Ancient Man and His First Civilizations

Elam-2

Modern Iran

The Assyrians

The Middle Elamite period

After two centuries for which sources reveal nothing, the Middle Elamite period opened with the rise to power of the Anzanite dynasty, their homeland probably lay in the mountains northeast of Khuzestan. Political expansion under the fourth king of this line "Khumbannumena" (1285 B.C.) proceeded along, and his successes were commemorated by his assumption of the title “Expander of the Empire.”

He was succeeded by his son Untash-Gal, a contemporary of Shalmaneser I of Assyria (1274- B.C.). Untash founded the city of Dur Untash (modern Chogha Zanbil). In the years immediately following Untash-Gal, Elam increasingly found itself in real or potential conflict with the rising power of Assyria. Tukulti-Ninurta I of Assyria (1244 B.C.) campaigned in the mountains north of Elam. The Elamites under Kidin-Khutran, second king after Untash-Gal, countered with a successful and devastating raid on Babylonia. In the end however, Assyrian power seems to have been too great. Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta managed to expand Assyrian control well into Elamite territory, King Kidin-Khutran faded into obscurity, and the Anzanite dynasty came to an end.

After a short period of dynastic troubles, the second half of the Middle Elamite period opened with the reign of King Shutruk-Nahhunte (1160 B.C.). Two equally powerful and two less impressive kings followed this founder of a new dynasty; their capital was probably Susa. In this period Elam became one of the great military powers of the Middle East. The door was opened for them when Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta died about 1208 B.C, and Assyria fell into a period of internal weakness and dynastic conflict.

Elam was quick to take advantage of this situation by campaigning extensively in the Diyala River area and into the very heart of Mesopotamia. Shutruk-Nahhunte captured Babylon and carried off to Susa the stele on which was inscribed the famous law code of Hammurabi. Shilkhak-In-Shushinak, brother and successor of Shutruk-Nahhunte's eldest son, Kutir-Nahhunte, still anxious to take advantage of Assyrian weakness, campaigned as far north as the area of modern Kirkuk.

In Babylonia however, the 2nd dynasty of Isin led a native revolt against the Elamites, and Elamite power in central Mesopotamia was eventually broken. The Elamite military empire began to shrink rapidly. Nebuchadrezzar I of Babylon (1,124 B.C.) attacked Elam and was just barely beaten off. A second Babylonian attack succeeded, however, and the whole of Elam was apparently overrun, ending the Middle Elamite period.

The Neo-Elamite period

A long period of darkness separates the Middle and Neo-Elamite periods. In 742 B.C. a certain Huban-nugash is mentioned as king in Elam. The land appears to have been divided into separate principalities, with the central power fairly weak. The next 100 years witnessed the constant attempts of the Elamites, usually in alliance with Babylon, to thwart the constant pressure of Assyrian expansion. At times they were successful with this policy, both militarily and diplomatically, but on the whole, they were forced to give way to increasing Assyrian power. Local Elamite dynastic troubles were from time to time compounded by both Assyrian and Babylonian interference.

All the while, the Assyrian army whittled away at Elamite power and influence in Luristan. In time these internal and external pressures resulted in the near total collapse of any meaningful central authority in Elam. In a series of campaigns between 692 and 639 B.C, in an effort to clean up a political and diplomatic mess that had become a chronic headache for the Assyrians, Ashurbanipal's armies utterly destroyed Susa, pulling down buildings, looting, and sowing the land of Elam with salt.

The Medes

By the mid-9th century B.C, two new groups of people appear in Elam, these are the Medes (Mada) and the Persians (Parsua), {See note below}. Of the two, the Medes were the more widespread, and from an Assyrian point of view, the more important group. The Medes were fierce warriors and skilled horse breeders. They were at first organized as independent tribes, however this changed under the tribal chief Deioces, he succeeded in uniting all of the Medes tribes into the kingdom of Media.

The Eurasian's

At the same time, beginning as early as the 9th century B.C, and with ever increasing impact in the next two centuries. Groups of nomadic White warriors entered western Iran from the Eurasian plains. These were the Scythians, the Parthian's, the Parni, the Arian's and others. Dominant among these groups were the Scythians. Over time, the Scythians allied themselves with the Assyrians, and the Scythians and Assyrians together, conquered the Medes of the Caspian Sea area. However the Medes were later able to regroup and drive the Scythians out of western Asia and back into the Eurasian Steppes.

Herodotus reports, how under the king "Cyaxares" of Media (625 B.C.), the Scythians were overthrown when their kings were induced at a supper party to get so drunk, that they were then easily slain by the Medes.

After this victory, King Cyaxares reorganized the Median army into specialized units built around spearmen, archers, and cavalry. The unified and reorganized Mede army was now a match for the Assyrians. The Medes attacked one of the important Assyrian border cities named "Arrapkha" in 615 B.C, and then surrounded the Assyrian capital of "Nineveh" in 614 B.C.

But they were unable to capture Nineveh, and instead successfully stormed the Assyrian religious capital of Ashur. Later, an alliance between Babylon and the Medes was sealed by the marriage of Cyaxares' granddaughter, to Nebuchadrezzar II, the son of Babylonian King "Nabopolassar", this in 612 B.C.

Then the attack on the Assyrian capital of Nineveh was renewed, and the city fell in late August of that year. The Babylonians and the Medes, together pursued the fleeing Assyrians westward into Syria. Assyrian appeals to Egypt for help came to naught, and the last Assyrian ruler, Ashur-uballit II, disappeared from history in 609 B.C. The spoils and territories of the Assyrian Empire, were then split-up between The Babylonians and the Medes.