ti.jpg|70px]] in [[Linear Elamite]]),{{sfnp|Desset|2020a}}{{sfnp|Desset|2020b}} or ''Haltamti'' ([[Elamite cuneiform|Cuneiform Elamite]]: {{cuneiform|ela|𒁹𒄬𒆷𒁶𒋾}} {{Transliteration|elx|halatamti}}).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/iranian-plateau-gave-birth-to-writing-french-archaeologist/ar-BB1bR43N|title=Iranian plateau gave birth to writing: French archaeologist|website=[[MSN]]|access-date=5 January 2021|archive-date=9 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109053245/https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/iranian-plateau-gave-birth-to-writing-french-archaeologist/ar-BB1bR43N|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Exonym]]s included the [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] names ''ELAM.MA<sup>ki</sup>''𒉏𒈠𒆠 and ''ELAM'', the [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] ''Elamû'' (masculine/neuter) and ''Elamītu'' (feminine) meant "resident of Susiana, Elamite".<ref>{{cite book|editor=Jeremy Black |editor2=Andrew George |editor3=Nicholas Postgate|title=A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian|publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag|year=1999|isbn=3-447-04225-7|page=68}}</ref> The Sumerian term ''elam'' also referred to the highlands.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Electronic Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary: "elam" |url=https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/epsd2/cbd/sux/o0026796.html |access-date=15 April 2024 |archive-date=15 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240415210359/https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/epsd2/cbd/sux/o0026796.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In prehistory, Elam was centered primarily in modern [[Khuzestan Province|Khuzestān]] and [[Ilam Province|Ilam]]. The name Khuzestān is derived ultimately from {{langx|peo|𐎢𐎺𐎩}} (''hūja'') meaning Susa/Elam.<ref name="Kent 1953 53">{{cite book|last=Kent|first=Roland|title=Old Persian: Grammar, Texts & Lexicon|series=American Oriental Series|volume=33)|publisher=American Oriental Society|year=1953|isbn=0-940490-33-1|pages=53}}</ref> This became {{langx|pal|𐭧𐭥𐭰}} (''hūz'') "Susiana", and in modern {{langx|fa|خوز}} (''xuz''), compounded with the toponymic suffix ''[[-stan|-stån]]'' "place".

==Geography==
[[File:Pre-Achaemenid Era.gif|thumb|upright 1.2|Timeline of Elam.]]

In geographical terms, Susiana basically represents the Iranian province of [[Khuzestan]] around the river [[Karun]]. In ancient times, several names were used to describe this area. The ancient geographer [[Ptolemy]] was the earliest to call the area ''Susiana'', referring to the country around Susa.

Another ancient geographer, [[Strabo]], viewed Elam and Susiana as two different geographic regions. He referred to Elam ("land of the Elymaei") as primarily the highland area of Khuzestan.<ref name="books.google.com">D. T. Potts, [https://books.google.com/books?id=WE62CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 ''The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State.''] Cambridge World Archaeology. Cambridge University Press, 2015 {{ISBN|1107094690}} p11</ref>

Disagreements over the location also exist in the Jewish historical sources says Daniel T. Potts. Some ancient sources draw a distinction between Elam as the highland area of Khuzestan, and Susiana as the lowland area. Yet in other ancient sources 'Elam' and 'Susiana' seem equivalent.<ref name="books.google.com"/>

The uncertainty in this area extends also to modern scholarship. Since the discovery of ancient [[Anshan (Persia)|Anshan]], and the realization of its great importance in Elamite history, the definitions were changed again. Some modern scholars<ref>F. Vallat 1980</ref> argued that the center of Elam lay at Anshan and in the highlands around it, and not at Susa in lowland Khuzistan.

Potts disagrees suggesting that the term 'Elam' was primarily constructed by the Mesopotamians to describe the area in general terms, without referring specifically either to the lowlanders or the highlanders,

<blockquote>Elam is not an Iranian term and has no relationship to the conception which the peoples of highland Iran had of themselves. They were Anshanites, Marhashians, Shimashkians, Zabshalians, Sherihumians, Awanites, etc. That Anshan played a leading role in the political affairs of the various highland groups inhabiting southwestern Iran is clear. But to argue that Anshan is coterminous with Elam is to misunderstand the artificiality and indeed the alienness of Elam as a construct imposed from without on the peoples of the southwestern highlands of the Zagros mountain range, the coast of Fars and the alluvial plain drained by the Karun-Karkheh river system.<ref>[http://assets.cambridge.org/97805215/63581/excerpt/9780521563581_excerpt.pdf The Archaeology of Elam (excerpt)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020120928/http://assets.cambridge.org/97805215/63581/excerpt/9780521563581_excerpt.pdf |date=20 October 2016 }} assets.cambridge.org/</ref></blockquote>

==History==
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 [[Mesopotamia]]n ([[Sumer]]ian, [[Akkadian literature|Akkadian]], [[Assyria]]n, and [[Babylonia]]n) 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)===
{{main|Proto-Elamite}}
[[File:Proto-Elamite kneeling bull holding a spouted vessel.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Kneeling Bull with Vessel]]''. Kneeling bull holding a spouted vessel, Proto-Elamite period, (3100–2900 BC)<ref>{{cite web |title=Kneeling bull holding a spouted vessel,ca. 3100–2900 BC Proto-Elamite |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/329074 |website=www.metmuseum.org |access-date=29 March 2019 |archive-date=29 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329152751/https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/329074 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Metropolitan Museum of Art, ref. 66.173</ref>]]

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 (Persia)|Anshan]], [[Awan dynasty|Awan]], and [[Shimashki dynasty|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 [[Susa|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]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chn.ir/english/eshownews.asp?no=4696 |title=Archived copy |access-date=15 June 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050320084135/http://www.chn.ir/english/eshownews.asp?no=4696 |archive-date=20 March 2005 }}</ref> 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 [[Federation|federated]] governmental structure.

[[File:Susa III or Proto-Elamite cylinder seal 3150-2800 BC Louvre Museum Sb 6166.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|left|Proto-Elamite ([[Susa]] III) cylinder seal, 3150–2800 BC. [[Louvre Museum]], reference Sb 6166]]

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 [[Mesopotamia]]n 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 (Sumer)|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 culture|Jiroft]] and [[Shahr-e Sukhteh|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.<ref>[https://penn.museum/sites/applied_science/current_projects/luristan.html Current Projects in Luristan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202180130/https://www.penn.museum/sites/applied_science/current_projects/luristan.html |date=2 February 2017 }} penn.museum</ref>

===Old Elamite period (c. 2700 – c. 1500 BC)===
[[File:Elam1.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Polities during the Old Elamite period, and northern tribes of the [[Lullubi]], [[Simurrum]] and Hurti.]]
[[File:Elam cool.jpg|thumb|upright|Silver cup with linear-Elamite inscription on it. Late 3rd millennium BC. [[National Museum of Iran]].]]

The Old Elamite period began around 2700 BC. Historical records mention the conquest of Elam by [[Enmebaragesi]], the [[Sumer]]ian king of [[Kish (Sumer)|Kish]] in [[Mesopotamia]]. Three dynasties ruled during this period. Twelve kings of each of the first two dynasties, those of [[Awan dynasty|Awan]] (or ''Avan''; c. 2400 – c. 2100 BC) and [[Shimashki Dynasty|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 [[Sumer]]ian rulers, such as [[Eannatum]] of [[Lagash]] and [[Lugal-anne-mundu]] of [[Adab (city)|Adab]], are recorded as temporarily dominating Elam.

====Awan dynasty====
{{main|Awan dynasty}}
[[File:Cubist orant Louvre Sb77.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Orant figure, Susa IV, 2700–2340 BC.]]

The Awan dynasty (2350–2150 BC)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Middleton |first1=John |title=World Monarchies and Dynasties |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781317451587 |page=79 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R63ACQAAQBAJ&pg=PA79 }}</ref> 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 (language)|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 (Mesopotamia)|Guti]], another pre-Iranic people from what is now north west Iran who also spoke a [[language isolate]].

