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Sep 7, 2022 · Here are some important highlights: • The mention of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Genesis 2:14 suggests that the Garden of Eden was located somewhere in Mesopotamia. • Abraham, the patriarch of the Jewish people, was originally from Mesopotamia.
The power of Elam spread into Mesopotamia under King Kutir-Mabug who made Rim-Sin king of Larsa and through him controlled southern Babylonia as far N as Babylon. Larsa fell to the First Amorite Dynasty of Babylon under Hammurabi (c. 1728-1686 b.c.) who made Elam a province of his empire, according to his records, in the thirtieth year of his ...
The war between Babylonia and Elam recorded for the reign of Nebuchadrezzar I (circa 1020 B.C.) probably took place, according to Scheil, during the reign of Silbina-hamru-Laqamar. The Elamite king was defeated on the banks of the Ulai, Elam was ravaged, and much spoil taken.
- Script Remains Undeciphered
- First War in Recorded History
- Completely Unique Artwork
- Susa: The Ancient City
- Practiced A Polytheistic Religion
- Encouraged Religious Tolerance
- Dur-Untash: The Great Temple
- Respected Women's Equality
- Founded An Empire
- Preservation & Influence on Culture
The Elamite linear script, which documents their history c. 3200-2700 BCE, remains undeciphered. Their language has no known relatives (therefore is designated a language isolate), and no artifact comparable to the famous Rosetta Stone has yet appeared to facilitate translation. When Elam came into closer contact with Sumer and, later, with Akkad, ...
An example of what is lost because of the undeciphered script is the relationship between Elam and Sumer during this period and the events which led up to the first war in recorded history. Around 2700 BCE, the Sumerian king Enemebaragesi of the city-stateof Kish launched a campaign against Elam, won a great victory, and carried the spoils back to ...
Early Elamite artwork is also missing an accompanying written narrative which might shed light on the origins of their entirely novel artwork. Ceramics, jewelry, impressions, and metalwork of the Proto-Elamite Period corresponds to no other civilization's in the region nor, in fact, in the world of that era. Scholars have noted how other civilizati...
The Elamites built one of the most ancient cities in world history, Susa, which dates from c. 4200 BCE. Archaeological evidence confirms human habitation of the site dating to c. 7000 BCE with continuous settlement dating to 4395 BCE before the community built the city. It was an important center of trade during the Proto-Elamite Period, flourished...
The Elamite religion was polytheistic and, like the religions of other ancient civilizations, focused on deities who represented cosmic powers, regional concerns, and natural phenomena. The details of religious ritual and observance are not known, but sacred sites were established on mountains, high hills, and in sacred groves, and the focus of the...
These deities were worshipped all throughout the vast region of Elam which, at most times, comprised the southern areas of modern-day Iran and part of Iraq. There is no evidence, however, of compulsory worship imposed by a ruling house on the people, not even during the Middle Elamite Period when the rulers pursued a policy of “elamization” of the ...
Among the most famous kings of the Elamites was the great Untash-Napirisha of the Igihalkid Dynasty (c. 1400 - c. 1200 BCE) during the Middle Elamite Period who built the ziggurat and temple complex of Dur-Untash (also known as Chogha Zanbil). Dur-Untash translates as “Fortress of Untash” (or "City of Untash", "Town of Untash") in Assyrian while th...
Women in Elamite culture are depicted in artwork as the equals of men. Reliefs show women and men at the same size and in an equal relationship with each other, which is how ancient artists rendered the concept of equality. In comparing Elamite art with, say, Egyptian reliefs or statuary, one can recognize this paradigm easily in that Egyptian artc...
The king Shutruk-Nakhkunte of the Sutrukid Dynasty (c. 1200 - c. 1100 BCE) began his reign by revitalizing, restoring, and ornamenting his cities, especially Susa, in order to establish Elam's grandeur and power and, afterwards, embarked on a campaign into Mesopotamia to fulfill that vision. Along with his sons, who served under him and would later...
Through their interactions with Sumer, Elam absorbed – and then preserved – some of the Sumerians' most vital cultural aspects. Beginning in the Old Elamite Period, Elamite artisans began incorporating Sumerian motifs and techniques into their own work. Some of the best-known deities of the Sumerian pantheon were preserved by the Elamites and possi...
- Joshua J. Mark
Seeming contradictions between epigraphic, literary and archaeological evidence are investigated which bear on the problem of how ancient observers and modern scholars have located Elam in their treatments of the subject.
During the first part of the rule of the Simashki dynasty, Elam was under intermittent attack from the Sumerians 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 ...
Elam was closely connected with Mesopotamia, serving as a source of its raw materials, wood, stone, and metals and as the route for precious metals and stones like lapis lazuli, the blue stone prized by the Mesopotamians, which were brought from as far away as Afghanistan.
