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This article discusses the language of the Xūz mentioned in Arabic sources, endorsing the view that it is the latest attestation of the Elamite language. Drawing on models from historical sociolinguistics, it also studies the problem of mutual acculturation between speakers of Elamite and Persian in antiquity.

There are four complete or almost complete unprovenanced bricks and twenty-one brick fragments from the site of Toll-e Bard-e Karegar in Khuzestan belonging to the only Elamite inscription ...

Around two decades ago, following on from attempts to redress the long-standing neglect of the lives and contributions of women in antiquity, archaeologists and historians around the world started ...

Negation is an operator that reverses the truth value of a proposition and it is considered an universal category (Horn 2001: xiii) since all human systems of communication contain a representation of propositional negation. Therefore, one of the most important features of negation is its markedness that sets a contrast between affirmation and negation. Said markedness is carried out in various ways by the world languages. As its standard negation, which is the most common kind of negation marking found in a given language (Payne 1985a: 198), Old Persian (OP) hasnai̯, which is mainly used in assertions, while it has a non-standard, prohibitive marker, OPmā. Concerning correlative negation (‘neither … nor’), Old Persian systematically employs the asyndetic repetition of the negative marker, provided the notorious absence among Indo-Iranian languages of the standard negation plus the enclitic particle IIr. *-ča. The objective of this paper is to make a thorough description of this isogloss shared by Indo-Iranian languages and, in the case of Old Persian, try to contrast its data with the Achaemenid Elamite material. I believe this will shed some new light on the nature of the asyndetic repetition of the negative marker as a means of expressing correlative negation in Old Iranian.

This chapter is one result of the research project ‘Native Languages, linguae francae, and Graphics Traditions in Late Bronze Age Syria and Palestine: Three Case Studies (Canaan, Ugarit, Emar)’ (FFI2011‐25065), funded by the Spanish Ministry for Economic Affairs and Competitiveness within the National Plan for Scientific Research, Development and Technological Innovation (I+D+I). I am grateful to Betina Faist for her critical and constructive reading of a first draft of this manuscript and to Mauro Giorgieri, Manuel Molina and Cecile Michel for providing me with several useful bibliographical references, and to Yoram Cohen for allowing to read and quote an unpublished article by him

EnglishL’origine et la signification des mots 'parputtu' et 'parkutu', utilises dans certains contrats de pret provenant de la Suse paleo-babylonienne, posent probleme. Dans cet article, les huit clauses stipulant qu’un 'parputtu' ou un 'parkutu' est rompu sur le betail, pour en faire un gage sont analysees et certaines lectures sont corrigees. Une traduction fondee sur le caractere elamite de ces mots est proposee : le parputtu est un chevreau, le parkutu est un veau. L’execution de cette pratique, impliquant l’acte de 'briser' ces animaux, reste cependant difficile a comprendre. francaisThe origin and meaning of the related words 'parputtu' and 'parkutu', occurring in some loan contracts from Old Babylonian Susa, have been obscure for many decades. In this article, the eight parputtu and parkutu clauses (stating that a 'parputtu' or 'parkutu' is broken over cattle in order to pledge this cattle) are analysed and corrected where necessary. A translation based on the Elamite language is proposed: a parputtu is the young of a goat, a 'parkutu' the young of a cow. It remains however hard to understand why and how these young were 'broken'

Neo-Assyrian royal inscriptions are always narrated in the first-person voice of the king. Within this framing narrative, the device that we would call ‘direct speech’ is used only rarely, and judiciously. The texts that make the greatest use of this literary device both come from a period of particular innovation and experimentation in royal text forms: Esarhaddon’s Nineveh A and Ashurbanipal’s narratives about his campaign against Elamite king Teumman. In these examples, and in other texts of the time including Esarhaddon’s Succession Treaty, the words of enemies stand out as particularly threatening – and yet also particularly useful, as a literary device employed to further Assyrian agendas. Royal narratives use enemy speech for one of two purposes: either to document criminality, or to show enemies, in defeat and despair, testifying to the might and rightness of their Assyrian conquerors. Looking at all examples of speech – from enemies, gods, and the Assyrian king – I distinguish between ‘direct speech’ (as a literary device) and ‘quotation’ (as a practice). Most, though not all, direct speech in the sources considered here is also quotation, in that it seeks to document and preserve speech made in some other prior form (a verbal statement, a letter, an omen on an animal’s liver). Quotations demonstrate royal legitimacy and enemy culpability, while literary invention allows enemy voices to be turned to new purposes, as forced testament to Assyrian supremacy.