====Shimashki dynasty====
{{main|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 [[Sumer]]ians 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 (Persia)|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 Empire|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 [[Sin (mythology)|Nanna]] that the Elamites had plundered.

====Sukkalmah dynasty====
{{main|Sukkalmah dynasty}}
[[File:Seal of King Ebarat Louvre Museum Sb 6225.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Seal impression of King Ebarat ({{cuneiform|𒂊𒁀𒊏𒀜}}), founder of the [[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"''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Louvre |first1=Musée du |title=The Royal City of Susa: Ancient Near Eastern Treasures in the Louvre |date=1992 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |isbn=9780870996511 |page=114 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dDWJ_KBHwe4C&pg=PA114 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Site officiel du musée du Louvre |url=http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not&idNotice=17119 |website=cartelfr.louvre.fr |year=2000 |access-date=29 March 2019 |archive-date=26 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126011008/http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not&idNotice=17119 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Potts |first1=D. T. |title=The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State |date=1999 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521564960 |page=147 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mc4cfzkRVj4C&pg=PA147 }}</ref>]]

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 [[Babylonia]]n 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 (language)|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,<ref>De Graef, Katrien. 2018. "In Taberna Quando Sumus: On Taverns, Nadītum Women, and the Cagum in Old Babylonian Sippar." In Gender and Methodology in the Ancient near East: Approaches from Assyriology and beyond, edited by Stephanie Lynn Budin et al., 136. Barcino monographica orientalia 10. Barcelona: University of Barcelona.</ref> 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.<ref>Potts, Daniel T. 2012. "The Elamites." In The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History, edited by  Touraj Daryaee and Tūraǧ Daryāyī, 43-44. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press.</ref><ref>Charpin, Dominique. 2012a. "Ansi parle l' empereur' à propos de la correspondance des sukkal-mah." In Susa and Elam. Archaeological, Philological, Historical and Geographical Perspectives: Proceedings of the International Congress Held at Ghent University, December 14–17, 2009, edited by Katrien De Graef and Jan Tavernier, 352. Leiden: Brill.</ref> [[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, Syria|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.<ref>Kenneth Anderson Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2003, p. 321</ref> 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.<ref>Charpin, Dominique (2010). Writing, Law, and Kingship in Old Babylonian Mesopotamia. Translated by Todd, Jane Marie. University of Chicago Press. {{ISBN|978-0-226-10159-0}}. p. 124</ref> 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.<ref>Amanda H. Weavers, Scribes, and Kings: A New History of the Ancient Near East. Oxford University Press, 2022. 269. {{ISBN|9780190059040}}.</ref> [[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.<ref name="JR14">{{cite book |last1=Reade |first1=Julian E. |title=The Indus-Mesopotamia relationship reconsidered (Gs Elisabeth During Caspers) |date=2008 |publisher=Archaeopress |isbn=978-1-4073-0312-3 |pages=14–17 |url=https://www.academia.edu/28245304 |access-date=1 April 2019 |archive-date=14 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114145706/https://www.academia.edu/28245304 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gensheimer |first1=T. R. |title=The Role of shell in Mesopotamia : evidence for trade exchange with Oman and the Indus Valley |journal=Paléorient |date=1984 |volume=10 |pages=71–72 |doi=10.3406/paleo.1984.4350 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/paleo_0153-9345_1984_num_10_1_4350 |access-date=1 April 2019 |archive-date=26 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326164917/https://www.persee.fr/doc/paleo_0153-9345_1984_num_10_1_4350 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Carnelian]] beads from the Indus were found in Susa in the excavation of the tell of the citadel.<ref name="JMI">{{cite book |last1=McIntosh |first1=Jane |title=The Ancient Indus Valley: New Perspectives |date=2008 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9781576079072 |pages=182–190 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1AJO2A-CbccC&pg=PA189 }}</ref> 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 [[Harappa]]ns.<ref name="FeniXX réédition numérique">{{cite book |last1=Guimet |first1=Musée |title=Les Cités oubliées de l'Indus: Archéologie du Pakistan |date=2016 |publisher=FeniXX réédition numérique |isbn=9782402052467 |page=355 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-HpYDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA355 |language=fr |access-date=1 April 2019 |archive-date=27 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240427234306/https://books.google.com/books?id=-HpYDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA355 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Brotherhood of Kings: How International Relations Shaped the Ancient Near East|page=49|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JTvRCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA49|first=Amanda H.|last=Podany|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2012|isbn=978-0-19-971829-0|access-date=2 October 2020|archive-date=27 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240427234312/https://books.google.com/books?id=JTvRCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA49#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium BC from the Mediterranean to the Indus|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8l9X_3rHFdEC&pg=PA246|quote=Square-shaped Indus seals of fired steatite have been found at a few sites in Mesopotamia.|author1=Joan Aruz|author2=Ronald Wallenfels|page=246|isbn=978-1-58839-043-1|year=2003|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|access-date=1 April 2019|archive-date=27 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240427234037/https://books.google.com/books?id=8l9X_3rHFdEC&pg=PA246#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

Exchanges seem to have waned after 1900 BC, together with the disappearance of the Indus valley civilization.<ref name="JR16">{{cite book |last1=Reade |first1=Julian E. |title=The Indus-Mesopotamia relationship reconsidered (Gs Elisabeth During Caspers) |date=2008 |publisher=Archaeopress |isbn=978-1-4073-0312-3 |pages=16–17 |url=https://www.academia.edu/28245304 |access-date=1 April 2019 |archive-date=14 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114145706/https://www.academia.edu/28245304 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="155px">
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<ref>{{cite web|title=Site officiel du musée du Louvre|url=http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=13556|website=cartelfr.louvre.fr|access-date=1 April 2019|archive-date=27 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327090055/http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=13556|url-status=live}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Site officiel du musée du Louvre |url=http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=13589 |website=cartelfr.louvre.fr |access-date=1 April 2019 |archive-date=27 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327091540/http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=13589 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Guimet |first1=Musée |title=Les Cités oubliées de l'Indus: Archéologie du Pakistan |date=2016 |publisher=FeniXX réédition numérique |isbn=9782402052467 |pages=354–355 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-HpYDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA354 |language=fr |access-date=1 April 2019 |archive-date=27 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240427234037/https://books.google.com/books?id=-HpYDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA354 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Art of the first cities : the third millennium BC from the Mediterranean to the Indus. |page=[https://archive.org/details/ArtOfTheFirstCitiesTheThirdMillenniumB.C.FromTheMediterraneanToTheIndusEditedByJ/page/n419 395] |url=https://archive.org/details/ArtOfTheFirstCitiesTheThirdMillenniumB.C.FromTheMediterraneanToTheIndusEditedByJ }}</ref> These beads are identical with beads found in the Indus Civilization site of [[Dholavira]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nandagopal |first1=Prabhakar |title=Decorated Carnelian Beads from the Indus Civilization Site of Dholavira (Great Rann of Kachchha, Gujarat) |publisher=Archaeopress Publishing Ltd |isbn=978-1-78491-917-7 |url=https://www.academia.edu/37860117 |year=2018 |access-date=1 April 2019 |archive-date=20 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120032858/https://www.academia.edu/37860117 |url-status=live }}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Louvre Museum Official Website |url=http://cartelen.louvre.fr/cartelen/visite?srv=car_not&idNotice=13532 |website=cartelen.louvre.fr |access-date=1 April 2019 |archive-date=4 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404152336/http://cartelen.louvre.fr/cartelen/visite?srv=car_not&idNotice=13532 |url-status=live }}</ref> This type of bracelet was manufactured in [[Mohenjo-daro]], [[Lothal]] and [[Balakot]].<ref name="FeniXX réédition numérique"/> It is engraved with a chevron design which is characteristic of all shell bangles of the Indus Valley, visible [https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010187029 here].<ref>{{cite book |title=Art of the first cities : the third millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus. |page=[https://archive.org/details/ArtOfTheFirstCitiesTheThirdMillenniumB.C.FromTheMediterraneanToTheIndusEditedByJ/page/n422 398] |url=https://archive.org/details/ArtOfTheFirstCitiesTheThirdMillenniumB.C.FromTheMediterraneanToTheIndusEditedByJ }}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite book |title=Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus |date=2003 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |isbn=9781588390431 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/artoffirstcities0000unse/page/401 401]–402 |url=https://archive.org/details/artoffirstcities0000unse |url-access=registration }}</ref>
</gallery>

===Middle Elamite period (c. 1500 – c. 1100 BC)===
====Anshan and Susa====
[[File:Goatfishes Louvre Sb19.jpg|thumb|An ornate design on this limestone ritual vat from the Middle Elamite period depicts creatures with the heads of goats and the tails of fish (1500–1110 BC).]]

