|
| |
Elam of Ancient Persia
From: The British Museum
| By:
John Curtis |
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION |
Ancient Iran, or Persia as it was referred to in the West until 1935, is one of the great ancient civilisations, ranking alongside Mesopotamia (Iraq), Anatolia, the Levant and Egypt. In the sixth and fifth centuries BCE, the kings of Persia conquered the whole of the Near East, eventually bringing them into conflict with Greece. Here, John Curtis of The British Museum introduces us to Elam, the southwestern part of Iran in antiquity, whose crafts are well-represented in the Museum's collections. |
 lam is the name given to the southwestern part of Iran in antiquity. It includes not only the lowland area corresponding to modern Khuzistan, with the great site of Susa, but also the highland areas to the north and east, up to and including Tall-i Malyan (ancient Anshan) in Fars, just 43 km west of Persepolis. Because of its geographical position, being an extension of the alluvial plains of Mesopotamia, lowland Susa was sometimes brought within the cultural orbit of Mesopotamia, but in the highland areas Elamite traditions and culture were more carefully guarded. At certain times the lowland area dominated the surrounding highlands, but at other periods the initiative came from the upland areas and the lowland zone, or Susiana, was removed from Mesopotamian influence. |
 | |
| Detail from an engraving of the mound of Susa, by H.A. Churchill, an artist who excavated at Susa with W.K. Loftus in the early 1850s. | |
|
For many years Susa was regarded as the capital of Elam, but it is now clear that it was only one of several major centres, others being Anshan and Choga Mish; at the latter site there is an important sequence of prehistoric and later levels. Nevertheless, Susa remains the best known and most extensively excavated site in Elam, which has distorted our picture of the region. Susa was visited by a number of early travellers, but proper excavations did not begin until 1850-52. These were carried out by officers of the Turko-Persian Boundary Commission, chiefly W. K. Loftus (1820-58), who is perhaps better known for his later work at Warka, Nimrud and Nineveh in Mesopotamia. |
Colonel H. C. Rawlinson, the British consul at Baghdad and one of the pioneers in the decipherment of cuneiform, trusted that within a few months of starting his 1852 campaign Loftus 'would have laid the great mound of Susa completely bare'. However, according to his own account, Loftus was more cautious and viewed the prospect of working at Susa with some trepidation: 'On looking around the vast area of mounds, and considering the small sum at my disposal for the investigation of their contents, I was almost tempted to regard my enterprise as a hopeless one.' Nevertheless, he uncovered and planned much of the afadana (columned hall) belonging to the palace of Darius, and found miscellaneous antiquities from earlier periods. From 1884 to 1979 Susa was a French preserve, and French archaeologists who excavated here include Marcel Dieulafoy, Jacques de Morgan and Roman Ghirshman. The French have also left an impressive landmark at the site with what must be the most sumptuous dig-house ever constructed for archaeological work in the Middle East: a castle, partly constructed from materials found in the ruins and known as the 'Chateau'. The findings of the French archaeologists include a large number of spectacular pieces. In recent years Iranian archaeologists have undertaken restoration work and a small amount of new excavation. |
As mentioned earlier, clay tablets written in proto-Elamite script and dating from around 3000 BCE or a little before are known from a number of sites in Iran, including Susa. In the latter part of the third millennium, lowland Elam was dominated by the Akkadian, and later the Third Dynasty of Ur kings in Mesopotamia. After the collapse of the Ur Dynasty, 'Greater Elam' became an independent state, but in the first half of the second millennium local dynasts continued to use the Sumerian and Akkadian languages for administrative texts and other inscriptions. This is illustrated by two objects in the British Museum collection, a bronze axe and a bronze beaker with large handle. Both bear inscriptions of Addahushu, a ruler of Susa around 1900 BCE, and are written in a curious mixture of Sumerian and Akkadian that is typical of Elamite royal inscriptions. |
At the same time, however, some aspects of Elamite culture are quite distinctive. There is, for example, the attractive pottery known as 'kaftari ware', usually buff and painted with rows of birds (kaftar means pigeon in Persian). The type-site for this pottery is now Tall-i Malyan, excavated between 1971 and 1978 by William Sumner on behalf of the University Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And already at this time, in the first part of the second millennium, there are examples of the rock-reliefs (at Kurangun and Naqsh-i Rustam) that are later familiar features of Elamite art. |
The heyday of the Elamite state came during what is known as the Middle Elamite period (c. 1500-1100 BCE). Inscriptions were now written in Elamite. This language is still only partially understood and has no known relatives, but it is possible that both it and the Elamites themselves were indigenous to Iran. Also at this time many original works of art were produced. Some of the most impressive of these come from Susa and are now on display in the Louvre Museum in Paris. |