In this study, we will focus on the illnesses and disabilities mentioned in the Neo-Babylonian Chronicles Series (ABC 1-7 and MC 16-17, 21-26) which were compiled in the second half of the first millennium BC. The information in these records will be evaluated with regards to medical history in the first millennium BC. Particular attention will be given to the details concerning illnesses with fatal consequences for Mesopotamian and Elamite kings who had ruled before the time that the texts were compiled. It is very important to think about why the medical problems in question are included in some of the chronicles since the chronicles speak of accounts of noteworthy political and military events in general. Including information about the medical disorders concerning kings, the chronicles contents can contribute to evaluations of the relationship between the political, religious and traditional aspects of Babylonian historiography. The modern assumption, that Neo-Babylonian and certain other chronicles are “models of historical probity” and impartial texts sharing a historical critique on the records of the kings’ illnesses, will be discussed. This study is related to the historical period between the middle of the third millenium and the end of the sixth century BC. In addition, other chronicles such as the Weidner Chronicle and the Chronicle of Early Kings concerning this period will be referenced considerably as well. Cite this article as: Kagnici, Gokhan, “Tibbi Bilginin Ideolojik Kullanimi Uzerine Okumalar: Yeni Babil Kroniklerinde Hastaliklar ve Babil Tarih Yaziciligi”, Turk J Hist sayi 69 (2019), s.1-36.

The Haft Tappeh archaeological site, located in southwestern Iran, includes remains of the Middle Elamite period city, Kapanak (ca. 1400 BC). The archaeological excavations retrieved architectural ...

In May 2007, a Neo-Elamite period (phase IIIB) burial site was discovered during excavations carried out as part of a piping project by the Khuzestan Water and Sewage Company around Jubaji village,...

This article discusses the pivotal points in horse domestication on the Eurasian steppes and the Near East in the 5th to 2nd millennia BC, from the initial time and place of the domestication of horses to the emergence of various types of horse harnesses. On the basis of 5th and 4th millennia BC Eurasian horse-headed scepters, the means for handling horses are reconstructed. Six types of head harnesses are described, and their evolution is traced from simple muzzles (type 1) and more complex ones (types 2 and 3) to those supplemented with drop nosebands (type 4) and snaffl e (type 5) and non-snaffl e bridles (type 6). A unique 3rd millennium BC document—an Elamite clay tablet from Susa, listing horse farms, has made it possible to assess the structure of each farm, and evaluate the size of the domestic horse population in Elam. Training techniques of chariot horses were described by the “master horse trainer Kikkuli of Mitanni”. These techniques were further developed by the proto-Indo-Aryans on the Eurasian steppes in the early 2nd millennium BC, and became known to the Hittites and Assyrians via the Mitanni horse breeders. On the basis of the Rigveda, the type and exterior of those swift horses with which the Indo-Aryans spread over Asia are characterized.

The purpose of this article is to outline the evidence for the Neo-Elamite (ca. 1000-525 BCE) and early Achaemenid periods (ca. 525-330 BCE) collected during surveys across the Ram Hormuz plain and the excavations at Tal-i Ghazir, with special attention to the burials in the Fort Mound. This site and its surrounds comprised a thriving settlement zone from the early second millennium BCE and a critical crossroads of Elamite and Iranian interaction in the centuries leading up to the emergence o...