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 [[List of Elamite kings#Kidinuid dynasty (c. 1500–1400 BC)|Kidinuids]] continued to use the Akkadian language frequently in their inscriptions, the succeeding [[List of Elamite kings#Igihalkid dynasty (c. 1400 – c. 1200 BC)|Igihalkids]] and [[Shutrukid dynasty|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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/susa/|title=SUSA|last=Mark|first=Joshua|date=12 November 2018|website=[[World History Encyclopedia]]|access-date=28 April 2019|archive-date=19 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419030147/https://www.worldhistory.org/susa/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Kassite invasions====
[[File:Untash Napirisha stele Louvre Sb12.jpg|thumb|upright|Stele of Untash Napirisha, king of Anshan and Susa. Sandstone, c. 1340–1300 BC.]]

Of the Igehalkids (c. 1400 – 1210 BC), ten rulers are known, though their number was possibly larger.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McIntosh |first=Jane |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9veK7E2JwkUC&pg=PA355 |title=Ancient Mesopotamia: New Perspectives |date=2005 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-57607-965-2 |pages=355–56 |language=en |access-date=18 September 2022 |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920181741/https://books.google.com/books?id=9veK7E2JwkUC&pg=PA355 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 (language)|Akkadian]] inscriptions were rare, and Elamite highland gods became firmly established in Susa.

====Elamite Empire====
{{main|Shutrukid dynasty}}
[[File:Tchogha Zanbil.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The [[Chogha Zanbil]] ziggurat site, built c. 1250 BC.]]

Under the [[Shutrukid dynasty|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 of Akkad|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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Vallat |first1=Francois |title=Suse et l'Élam, Recherche sur les grandes civilisations |date=1980 |publisher=Mémoire 1 |location=Paris |pages=43–50}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Vallat |first1=Francois |title=Elam |date=1998 |publisher=[[Encyclopedia Iranica]] |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/elam-i |access-date=18 May 2023 |archive-date=30 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430035950/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/elam-i |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 [[Shilhina-hamru-Lagamar|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, [[Chaldea]]ns 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 [[Assyria]]n forces under [[Shamshi-Adad V]] (823–811 BC).

====Neo-Elamite II (c. 770 – 646 BC)====
[[File:Last arrow of King Teuman and his son.jpg|thumb|Elamite archer fighting against the Neo-Assyrian troops of [[Ashurbanipal]], and protecting wounded king [[Teumman]] (kneeling), at the [[Battle of Ulai]], 653 BC.]]
[[File:Susa-destruction.jpg|thumb|Ashurbanipal's campaign against Elam is triumphantly recorded in this relief showing the sack of [[Hamanu]] in 647 BC. Here, flames rise from the city as [[Assyria]]n 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 [[Iranian peoples|Iranians]] to the Iranian plateau. Assyrian sources beginning around 800 BC distinguish the "powerful Medes", i.e. the actual [[Medes]], [[Persians]], [[Parthian Empire|Parthians]], [[Sagartians]], etc. Among these pressuring tribes were the ''[[Persian people|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.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

More details are known from the late 8th century BC, when the Elamites were allied with the [[Chaldea]]n chieftain [[Marduk-apla-iddina II|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|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.<ref>ABC 1 Col.3:39–42</ref>

[[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.

[[File:Woman spinning-Sb 2834-IMG 0921-black.jpg|thumb|left|Relief of a woman being fanned by an attendant while she holds what may be a spinning device before a table with a bowl containing a whole fish (700–550 BC).]]

His successor [[Teumman|Tepti-Humban-Inshushinak]] (664–653 BC) attacked Assyria, but was defeated and killed by [[Ashurbanipal]] following the battle of the [[Battle of Ulai|Ulaï]] in 653 BC; and [[Susa]] itself was sacked and occupied by the Assyrians. In this same year the Assyrian vassal [[Median Empire|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 (Persia)|Anshan]] which their king [[Teispes]] captured that same year, turning it for the first time into an [[Indo-Iranians|Indo-Iranian]] kingdom under [[Assyria]]n 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 [[Iran]]ian colonies, and the [[Persians]], [[Medes]] and [[Parthian Empire|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 I|Tammaritu]], although these quickly broke off relations with Assyria over their pillages. The last Elamite king, [[Humban-haltash III|Humban-Haltash III]], was captured in 640 BC by Ashurbanipal, who annexed and destroyed the country.<ref>Potts 2016, p. 276–282</ref>

In a tablet unearthed in 1854 by [[Austen Henry Layard]], Ashurbanipal boasts of the destruction he had wrought:

{{blockquote|Susa, the great holy city, abode of their Gods, seat of their mysteries, I conquered. I entered its palaces, I opened their treasuries where silver and gold, goods and wealth were amassed ... I destroyed the ziggurat of Susa. I smashed its shining copper horns. I reduced the temples of Elam to naught; their gods and goddesses I scattered to the winds. The tombs of their ancient and recent kings I devastated, I exposed to the sun, and I carried away their bones toward the land of Ashur. I devastated the provinces of Elam and on their lands I sowed salt.<ref>{{cite book
  | title =Persians: Masters of Empire
  | publisher =Time-Life Books
  | pages =[https://archive.org/details/persiansmasterso00time/page/7 7–8]
  | url =https://archive.org/details/persiansmasterso00time/page/7
  | isbn =0-8094-9104-4
  | year =1995
  }}</ref>
}}

====Neo-Elamite III (646–539 BC)====
[[File:Xerxes I tomb Elamite soldier circa 470 BCE.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|Elamite soldier in the Achaemenid army circa 470 BC, [[Xerxes I]] 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.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

The various [[Assyrian Empire]]s, 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 peoples|Iranian]] [[Medes]], [[Parthian Empire|Parthians]], [[Achaemenid Empire|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]], [[Achaemenid Empire|Persians]], [[Parthian Empire|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, [[Assur|Ashur]], [[Dur-Sharrukin]] and [[Erbil|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 [[Medes|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).<ref>Georges Roux, '' Ancient Iraq''</ref>

[[File:Behistun Relief, Assina.jpg|thumb|upright|{{center|[[Âššina]], one of the last kings of Elam circa 522 BC was toppled, enchained and killed by [[Darius the Great]]. The label over him says: "This is Âššina. He lied, saying ''"I am king of Elam."''"<ref name=DB>{{cite book |title=Behistun, minor inscriptions DBb inscription- Livius |url=https://www.livius.org/sources/content/behistun-persian-text/behistun-minor-inscriptions/ |access-date=26 March 2020 |archive-date=10 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200310112440/https://www.livius.org/sources/content/behistun-persian-text/behistun-minor-inscriptions/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}]]

The prophet Ezekiel describes the status of their power in the 12th year of the Hebrew [[Babylonian Captivity]] in 587 BC:

{{blockquote|There is Elam and all her multitude, All around her grave, All of them slain, fallen by the sword, Who have gone down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, Who caused their terror in the land of the living; Now they bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit. ([[Ezekiel]] 32:24)<ref>{{cite book
  | title = Ezekiel
 }}</ref>
}}

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)===
[[Elymais|Elymaïs]] was the location of the death of [[Antiochus III the Great]] who was killed while pillaging a temple of [[Bel (mythology)|Bel]] in 187 BC.<ref name="Wilson. Nigel Guy 2005 58">{{cite book|author=Wilson. Nigel Guy|title=Encyclopedia of ancient Greece|publisher=Routledge|year=2006|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofan0000unse_a6l6/page/58 58]|isbn=978-0-415-97334-2|quote=ANTIOCHUS III THE GREAT c242–187 BC Seleucid king Antiochus III the Great was the sixth king (223–187 BC) ... Antiochus landed on the mainland of Greece posing as a champion of Greek freedom against the Romans (192 BC).|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofan0000unse_a6l6/page/58}}</ref> 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==
[[File:Elamite worshipper.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Golden statuette of a man (probably a king) carrying a goat. [[Susa]], Iran, c. 1500–1200 BC (Middle Elamite period).]]

