Long before the first Iranian empire, the Iranian plateau was home to farming villages, early towns and the kingdom of Elam in the southwest, with its capital at Susa. This part covers the land itself, Elam, the arrival of Iranian-speaking peoples and the neighbours they met.
| Period | c. 3200–700 BCE |
|---|---|
| Covers | The land and peoples before the Iranian empires, as background to 3,000 years of Iranian history |
Pages in this era
- Prehistoric Iran: The First Villages of the Iranian Plateau
- Proto-Elamite Civilization and the First Writing in Iran
- The Jiroft Culture and the Halil Rud Treasures
- Shahr-e Sukhteh: The Burnt City of Sistan
- Elam: Iran’s First Great Kingdom
- The Middle Elamite Kingdom and Untash-Napirisha
- The Neo-Elamite Period and the Assyrian Sack of Susa
- Susa: 6,000 Years of an Ancient City
- Chogha Zanbil Ziggurat
- Elamite Language and Writing
- The Arrival of the Iranian Peoples
- The Mannaeans, Urartu and North-West Iran
- Marlik and the Gilan Hill Cultures
- The Luristan Bronzes
- Zoroaster and the Avesta
Want to learn Persian? Get the free Starter Pack
Get the 14-page printable Starter Pack (all 32 letters, a 7-day reading plan, 100 core words and 20 survival phrases) and a short 5-email course. Free.