Elamite metalwork was particularly accomplished. There are, for example, a life-size bronze statue of Napirisha, wife of the fourteenth-century BCE ruler Untash-Napirisha, weighing 1750 kg, and a model in bronze of a religious ceremony made for Shilhak-Inshushinak in the twelfth century BCE. Then there is a spectacular cache of objects found beneath the Temple of Inshushinak, built by this same ruler. Amongst these are figurines of gold and silver, each showing a figure (probably the king) carrying a goat, which he is presumably about to offer for sacrifice, and a whetstone terminating in a gold lion's head. These objects are sometimes regarded as foundation deposits, but this remains an open question. |
 | |
| Terracotta figurine from the excavations of W.K. Loftus at Susa in 1852. Probably a goddess. | |
The Middle Elamite period also witnessed the production of many terracotta figurines. An interesting group of these was found by Loftus at Susa. He refers to a collection of about two hundred, some forty of which are now in the British Museum, the greater number of them being 'nude representations of the goddess'. A closely comparable figurine has been found at the site of Haft Tepe, also in Khuzistan, excavated by E.O. Negahban (then of the University of Tehran). Here, the Elamite king Tepti-ahar built a temple complex in the fifteenth century BCE and was buried at the site, which has been identified as ancient Kabnak. Many cuneiform tablets have been found here, as well as clay heads with inlaid eyes. Another Elamite site of great importance is Choga Zanbil (the 'basket-shaped ruins'), 40 km southeast of Susa. Here Untash-Napirisha built a new walled city, based around a ziggurat or temple-tower that is dedicated to the god Inshushinak. It is surrounded by temples dedicated to various Elamite gods as well as a few palaces. |
Amongst the architectural ornaments found at Chogha Zanbil were wall plaques of glazed pottery, one of which has been presented to the British Museum by the excavator, Roman Ghirshman. He also presented two small fragments of glass rod which, set in diagonal panels, were used to decorate doors. These rods were of dark blue or black glass with white spiral bands. |
From Chogha Zanbil, as indeed also from Susa, have come many interesting cylinder seals, often made of faience (glazed quartz composition) and sometimes glass. Unlike earlier seals from Elam, which are closely related to Mesopotamian types, those of the Middle Elamite period show evidence of local inspiration. A distinctive feature of these seals is a ladder pattern at either end of the cylinder. |
 | |
| Bronze figure, obtained near Tang-i Sarvak, thought to represent a fishtailed goddess. | |
Towards the end of the Middle Elamite period, in 1168 BCE, the Elamite king Shutruk Nahhunte invaded southern Mesopotamia and took back to Susa many important monuments, including the Code of Hammurabi, which is now in the Louvre. But the tables were turned when, towards the end of the twelfth century BCE, Nebuchadnezzar I of Babylon (1125-1104 BCE) invaded Elamite territory and brought to an abrupt close this flourishing period in the history of Elam. Thereafter, historical sources fall silent for several centuries. |
There was, however, something of a renaissance in the Neo-Elamite period (c. 100-550 BCE). In use during this period were rock carvings at Shikaft-i Salman and at Kul-i Farah on the edge of the Izeh plain. Both sets of reliefs appear to belong to outdoor sanctuaries where religious ceremonies would have been held. Those at Kul-i Farah show just such a ceremony taking place, with a procession, a sacrifice and a banquet. Musical accompaniment is provided by stringed instruments and drums. One of the reliefs at Kul-i Farah is evidently the work of a local sixth-century ruler called Hanni, who also added inscriptions to other reliefs that may have been carved in the Middle Elamite period. However that may be, the entire sanctuaries were obviously in use during the Neo-Elamite period. |
Polychrome glazed bricks, which first appeared in the Middle Elamite period, continued to be produced, and there are interesting examples showing mythological beasts dating from about the eighth century BCE. |
In the seventh century BCE, Elam became increasingly embroiled with the powerful Assyrian state to the west. This struggle is graphically illustrated in a magnificent series of reliefs from Nineveh in the British Museum, particularly those which show Ashurbanipal's campaign against Te-Umman and the rout of the Elamites at Til-Tiba on the Ulai river. In 646 BCE, Ashurbanipal marched into the eastern districts of Elam and returned to sack Susa with great ferocity. Elam's days as a political power to be reckoned with were now over but Elamite traditions and culture probably continued to flourish. Also, the Elamite people and language played a significant role in the later Achaemenid period and Susa became an important capital and administrative centre. |
It is sometimes suggested that Elam is nothing more than an extension of lowland Mesopotamia, and that its art and architecture are entirely derivative from Mesopotamian prototypes. However, although it is true that lowland Elam was at times prey to Mesopotamian influence, this is much less the case in the highland areas and, as we have seen, at certain times--notably during the Middle Elamite period--the material culture of Elam can be sharply differentiated from that of Mesopotamia. |
|
| |