===Statuettes===
Dated to approximately the 12th century BC, gold and silver figurines of Elamite worshippers are shown carrying a sacrificial goat. These divine and royal statues were meant to assure the king of the enduring protection of the deity, well-being and a long life. Works which showed a ruler and his performance of a ritual action were intended to eternalize the effectiveness of such deeds. Found near the Temple of [[Inshushinak]] in [[Susa]], these statuettes would have been considered charged with beneficial power.<ref name="art_of_elamites">{{Cite web|url=http://www.iranchamber.com/art/articles/art_of_elamites.php|title=Art of the Elamites|last=Porada|first=Edith|date=2017|website=www.iranchamber.com|access-date=29 June 2005|archive-date=1 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301055339/http://www.iranchamber.com/art/articles/art_of_elamites.php|url-status=live}}</ref>

While archaeologists cannot be certain that the location where these figures were found indicates a date before or in the time of the Elamite king Shilhak-Inshushinak, stylistic features can help ground the figures in a specific time period. The hairstyle and costume of the figures which are strewn with dots and hemmed with short fringe at the bottom, and the precious metals point to a date in the latter part of the second millennium BC rather than to the first millennium.<ref name="art_of_elamites"/>

In general, any gold or silver statuettes which represent the king making a sacrifice not only served a religious function, but was also a display of wealth.<ref name="art_of_elamites"/>

===Seals===
[[File:Cylinder seal and modern impression- worshiper before a seated ruler or deity; seated female under a grape arbor MET DP370181.jpg|thumb|Cylinder seal and modern impression- worshiper before a seated ruler or deity; seated female under a grape arbor MET DP370181]]

Elamite seals reached their peak of complexity in the 4th millennium BC when their shape became cylindrical rather than stamp-like. Seals were primarily used as a form of identification and were often made out of precious stones. Because seals for different time periods had different designs and themes, seals and seal impressions can be used to track the various phases of the Elamite Empire and can teach a lot about the empire in ways which other forms of documentation cannot.<ref name="metmuseum_1987.343">"[https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1987.343/ Cylinder seal and modern impression: worshipper before a seated ruler or deity; seated female under a grape arbor] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204084600/https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1987.343/ |date=4 December 2022 }}", The Metropolitan Museum of Art.</ref>

The seal pictured shows two seated figures holding cups with a man in front of them wearing a long robe next to a table. A man is sitting on a throne, presumably the king, and is in a wrapped robe. The second figure, perhaps his queen, is draped in a wide, flounced garment and is elevated on a platform beneath an overhanging vine. A crescent is shown in the field.<ref name="metmuseum_1987.343"/>

===Statue of Queen Napir-Asu===
[[File:Statue of Napirasu.JPG|thumb|upright|Statue of [[Napir-Asu|Napirasu]]]]

This life-size votive offering of Queen [[Napir-Asu]] was commissioned around 1300 BC in Susa, Iran. It is made of copper using the [[lost-wax]] casting method and rests on a solid bronze frame that weighs 1750&nbsp;kg (3760&nbsp;lb). This statue is different from many other Elamite statues of women because it resembles male statues due to the wide belt on the dress and the patterns which closely resemble those on male statues.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Domanico |first1=Emily |title=Statue of Queen Napir-Asu |website=APAH2011 |date= 12 September 2011 |url=https://apah2011.wikispaces.com/Statue%20of%20Queen%20Napir-Asu |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180720141345/https://apah2011.wikispaces.com/Statue%20of%20Queen%20Napir-Asu |archive-date= 20 Jul 2018 }}</ref>

The inscription on the side of the statue curses anyone, specifically men, who attempts to destroy the statue: "I, Napir-Asu, wife of [[Untash-Napirisha]]. He who would seize my statue, who would smash it, who would destroy its inscription, who would erase my name, may he be smitten by the curse of Napirisha, of Kiririsha, and of Inshushinka, that his name shall become extinct, that his offspring be barren, that the forces of Beltiya, the great goddess, shall sweep down on him. This is Napir-Asu's offering."<ref>The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State. D.T.Potts, second edition</ref>

===Stele of Untash Napirisha===
The stele of the Elamite king, [[Untash-Napirisha]] was believed to have been commissioned in the 12th century BC. It was moved from the original religious capital of [[Chogha Zanbil]] to the city of Susa by the successor king, [[Shutruk-Nahnante]]. Four registers of the stele are left. The remains depict the god Inshushinak validating the legitimacy of who is thought to be Shutruk-Nahnante. In the periphery are two priestesses, deity hybrids of fish and women holding streams of water, and two half-man half-mouflon guardians of the sacred tree. The names of the two priestesses are carved on their arms.<ref name="Malbran-Labat Florence 1995, p.168-169">Borne interactive du département des Antiquités orientales. [[Florence Malbran-Labat]], Les Inscriptions de Suse : briques de l'époque paléo-élamite à l'empire néo-élamite, Paris, Éditions de la Réunion des musées nationaux, 1995, p.168–169. Miroschedji Pierre de, "Le Dieu élamite au serpent", in : Iranica antiqua, Vol.16, 1981, Gand, Ministère de l'Éducation et de la Culture, 1989, p.13–14, pl.8.</ref>

King Untash Napirisha dedicated the stele to the god Ishushinak. Like other forms of art in the ancient Near East, this one portrays a king ceremonially recognizing a deity. This stele is unique in that the acknowledgement between king and god is reciprocal.<ref name="Malbran-Labat Florence 1995, p.168-169"/>

==Religion==
[[File:Two horned elam.jpg|thumb|right|upright|A carved [[Chlorite group|chlorite]] vase decorated with a relief depicting a "two-horned" figure wrestling with serpent goddesses. The Elamite artifact was discovered by Iran's border police in the possession of historical heritage traffickers, en route to Turkey, and was confiscated. Style is determined to be from "[[Jiroft culture|Jiroft]]".{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}}]]

The Elamites practised [[polytheism]].<ref name="Cambridge">{{cite book |title=The Cambridge Ancient History, Third Edition, Volume II, Part 2, History of the Middle East and the Aegean Region c.1380–1000 B.C. |editor1-last=Edwards, F.B.A. |editor1-first=I.E.S. |editor2-last=Gadd |editor2-first=C.J. |editor3-last=Hammond, F.B.A. |editor3-first=N.G.L. |editor4-last=Sollberger F.B.A. |editor4-first=E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n1TmVvMwmo4C&q=supreme+goddess&pg=PA482 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |publication-date=1975 |pages=400–416 |isbn=0-521-08691-4 |year=1970 |access-date=2 October 2020 |archive-date=27 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240427234308/https://books.google.com/books?id=n1TmVvMwmo4C&q=supreme+goddess&pg=PA482#v=snippet&q=supreme%20goddess&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> Due to scarcity of sources, past scholars assumed that Elamite religion must have been characterized by the "ill-defined character of the individual gods and goddesses. ...Most of them were not only ineffable beings whose real name was either not uttered or was unknown, but also sublime ideas, not to be exactly defined by the human race."<ref name="Cambridge" />{{rp|403}} Worship also varied between localities.<ref name="Cambridge" />{{rp|401}} However, more recent scholarship shows that Elamite deities most likely were not any less defined than these of their [[Sumerian mythology|Sumerian]], [[Akkadian mythology|Akkadian]] and [[Hurrian religion|Hurrian]] neighbors.<ref>see ex. W. M. F. Henkelman, ''The Other Gods who are: Studies in Elamite-Iranian Acculturation Based on the Persepolis Fortification Texts'', 2008</ref>