Noting the poorly known historical geography of the Elamite coastal region of the Persian Gulf during the first half of the first millennium BCE, the author proceeds to contribute new knowledge on the topic by investigating the toponym(s) Nagitu, an Elamite coastal settlement that appears quite frequently in Neo-Assyrian sources with various postpositions: Nagitu-raqqi “island-in-the-marshes”, Nagitu-di’bina “coastal town-of-rocks”, or Nagitu-of-Elam (sa KUR.ELAM.MA.KI). The various Nagitu at...

Comprehensively researched and illustrated, this book stems from research carried out during the author’s doctoral dissertation “Alas, Short Is the Joy of Life!” Elamite Funerary Practice in the First Half of the First Millennium BCE, completed in 2017 at the University of Sydney, Australia. It is divided in four parts: Part 1 offers a background to the Elamite history and material culture of the first millennium BC; Part 2 focuses on the mortuary evidence systematically arranged along (i) ge...

Cet article est un tres utile resume, largement illustre, du livre tres complet et accompagne de tres nombreuses illustrations que A. Sh. a publie en 2015 en persan avec un texte de 15 p. en anglais. (Ārmān Shishegar. Ǡrāmgāh-e do bānu-ye ‘ilāmi az khāndān-e shāh Shutur Nāhunte pesar-e Indada. Doreh-e Ilām-now marhale 3B (hudud-e 585 tā 539 p.as m.) / Tomb of the Two Elamite Princesses of the House of King Shutur Nahunte son of Indada. Neo-Elamite Period Phase IIIB (Ca. 585-539 B.C.), Tehrān:...

A product of years of research, both on and off-site, this volume provides a much-needed documentation of a corpus of eighteen monumental rock reliefs carved between the seventeenth and sixth centuries BC in Elamite highland open-air sanctuaries in the Izeh valley and its surrounds (Xong-e Azdhar, Shah Savar, Shekaft-e Salman, Kul-e Farah, Qal-e Tul), the Mamasani river district (Kurangun), and the Marvdasht plain (Naqsh-e Rustam). Following introductory remarks on the settings of the relief...

This sweeping and visually luxuriant volume on the art of Elam, some two decades in the making, leads the reader along a trail of Elamite artistic production, departing from the late Neolithic period and crossing the Chalcolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, to arrive at the gateway to the Persian empire. Through close attention to context and meaning, the author breathes new life into a vast swathe of Elamite artefacts variously displayed and stored in museums around the world and still standing i...

After entering the second millennium BCE as a military superpower, Elam faded into historical obscurity upon its withdrawal from the broader Near Eastern political scene in 1763 BCE and onl...

The purpose of this article is to critique the ruling view which considers the Achaemenid government as the joint government of Mad and Pars. Iranian empire was not an ally of the Median state, and it was not essentially formed except through the rejection of the Medes. Iranian empire was a Persian-oriented system that developed only in opposition to the Medes. I have challenged common but baseless theories of the shared domination of Mede and Pars and the satisfaction of the Medes from the domination of Pars with the help of valid sources. The basis of the Iranian government has been the tool of ethnic domination of Pars on Mede. The Achaemenids/Persian Empire was formed through the military defeat, suppression, and marginalization of the Median empire. Even the Iranian symbols and works such as Persepolis and the inscription of Bistoun are reminiscent of their victories over the Mede. Furthermore, the Persian language did not come into existence through internal evolution, but Darius overnight ordered Elamite and Babylonian scribers to write it on the inscription of Bistun to preserve the memory of the victory of the Persians on the Medes. Mede and their rituals were entitled as Ahriman, Daoi Mazina, Div, Ajidahak/Zahak, Afrasiab, and Turanians, and the alien agent in Iranian mythology and culture. The controversy over totem symbols like bull and lion, and snake and eagle is the abstraction of the ethnic struggles of Persians and Medians.

