The civilization

Elam () was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of what is today Iran, stretching from the lowlands of Ilam and Khuzestan as well as a small part of modern-day 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. In classical literature, Elam was also known as Susiana (US: UK: ; Ancient Greek: Σουσιανή Sousiānḗ), a name derived from its capital Susa. Elam was part of the early urbanization of the Near East during the Chalcolithic period (Copper Age).

Field notes

period

2,700 BCE — 539 BCE

region

Near East

known sites

1