Inscriptions of many Elamite kings indicate that a concept of a supreme triad consisting of [[Inshushinak]] (originally the civic protector god of Susa, eventually the leader of the triad<ref name="Cambridge" />{{rp|401}} and guarantor of the monarchy<ref name="Malbran-Labat Florence 1995, p.168-169"/>), [[Kiririsha]] (an earth/mother goddess in southern Elam<ref name="Cambridge" />{{rp|406}}), and [[Napirisha]] existed.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=M. |last1=Jahangirfar |url=https://www.academia.edu/38023344 |title=The Elamite Triads: Reflections on the Possible Continuities in Iranian Tradition |journal=Iranica Antiqua |date=2018 |volume=LIII |via=Academia.edu |page=108 |access-date=7 June 2021 |archive-date=4 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210604192617/https://www.academia.edu/38023344/The_Elamite_Triads_Reflections_on_the_Possible_Continuities_in_Iranian_Tradition |url-status=live }}</ref> In the Neo-Elamite period [[Humban]], previously a deity of limited relevance in known sources, emerged as a divine source of royal power.<ref>W. M. F. Henkelman, ''The Other Gods who are: Studies in Elamite-Iranian Acculturation Based on the Persepolis Fortification Texts'', 2008, p. 353</ref>

Another significant deity was [[Pinikir]], an astral goddess of love, similar to [[Ishtar]].<ref>Kamyar Abdi, [https://www.academia.edu/31797493/Elamo_Hittitica_I_An_Elamite_Goddess_in_Hittite_Court Elamo-Hittitica I: An Elamite Goddess in Hittite Court] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423202253/https://www.academia.edu/31797493/Elamo_Hittitica_I_An_Elamite_Goddess_in_Hittite_Court |date=23 April 2021 }}, The Digital Archive of Brief notes & Iran Review (DABIR) 3, 2017, p. 10</ref> Some researchers, especially in the 1960s and 1970s, saw her as a mother goddess, and possibly originally chief deity, in northern Elam,<ref name="Cambridge" />{{rp|400}}<ref>W. Hinz, The Lost World of Elam, London 1972, p. 42</ref> later supplanted by or identified with Kiririsha, but this view is no longer supported by scholars.<ref>Kamyar Abdi, [https://www.academia.edu/31797493/Elamo_Hittitica_I_An_Elamite_Goddess_in_Hittite_Court Elamo-Hittitica I: An Elamite Goddess in Hittite Court] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423202253/https://www.academia.edu/31797493/Elamo_Hittitica_I_An_Elamite_Goddess_in_Hittite_Court |date=23 April 2021 }}, The Digital Archive of Brief notes & Iran Review (DABIR) 3, 2017, p. 9</ref><ref>H. Koch, Theology and Worship in Elam and Achaemenid Iran, Civilizations of the ancient Near East 3, 1995, p. 1960-1961</ref>

There were also imported deities, such as Beltiya,<ref name="Malbran-Labat Florence 1995, p.168-169"/> [[Nergal]] or [[Nanaya]]; some native Elamite deities had [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] or [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] names as well (ex. [[Manzat (goddess)|Manzat]], [[Inshushinak]] and his attendants), indicating a long history of interchange. Some Elamite deities were also venerated outside Elam: Pinikir was known to the Hurrians and Hittites,<ref name="researchgate">{{cite periodical |first1=Gary |last1=Beckman |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280224167 |title=The Goddess Pirinkir and Her Ritual from Hattusa (CTH 644) |periodical = KTEMA |issue=24 |date=1999 |pages=25–27 |via=ResearchGate |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419211437/https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gary-Beckman/publication/280224167_The_Goddess_Pirinkir_and_Her_Ritual_from_Hattusa_CTH_644/links/5bfc50d3299bf10737f9993c/The-Goddess-Pirinkir-and-Her-Ritual-from-Hattusa-CTH-644.pdf |archive-date= 19 Apr 2023 }}</ref> [[Simut (god)|Simut]] appeared in Babylonian personal names,<ref>W. M. F. Henkelman, ''[https://www.academia.edu/2438476/%C5%A0imut Šimut] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502020815/https://www.academia.edu/2438476/%C5%A0imut |date=2 May 2021 }}'' [in:] ''Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie'' vol. 12, 2011, p. 512</ref> and an Assyrian text mentions Khumban, Napirisha and Yabru (Jabru) as protectors of the king.<ref>K. van der Toorn, Humbaba, [in:] K. van der Toorn, B. Becking, P. W. van der Horst, Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, 1999, p. 431-432</ref><ref>A. Lokotinov, "[https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1810/266321/JANEH_Paper_VAT_10057-2--Accepted-Copy.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y An "Egyptianising" Underworld Judging an Assyrian Prince? New Perspectives on VAT 10057] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423191850/https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1810/266321/JANEH_Paper_VAT_10057-2--Accepted-Copy.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |date=23 April 2021 }}", Journal of Ancient Near Eastern History 3(1), 2016.</ref>

