The People of Elam.
in the post (below) I discussed the vast geographical expanse of the Elamite civilization (in terms of total area, it is only surpassed by the Harappans); naturally, such a large realm would have numerous subregions - from inscription data, we can name 64:
in the post (below) I discussed the vast geographical expanse of the Elamite civilization (in terms of total area, it is only surpassed by the Harappans); naturally, such a large realm would have numerous subregions - from inscription data, we can name 64:
To get a sense of the names of these regions, see the excerpt below;
again, it is useful to keep in mind that the core of Elamite civilisation was around the two key cities of Susa and Anshan (see map), with subregions influenced by Elamite culture, and possibly falling under occasional political control, creating a Greater Elam extending across the Iranian plateau.
again, it is useful to keep in mind that the core of Elamite civilisation was around the two key cities of Susa and Anshan (see map), with subregions influenced by Elamite culture, and possibly falling under occasional political control, creating a Greater Elam extending across the Iranian plateau.
Sumeria in the west, the region of Gutium in the northwest, with a possible Hurrian inner zone, created the northern frontier of Elam; it is possible that in the upper northeast there was a sort of open frontier of various steppe peoples, across which connections were made with the Oxus civilization;
In the east Elam was bounded by the Jiroft culture, whose major site of Shahr i Sokhta displayed cultural influence from the Indus Valley, Elam, and the Oxus culture; and in its later layers possible occupation by steppe cultures.
Some good early evidence for understanding the geopolitical influence of Elam comes from an inscription of King Puzur-Inshu-shinak of Susa, from 2100 BC, whose influence spread over a vast territory including Hu-ur-tim (possibly Hurrians) and the Gu-tu (Gutians); this was a high period in Elamite history after generations of dominance by the Akkadians, who briefly occupied Susa, and even established a sort of aristocracy of Semitic speaking people, who later intermixed with the local population.
The Akkadian dominance is demonstrated by an excavated archive belonging to a certain Igi-buni son of A-at-ta, reflecting obviously his own personal network : 75% of names in this archive are Mesopotamian, with 68% of these Akkadian; only about 16% are Elamite, and there is one Kassite name.
By 1500 BC, the Kassites would become powerful enough conquer lower Mesopotamia, and found an empire that lasted till 1150 BC, showing how fortunes rose and fell.
The Akkadian empire was conquered by the Gutians in 2150 BC, and there was a 500 year or so period of stability in Elam with intermittent frontier warfare with post-Gutian Mesopotamia, which had a brief resurgence under the Amorite dynasty of Hammurabbi in the 18th century BC. This was followed by the Kassite era.
The Akkadian empire was conquered by the Gutians in 2150 BC, and there was a 500 year or so period of stability in Elam with intermittent frontier warfare with post-Gutian Mesopotamia, which had a brief resurgence under the Amorite dynasty of Hammurabbi in the 18th century BC. This was followed by the Kassite era.
Records from around 1900 BC show 38% Elamite names, only 35% Akkadian names, with some hybrids, showing the upturning of the power structure.
While Kassite names are still rare, they appear around the region of Susa, indicating they might have lived on the periphery of the great city they would soon rule.
Interestingly, a few names from Dilmun (present day Bahrain) also appear in inscriptions.
Interestingly, a few names from Dilmun (present day Bahrain) also appear in inscriptions.
After the decay of the Kassite state, from around 1100 BC, there was another brief resurgence of an Elamite empire, during which King Shutruk-Nakhunte invaded Mesopotamia, and carried off important artefacts to Susa, including a Victory Stele of the Fourth Akkadian Emperor Naram Sin, and the tablet of the law code of Hammurabi.
Now in the first millennium BC, we can begin to see more recognisable ethnicities in the inscription record of Greater Elam, in addition to Kassites and Babylonians, Aramaic speakers, (Arameo-Arabians?), and gradually Persians in the region of Anshan.
Persian tribes (early Iranic protoethnoses) migrated into Elam from the east and settled in the region of Anshan. Interestingly they are first mentioned in early inscriptions in the Sargonnid era (mid/late Third Millennium BC), but by the Achaemenid Period comprise 90% of the names mentioned in archival records; although Elamite continued to be used as the official language.
Which brings us, of course, to the Age of Cyrus the Great :
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