The Art of Elam ca. 4200-525 BC offers a view of, and a critical reflection on, the art history of one of the world’s first and least-known civilizations, illuminating a significant chapter of our human past. Not unlike a gallery of historical paintings, this comprehensive treatment of the rich heritage of ancient Iran showcases a visual trail of the evolution of human society, with all its leaps and turns, from its origins in the earliest villages of southwest Iran at around 4200 BC to the rise of the Achaemenid Persian empire in ca. 525 BC. Richly illustrated in full colour with 1450 photographs, 190 line drawings, and digital reconstructions of hundreds of artefacts—some of which have never before been published—The Art of Elam goes beyond formal and thematic boundaries to emphasize the religious, political, and social contexts in which art was created and functioned. Such a magisterial study of Elamite art has never been written making The Art of Elam ca. 4200-525 BC a ground-breaking publication essential to all students of ancient art and to our current understanding of the civilizations of the ancient Near East.

Description de la langue élamite (Iran du sud-ouest)

This is the chemico-physical examination of 13 samples collected from the early 2nd millennium BC Linear Elamite inscribed silver gunagi vessels of the Mahboubian collection (see Desset; preceding ...

An analytical study was performed on copper alloy objects and ingots/prills from Haft Tappeh Middle Elamite site, southwestern Iran, fourteenth century BC. The samples were analysed by micro-PIXE and SEM-EDS methods to characterise chemical composition and different phases in their microstructure. The results showed that the main objects’ compositions are copper with impurities and variable-Sn containing tin bronze. Furthermore, most of the ingots/prills are composed of copper with high concentration of iron and sulphur while in two samples tin bronze ingot/prill is detected. Based on the results, the main metallurgical operation in Haft Tappeh may be matte production to make metallic copper and producing tin bronze alloy probably by cementation.

The toponym Kerend has a long history. This study explores the appearance of Kerend in pre-modern sources, beginning with the toponym Karintaš in the late second millennium BC. Kassite, Elamite and Assyrian rivalry for control over the central western Zagros mountains is discussed and the survival of the name in later antiquity is investigated. A derivative of the name appears in Claudius Ptolemy’s Geography and in the Parthian Stations of Isidore of Charax, as well as in the late Antique Cosmographia of the Anonymous Geographer of Ravenna. A homonymous name from the area east of the Caspian Sea is also discussed, as are several unrelated names occurring in other sources (Achaemenid Elamite, Armenian).

Summary The toponym Hara(n) is known from a number of Neo-Elamite tablets, most notably Elamite letter Nin 13. Since this tablet was found in the Assyrian capital Nineveh, it stands to reason that this place name could also be mentioned in contemporary (as well as earlier) Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian sources. This study considers the possible equation of the Elamite toponym Hara(n) with biblical Hara and Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian URU.HAR(.KI), Dur-Abi-Hara and Hara’.

This conference paper publishes a small, previously undocumented tell site situated approximately 6 km south of Susa. The mound, named Tappeh Konar by the authors, has been extensively damaged by agricultural activities and today it covers an area of 1250 m2 and rises no more than 2 m above the surrounding plain. Small test pits on its surface yielded reddish bricks and Neo-Elamite II (ca. 725-520 BCE) ceramics with comparisons at the neighbouring site of Susa (in level I of the Village perse...

This article mainly studies the archaeological context of the oversized clay tablet Louvre Sb 2789, an exemplar of the Old Persian version of the Achaemenid royal inscription DSf, searching for its function(s). G.P Basello believes that Sb 2789 could be a foundation document paired with the Elamite and Babylonian stone tables DSz and DSaa (to complete each other both for the language and the content) and they were intentionally buried as permanent records of the building activities of king Da...

The Storm-Gods of western Elam examines glyptic evidence for storm gods in Elam during the second millennium BCE with the aim of identifying traits that could be considered distinctively Elamite and, more broadly, enhancing our understanding of the Elamite pantheon. The scope of the study is explicitly restricted to provenienced material and accounts for both iconography and inscriptions. For the “Old Elamite” Period (ca. 2000-1500 BCE) the evidence is mostly from Susa and three types are def...