=== List of Elamite gods ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name !! Mesopotamian equivalent !! Functions !! Notes
|-
|Ashara || || ||Seemingly the same goddess as Eblaite [[Išḫara|Ishara]].<ref>L. Murat, ''[https://www.academia.edu/31405555/Goddess_I%C5%A1hara_Tanr%C4%B1%C3%A7a_I%C5%A1hara Goddess Išhara] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522211138/https://www.academia.edu/31405555/Goddess_I%C5%A1hara_Tanr%C4%B1%C3%A7a_I%C5%A1hara |date=22 May 2021 }}'',  ''Ankara Üniversitesi Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Tarih Bölümü Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi'' 45, 2009, p. 160</ref>
|-
| Hišmitik|| || A deity associated with [[Ruhurater]] who shared a temple with him in [[Chogha Zanbil]]<ref name="Ruhurater">W. M. F. Henkelman, [https://www.academia.edu/2438401/Ruhurater ''Ruhurater''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210504180532/https://www.academia.edu/2438401/Ruhurater |date=4 May 2021 }} [in:] ''Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie'' vol 11, 2008, p. 449</ref> ||
|-
| [[Humban]] || [[Enlil]]<ref>H. Koch, ''Theology and Worship in Elam and Achaemenid Iran'', ''Civilizations of the ancient Near East'' 3, 1995, p. 1961</ref> || Bestowed ''[[Humban#Kittin|kittin]]'' upon kings. || Worshiped by [[Persians]] in early [[Achaemenid]] times as well.<ref>W. M. F. Henkelman, ''The Other Gods who are: Studies in Elamite-Iranian Acculturation Based on the Persepolis Fortification Texts'', 2008, p. 372</ref>
|-
| [[Inshushinak]]|| [[Ninurta]]<ref name="Ruhurater"/> || Tutelary god of [[Susa]]; protector of monarchy; underworld god || Also known in Mesopotamia as an underworld god in the entourage of [[Ereshkigal]].<ref>F. Wiggermann, ''[https://www.academia.edu/540407/Transtigridian_Snake_Gods Transtigridian Snake Gods] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605222251/https://www.academia.edu/540407/Transtigridian_Snake_Gods |date=5 June 2021 }}'' [in:] I. L. Finkel, M. J. Geller (eds.), ''Sumerian Gods and their Representations'', 1997, p. 34</ref>
|-
| [[Ishmekarab]] || || Attendant of Inshushinak. Protector of oaths.<ref>W. G. Lambert,  ''Išme-karāb'' [in] ''Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie'' vol 5, 1980, p. 196-197</ref>  || The name has Akkadian origin.
|-
| [[Jabru]]|| [[Anu]]<ref>H. Koch,  ''Theology and Worship in Elam and Achaemenid Iran'', ''Civilizations of the ancient Near East'' 3, 1995, p. 1961</ref> or [[Enlil]]<ref>W. G. Lambert, ''Jabnu'' [in:] ''Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie'', vol. 5, 1980, p. 229: "Jabnu is equated with Enlil in BA 5 (1906) 655 8 (from which An = Anum 1162 may be restored)"</ref>
 || || Only known from Mesopotamian sources.<ref>W. G. Lambert, ''Jabnu'' [in:] ''Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie'', vol. 5, 1980, p. 229</ref>
|-
| [[Kiririsha]] || possibly [[Ninhursag]]<ref>M. A. Garrison, [http://www.religionswissenschaft.uzh.ch/idd/prepublications/e_idd_ninkhursaga.pdf Ninkursaga] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425175714/http://www.religionswissenschaft.uzh.ch/idd/prepublications/e_idd_ninkhursaga.pdf |date=25 April 2021 }}  [in:] [https://www.religionswissenschaft.uzh.ch/idd/prepublication.php Iconography of Deities and Demons: Electronic Pre-Publication] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401102909/https://www.religionswissenschaft.uzh.ch/idd/prepublication.php |date=1 April 2022 }}</ref> || [[Mother goddess]]; also an afterlife goddess as evidenced by the epithet "zana Liyan lahakra", "lady of death in Liyan"<ref>W. M. F. Henkelman, ''The Other Gods who are: Studies in Elamite-Iranian Acculturation Based on the Persepolis Fortification Texts'', 2008, p. 330</ref>|| Incorrectly assumed to be a "taboo name" of Pinikir in the past.<ref>W. M. F. Henkelman, ''The Other Gods who are: Studies in Elamite-Iranian Acculturation Based on the Persepolis Fortification Texts'', 2008, p. 354, footnote 824: "In addition to Napiriša, Hinz (1976/80b) surmised that Kiririša also was a taboo-name (for Pinigir). This theory has been convincingly discredited by Grillot & Vallat 1984: 27-9."</ref> She and Napirisha were possibly regarded as a divine couple.<ref>W. M. F. Henkelman, ''The Other Gods who are: Studies in Elamite-Iranian Acculturation Based on the Persepolis Fortification Texts'', 2008, p. 331</ref>
|-
| Kirmašir || || A deity from Awan.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vallat |first=F. |date=13 December 2011 |orig-date=15 December 1998 |title=Elam vi. Elamite religion |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/elam-vi |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108005950/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/elam-vi |archive-date=8 Nov 2023 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |quote=Several divinities from the plateau can be connected to the pantheons of the principal geopolitical entities that constituted Elam (...), for example (...) Kirmašir in Awan }}</ref> ||
|-
|Kunzibami, Šihhaš and Šennukušu
|[[Adad]]
|[[weather god]](s)
|Adad, under the Akkadian name and alongside his wife [[Shala]], was himself worshiped in Elam (ex. in [[Chogha Zanbil]])<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vallat |first=F. |date=13 December 2011 |orig-date=15 December 1998 |title=Elam vi. Elamite religion |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/elam-vi |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108005950/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/elam-vi |archive-date=8 Nov 2023 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |quote=In the space between this wall and a second wall the temples of several gods were built. In order from the southeast to the northeast they were the temples of Pinikir, '''Adad and Šala''', Šimut and Nin-ali, the Napratep gods, and after a wide interval that of Hišmitik and Ruhuratir }}</ref> and none of these 3 names are attested outside Mesopotamian god lists, unless the ideogram <sup>d</sup>IM refers to more than one weather god in Elamite sources (ex. in personal names). Wouter Henkelman proposes Kunzibami, Šihhaš and Šennukušu are either locally used Elamite epithets of Adad or local (rather than national) weather gods, and notes that Šennukušu is a Sumerian rather than Elamite name.<ref>W. M. F. Henkelman, ''The Other Gods who are: Studies in Elamite-Iranian Acculturation Based on the Persepolis Fortification Texts'', 2008, p. 307-308, in particular "It seems therefore more likely that the three names (if they are not epithets) refer to deities in some of the local pantheons that must have existed in Elam but that remain virtually unknown to us."</ref>
|-
| [[Lagamal|Lagamar]] ||  [[Nergal]]<ref>W. G. Lambert, ''Lāgamāl'' [in] ''Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie'' vol 6, 1983, p. 418-419</ref>  || Underworld god, associated with Inshushinak || The name has Akkadian origin.
|-
| [[Manzat (goddess)|Manzat]]<ref>W. G. Lambert,  ''Manziʾat/Mazziʾat/Mazzât/Mazzêt'' [in] ''[http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606083853/http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index |date=6 June 2021 }}'' vol 7, 1987, p. 344-346</ref> || || Goddess of the rainbow; possibly ''Belet/Nin-Ali'', "lady of the city"|| Originally an Akkadian goddess
|-
| Mašti || || Mother goddess.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vallat |first=F. |date=13 December 2011 |orig-date=15 December 1998 |title=Elam vi. Elamite religion |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/elam-vi |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108005950/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/elam-vi |archive-date=8 Nov 2023 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |quote=Kiririša and Mašti were "mothers of the gods." }}</ref> ||
|-
| [[Nahhunte]] || [[Utu]] || [[Sun god]]. || Never equated with Utu/Shamash directly though it's possible the ideographic writing "<sup>d</sup>Utu" of his name was used in personal names.<ref>M. W. Stolper, ''Nahhunte'' [in:] ''[http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606083853/http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index |date=6 June 2021 }}'' vol 9, 1998, p. 82-84</ref>
|-
| [[Narundi]]|| [[Ishtar]] or [[Nanaya]]<ref>{{cite book |first1=F. |last1=Wiggermann |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/2393450 |chapter=Siebengötter A (Sebettu) |title=Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie |date=January 2010 |volume=12 |page=462 |via=Academia.edu |access-date=8 June 2021 |archive-date=8 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608121730/https://www.academia.edu/2393450/Siebeng%C3%B6tter_A_Sebettu_ |url-status=live }}</ref>
 || A goddess known from Susa.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vallat |first=F. |date=13 December 2011 |orig-date=15 December 1998 |title=Elam vi. Elamite religion |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/elam-vi |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108005950/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/elam-vi |archive-date=8 Nov 2023 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |quote=Ešpurm, governor of Susa for Maništusu, dedicated a statue to the goddess Narundi }}</ref> || Regarded as a sister of the so-called "Divine Seven of Elam" from Mesopotamian god lists.
|-
| [[Napir]] || || [[Moon god]]<ref>V. Haas, H.Koch, ''Religionen des alten Orients: Hethiter und Iran'', 2011, p. 63</ref> ||
|-
| [[Napirisha]] || [[Enki]]<ref>W. M. F. Henkelman, ''The Other Gods who are: Studies in Elamite-Iranian Acculturation Based on the Persepolis Fortification Texts'', 2008, p. 330, footnote 770: "In Mesopotamia, Napiriša was considered to be "the Ea of Elam" (Commentary B l.3 to Šurpu II.163 in Reiner 1958: 50). Ea or Enki ("Lord Earth") resided in the Apsû and from there controlled the waters that fertilise the lands.</ref> || One of the supreme gods, possibly linked to water.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=M. |last1=Jahangirfar |url=https://www.academia.edu/38023344 |title=The Elamite Triads: Reflections on the Possible Continuities in Iranian Tradition |journal=Iranica Antiqua |date=2018 |volume=LIII |via=Academia.edu |page=112 |access-date=7 June 2021 |archive-date=4 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210604192617/https://www.academia.edu/38023344/The_Elamite_Triads_Reflections_on_the_Possible_Continuities_in_Iranian_Tradition |url-status=live }}</ref> || Formerly incorrectly believed to be a "taboo name" of Humban.<ref>W. M. F. Henkelman, ''The Other Gods who are: Studies in Elamite-Iranian Acculturation Based on the Persepolis Fortification Texts'', 2008, p. 215</ref> There is some evidence that in Elam Inshushinak, rather than Napirisha, was associated with Ea, as well as with the god Enzag from [[Dilmun]].<ref>W. M. F. Henkelman, ''The Other Gods who are: Studies in Elamite-Iranian Acculturation Based on the Persepolis Fortification Texts'', 2008, p. 307, footnote 702: "Inšušinak is indeed equated with a Mesopotamian god, (...) Ninurta (...); in Elam he seems to have been associated, if not equated, with Ea and the Dilmunite Enzag"</ref>
|-
| [[Pinikir]] || [[Ishtar]], [[Ninsianna]]<ref>{{cite periodical |first1=Gary |last1=Beckman |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280224167 |title=The Goddess Pirinkir and Her Ritual from Hattusa (CTH 644) |periodical = KTEMA |issue=24 |date=1999 |page=27 |via=ResearchGate |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419211437/https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gary-Beckman/publication/280224167_The_Goddess_Pirinkir_and_Her_Ritual_from_Hattusa_CTH_644/links/5bfc50d3299bf10737f9993c/The-Goddess-Pirinkir-and-Her-Ritual-from-Hattusa-CTH-644.pdf |archive-date= Apr 19, 2023 }}</ref>  || Goddess of love and sex, "[[Queen of Heaven (antiquity)|queen of heaven]]" || Also incorporated into [[Hurrian religion]].<ref name="researchgate"/>
|-
| [[Ruhurater]] || [[Ninurta]]<ref name="Ruhurater"/> || Possibly a god responsible for creation of humans.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=M. |last1=Jahangirfar |url=https://www.academia.edu/38023344 |title=The Elamite Triads: Reflections on the Possible Continuities in Iranian Tradition |journal=Iranica Antiqua |date=2018 |volume=LIII |via=Academia.edu |page=113 |access-date=7 June 2021 |archive-date=4 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210604192617/https://www.academia.edu/38023344/The_Elamite_Triads_Reflections_on_the_Possible_Continuities_in_Iranian_Tradition |url-status=live }}</ref> ||
|-
| [[Simut (god)|Simut]] || [[Nergal]] || Herald of the gods<ref>W. M. F. Henkelman, ''[https://www.academia.edu/2438476/%C5%A0imut Šimut] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502020815/https://www.academia.edu/2438476/%C5%A0imut |date=2 May 2021 }}'' [in:] ''Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie'' vol. 12, 2011, p. 511-512</ref>  || Associated with [[Mars]] in Mesopotamia.
|-
| Tepti || || Known from Neo-Elamite sources.<ref>W. M. F. Henkelman, ''The Other Gods who are: Studies in Elamite-Iranian Acculturation Based on the Persepolis Fortification Texts'', 2008, p. 365</ref> ||
|-
| Tirutur || || Known from Middle and Neo-Elamite sources.<ref>M. Krebernik,  ''Tirumithir, Tirutur'' ''[http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606083853/http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index |date=6 June 2021 }}'' vol 14, 2014, p. 61</ref> ||
|-
| Upur-kubak || || A goddess described as "lady who dipenses the light" by Huteltush-Inshushinak<ref>W. M. F. Henkelman, [https://www.academia.edu/10644935/Upur_kubak ''Upur-kubak''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210607153030/https://www.academia.edu/10644935/Upur_kubak |date=7 June 2021 }} [in:] ''Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie'' vol 14, 2014, p. 352</ref>||
|-
|}

