Elam

Elam
Haltamti
𒁹𒄬𒆷𒁶𒋾
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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.
Alternative namesElamites, Susiana
Geographical rangeIran
29°54′N 52°24′E / 29.900°N 52.400°E / 29.900; 52.400
PeriodPre-Iranic
Dates3200–539 BC
Preceded byProto-Elamite
Followed byAchaemenid Empire

Elam (/ˈləm/)[a] was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of southern Iraq. The modern name Elam stems from the Sumerian transliteration elam(a), along with the later Akkadian elamtu, and the Elamite haltamti. Elamite states were among the leading political forces of the Ancient Near East.[3] In classical literature, Elam was also known as Susiana (US: /ˌsʒiˈænə/ UK: /ˌsziˈɑːnə/; Ancient Greek: Σουσιανή Sousiānḗ), a name derived from its capital Susa.[4]

Elam was part of the early urbanization of the Near East during the Chalcolithic period (Copper Age). The emergence of written records from around 3000 BC also parallels Sumerian history, where slightly earlier records have been found.[5][6] In the Old Elamite period (Middle Bronze Age), Elam consisted of kingdoms on the Iranian plateau, centered in Anshan, and from the mid-2nd millennium BC, it was centered in Susa in the Khuzestan lowlands.[7] Its culture played a crucial role during the Persian Achaemenid dynasty that succeeded Elam, when the Elamite language remained among those in official use. Elamite is generally considered a language isolate unrelated to any other languages. In accordance with geographical and archaeological matches, some historians argue that the Elamites comprise a large portion of the ancestors of the modern-day Lurs[8] whose language, Luri, split from Middle Persian.

  1. ^ "Elam (GN)". Oracc: The Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus.
  2. ^ "Elamtu [ELAM] (GN)". Oracc: The Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  3. ^ Elam: surveys of political history and archaeology, Elizabeth Carter and Matthew W. Stolper, University of California Press, 1984, p. 3
  4. ^ Skolnik, Fred; Berenbaum, Michael (2007). Encyclopaedia Judaica, Volume 6. p. 283. ISBN 978-0028659343.
  5. ^ Hock, Hans Heinrich (2009). Language History, Language Change, and Language Relationship: An Introduction to Historical and Comparative Linguistics (2nd ed.). Mouton de Gruyter. p. 69. ISBN 978-3110214291. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  6. ^ Gnanadesikan, Amalia (2008). The Writing Revolution: Cuneiform to the Internet. Blackwell. p. 25. ISBN 978-1444304688.
  7. ^ Elam: surveys of political history and archaeology, Elizabeth Carter and Matthew W. Stolper, University of California Press, 1984, p. 4
  8. ^ Edwards, I.E.S.; Gadd, C.J.; Hammond, G.L. (1971). The Cambridge Ancient History (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 644. ISBN 9780521077910. lurs.


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