Elam
southwest Iran's overlooked rival
Elam3,100 BCE – 500 BCE
01
Two Elams
highland Susa and lowland Anshan — Iran's twin-capital kingdom
3200–2500 BCE
02
Naram-Sin's Stone
Akkadian conquest, Elamite resistance, and a famous victory stele
2500–2100 BCE
03
Ur Falls
Elamite armies help destroy Ur and dominate southern Mesopotamia
2100–1850 BCE
04
Grand Regents
a unique power-sharing system and the Sukkalmah dynasty's long peace
1850–1500 BCE
05
The Ziggurat Generation
Untash-Napirisha builds the greatest ziggurat outside Mesopotamia
1500–1200 BCE
06
Sack of Babylon
Shutruk-Nahhunte raids Babylon and steals Hammurabi's law code
1200–1100 BCE
07
Til-Tuba
Ashurbanipal's revenge — the sack of Susa and Elam's near-death
1100–640 BCE
08
The Persian Echo
Elamite survivors become the bureaucratic core of Cyrus's Persia
650–500 BCE