==Language==
{{Main|Elamite language|Origin of the name Khuzestan}}

Elamite is traditionally thought to be a [[language isolate]], and completely unrelated to the neighbouring [[Semitic languages]], [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] and [[Kassite language|Kassite]], [[Hurrian language|Hurrian]] (also isolates), and the later arriving [[Indo-European]] [[Iranian languages]] that came to dominate the region of Elam from the 6th century BC. It was written in a [[cuneiform]] adapted from the Semitic [[Akkadian (language)|Akkadian]] script of [[Assyria]] and [[Babylonia]], although the very earliest documents were written in the quite different [[Linear Elamite script|"Linear Elamite" script]]. In 2006, two even older inscriptions in a similar script were discovered at [[Jiroft]] to the east of Elam, leading archaeologists to speculate that Linear Elamite had originally spread from further east to [[Susa]]. It seems to have developed from an even earlier writing known as "proto-Elamite", but scholars are not unanimous on whether or not this script was used to write Elamite or another language, as it has not yet been deciphered. Several stages of the language are attested; the earliest date back to the third millennium BC, the latest to the [[Achaemenid Empire]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

The Elamite language may have survived as late as the early [[History of Islam|Islamic period]] (roughly contemporary with the [[early medieval period]] in Europe). Among other Islamic [[Origin of the name Khuzestan#Supporting documentation|medieval historians]], [[Ibn al-Nadim]], for instance, wrote that "The Iranian languages are [[Fahlavi]] ([[Middle Persian|Pahlavi]]), [[Zoroastrian Dari language|Dari]] (not to be confused with [[Dari Persian]] in modern Afghanistan), Khuzi, [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Syriac language|Suryani]] ([[Aramaic language|Assyrian]])", and [[Abdullah Ibn al-Muqaffa|Ibn Moqaffa]] noted that ''Khuzi'' was the unofficial language of the royalty of Persia, "Khuz" being the corrupted name for Elam.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

===Suggested relations to other language families===
While Elamite is viewed as a [[language isolate]] by the vast majority of linguists, a minority of scholars have proposed that the Elamite language could be related to the [[Dravidian languages]].<ref>''Black Athena: The linguistic evidence'', by Martin Bernal, p. 701</ref> David McAlpine believes Elamite may be related to the living Dravidian languages. This hypothesis (which has been subject to serious criticism by linguists) is considered under the rubric of [[Elamo-Dravidian languages]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Khan |first1=Abdul Jaim |title=Urdu/Hindi An Artificial Divide : African Heritage, Mesopotamian Roots, Indian Culture & Britiah Colonialism |date=2006 |publisher=Algora |isbn=9780875864372 |pages=66–67 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jWpNBAAAQBAJ |access-date=9 July 2023 |archive-date=27 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240427234038/https://books.google.com/books?id=jWpNBAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Daryaee |first=Touraj |title=The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0199390427 |pages=37}}</ref>

==Legacy==
The Assyrians had utterly destroyed the Elamite nation, but new polities emerged in the area after Assyrian power faded. Among the nations that benefited from the decline of the Assyrians were the Iranian tribes, whose presence around [[Lake Urmia]] to the north of Elam is attested from the 9th century BC in Assyrian texts. Some time after that region fell to Madius the Scythian (653 BC), [[Teispes]], son of [[Achaemenes]], conquered Elamite Anshan in the mid 7th century BC, forming a nucleus that would expand into the Persian Empire. They were largely regarded as vassals of the Assyrians, and the Medes, [[Mannaeans]], and Persians paid tribute to Assyria from the 10th century BC until the death of [[Ashurbanipal]] in 631 BC. After his death, the Medes played a major role in the destruction of the weakened Assyrian Empire in 612 BC.

The rise of the Achaemenids in the 6th century BC brought an end to the existence of Elam as an independent political power "but not as a cultural entity" (''Encyclopædia Iranica'', [[Columbia University]]). Indigenous Elamite traditions, such as the use of the title "king of Anshan" by [[Cyrus the Great]]; the "Elamite robe" worn by [[Cambyses I of Anshan]] and seen on the famous winged [[genii (mythology)|genii]] at [[Pasargadae]]; some glyptic styles; the use of Elamite as the first of three official languages of the empire used in thousands of administrative texts found at Darius' city of [[Persepolis]]; the continued worship of Elamite deities; and the persistence of Elamite religious personnel and cults supported by the crown, formed an essential part of the newly emerging Achaemenid culture in Persian Iran. The Elamites thus became the conduit by which achievements of the Mesopotamian civilizations were introduced to the tribes of the Iranian plateau.

Conversely, remnants of Elamite had "absorbed Iranian influences in both structure and vocabulary" by 500 BC,<ref>''[[Encyclopædia Iranica]]'', [[Columbia University]]</ref> suggesting a form of cultural continuity or fusion connecting the Elamite and the Persian periods.<ref>"There is much evidence, both archaeological and literary/epigraphic, to suggest that the rise of the Persian empire witnessed the fusion of Elamite and Persian elements already present in highland Fars". {{cite book
 | title = The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State
 | publisher = Cambridge World Archaeology
 | pages = Chap 9 Introduction
 | no-pp = true}}</ref>
Arab sources refer to speakers of "Xūzī" which was not "Hebrew, Aramaic, or Persian" spoken by servants and isolated rural communities in Khuzestan until the 10th century. Scholars such as "von Spiegel, Huart, Spuler, Lazard, Potts, Orsatti, and Tavernier have already suggested or assumed that the language mentioned here is a very late form of Elamite."<ref>{{cite journal
 | title = The Language of the Xuz and the Fate of Elamite
 | journal =  Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
 | pages = 447–462
 | volume = 31
 | issue = 3
 | author = Kevin T. Van Bladel
 | date = 2021
 | doi = 10.1017/S1356186321000092
 | no-pp = true}}</ref>

The name of "Elam" survived into the [[Hellenistic period]] and beyond. In its Greek form, ''[[Elymais]]'', it emerges as designating a semi-independent state under [[Parthia]]n suzerainty during the 2nd century BC to the early 3rd century AD. In [[Acts]] 2:8–9 in the [[New Testament]], the language of the ''Elamitēs'' is one of the languages heard at the [[Pentecost]]. From 410 onwards [[Beth Huzaye (East Syrian Ecclesiastical Province)|Elam]] (Beth Huzaye) was the senior metropolitan province of the [[Church of the East]], surviving into the 14th century. Indian Carmelite historian John Marshal has proposed that the root of [[Carmelite]] history in the Indian subcontinent could be traced to the promise of restoration of Elam (Jeremiah 49:39).<ref>p. 185–211, The First Foundation of Carmel in India 1619–2019[part-1] Dhyanavana publications, {{ISBN|978-81-89144-33-3}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=March 2019}}

<gallery widths="200" heights="160">
File:Kaftar elam.jpg|A 4.5 inch long [[lapis lazuli]] [[dove]] is studded with gold pegs. Dated 1200 BC from [[Susa]], a city later on shared with the Achaemenids.
File:Eshkaft-e Salman II.jpg|Elamite [[reliefs]] at [[Eshkaft-e Salman]]. The picture of a woman with dignity shows the importance of women in the Elamite era.{{Opinion|date=October 2019}}
</gallery>

In modern Iran, [[Ilam Province]] and [[Khuzestan Province]] are named after Elam civilization. Khuzestan means land of the Khuzis and Khuzi itself is a [[Middle Persian]] name for Elamites.<ref>See ''[[Encyclopædia Iranica]]'', [[Columbia University]], Vol 1, p687-689.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Jam Arjan]]
* [[Elam, son of Shem]]
* [[Jiroft culture]]
* [[List of rulers of Elam]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* Quintana Cifuentes, E., "Historia de Elam el vecino mesopotámico", Murcia, 1997. ''Estudios Orientales''. IPOA-Murcia.
* Quintana Cifuentes, E., "Textos y Fuentes para el estudio del Elam", Murcia, 2000.'' Estudios Orientales''. IPOA-Murcia.
* Quintana Cifuentes, E.,'' La Lengua Elamita (Irán pre-persa)'', Madrid, 2010. Gram Ediciones. {{ISBN|978-84-88519-17-7}}
* Khačikjan, Margaret: ''The Elamite Language'', Documenta Asiana IV, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche Istituto per gli Studi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici, 1998 {{ISBN|88-87345-01-5}}
* {{Cite web |last=Desset |first=François |date=2020a |title=Breaking the Code: The Decipherment of Linear Elamite, a Forgotten Writing System of Ancient Iran (3rd Millenium BC) |url=https://www.canal-u.tv/video/archeorient/breaking_the_code_the_decipherment_of_linear_elamite_a_forgotten_writing_system_of_ancient_iran_3rd_millenium_bc.58549 |website=Canal-U |language=en}}
* {{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o1ZOUhN3t8 |title=A New History of Writing on The Iranian Plateau |date=2020b |last=Desset |first=François |language=en |via=YouTube}}
* ''Persians: Masters of Empire'', Time-Life Books, Alexandria, Virginia (1995) {{ISBN|0-8094-9104-4}}
* {{cite book | author= Pittman, Holly | url=https://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/33948 | title=Art of the Bronze Age: southeastern Iran, western Central Asia, and the Indus Valley | location=New York | publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art | year=1984 | isbn=9780870993657}}
* D. T. Potts, "Elamites and Kassites in the Persian Gulf",''Journal of Near Eastern Studies'', vol. 65, no. 2, pp.&nbsp;111–119, (April 2006)
* {{cite book |last=Potts |first=Daniel T.  |date=2016 |orig-date=1999 |title=The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State  |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-09469-7}}
* McAlpin, David W., ''Proto Elamo Dravidian: The Evidence and Its Implications'', American Philosophy Society (1981) {{ISBN|0-87169-713-0}}
* Vallat, François. 2010. "The History of Elam". The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies (CAIS)
* {{cite book | editor1-last=Álvarez-Mon | editor1-first=Javier | editor2-last=Basello | editor2-first=Gian Pietro | editor3-last=Wicks | editor3-first=Yasmina | title=The Elamite World | series=Routledge Worlds | location=Oxford | publisher=Routledge | year=2018 | isbn=978-1-138-99989-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yClKDwAAQBAJ&q=%22elamite%20world%22%20routledge&pg=PA1 }}
* Giuseppe Valenza, Elamiti Elimioti Elimi Il Teatro Genealogico degli Elimi nel crocevia del Mediterraneo. Marostica, 2022, {{ISBN|978-88-908854-2-6}}.

==Further reading==
* Zohouriyan, Maryam, Seyyed Mehdi Mousavi Kouhpar, Javad Neyestani, and Alireza Hozhabri Nobari. "Semiology of the Gryphon Motif in Ancient Elamite Architecture". In: ''Central Asiatic Journal'' 62, no. 2 (2019): 227–32. {{doi|10.13173/centasiaj.62.2.0227}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Elam}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [https://www.um.es/ipoa/cuneiforme/elamita/ Lengua e historia elamita], by Enrique Quintana
* [https://www.iranchamber.com/history/elamite/elamite.php History of the Elamite Empire]
* [http://www.iranchamber.com/art/articles/art_of_elamites.php Elamite Art]
* [http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/stele-untash-napirisha-king-anshan-and-susa Stele of King Untash Napirisha] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201042618/http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/stele-untash-napirisha-king-anshan-and-susa |date=1 December 2017 }}
* [https://apah2011.wikispaces.com/Statue+of+Queen+Napir-Asu Statue of Queen Napir Asu] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720141354/https://apah2011.wikispaces.com/Statue+of+Queen+Napir-Asu |date=20 July 2018 }}
* [https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1987.343/ Elamite Seals]
* [http://www.allempires.com/article/index.php?q=The_Elamite_Empire All Empires – The Elamite Empire] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927183906/http://www.allempires.com/article/index.php?q=The_Elamite_Empire |date=27 September 2007 }}
* [https://ancientneareast.tripod.com/Elam_Susiana.html Elam in Ancient Southwest Iran]
* [http://persepolistablets.blogspot.com/ Persepolis Fortification Archive Project]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050308174927/http://www.cappuccinomag.com/iranologyenglish/001141.shtml Iran Before Iranians]
* [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/elam-index Encyclopædia Iranica: Elam]
* [http://www.systemdynamics.org/conferences/2002/proceed/EXTRAS/SVERD1_S.PDF Modelling population dispersal and language origins during the last 120,000 years]
* Hamid-Reza Hosseini, ''Shush at the foot of [[Louvre]]'' [https://www.jadidonline.com/story/10032009/frnk/susa_shush ''Shush dar dāman-e Louvre'', in Persian, Jadid Online, 10 March 2009]<br />[https://www.jadidonline.com/images/stories/flash_multimedia/Susa_shush_test/susa_high.html Audio slideshow] (6 min 31 sec)

{{Ancient Mesopotamia}}
{{Iran topics}}
{{Rulers of the Ancient Near East}}
{{Elamite kingdom}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Elam| ]]
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