AWAN
DYNASTY
Elam
:
"Elam
is not an Iranian term and has no relationship to the conception
which the peoples of highland Iran had of themselves. They were
Anshanites, Marhashians, Shimashkians, Zabshalians, Sherihumians,
Awanites, etc. That Anshan played a leading role in the political
affairs of the various highland groups inhabiting southwestern Iran
is clear. But to argue that Anshan is coterminous with Elam is to
misunderstand the artificiality and indeed the alienness of Elam
as a construct imposed from without on the peoples of the southwestern
highlands of the Zagros mountain range, the coast of Fars and the
alluvial plain drained by the Karun-Karkheh river system.
Proto-Elamite
civilization grew up east of the Tigris and Euphrates alluvial plains;
it was a combination of the lowlands and the immediate highland
areas to the north and east. At least three proto-Elamite states
merged to form Elam: Anshan (modern Fars Province), Awan (modern
Lorestan Province) and Shimashki (modern Kerman). References
to Awan are generally older than those to Anshan, and some scholars
suggest that both states encompassed the same territory, in different
eras (see Hanson, Encyclopædia Iranica). To this core Shushiana
(modern Khuzestan) was periodically annexed and broken off. In addition,
some Proto-Elamite sites are found well outside this area, spread
out on the Iranian plateau; such as Warakshe, Sialk (now a suburb
of the modern city of Kashan) and Jiroft in Kerman Province. The
state of Elam was formed from these lesser states as a response
to invasion from Sumer during the Old Elamite period. Elamite
strength was based on an ability to hold these various areas together
under a coordinated government that permitted the maximum interchange
of the natural resources unique to each region. Traditionally, this
was done through a federated governmental structure.
Proto-Elamite
influence from the Mesopotamia in Susa becomes visible from about
3200 BC, and texts in the still undeciphered Proto-Elamite writing
system continue to be present until about 2700 BC. The Proto-Elamite
period ends with the establishment of the Awan dynasty.
The
Old Elamite period began around 2700 BC. Historical records mention
the conquest of Elam by Enmebaragesi, the Sumerian king of Kish
in Mesopotamia. Three dynasties ruled during this period. Twelve
kings of each of the first two dynasties, those of Awan (or Avan;
c. 2400 – c. 2100 BC) and Simashki (c. 2100 – c. 1970
BC), are known from a list from Susa dating to the Old Babylonian
period. Two Elamite dynasties said to have exercised brief control
over parts of Sumer in very early times include Awan and Hamazi;
and likewise, several of the stronger Sumerian rulers, such as Eannatum
of Lagash and Lugal-anne-mundu of Adab, are recorded as temporarily
dominating Elam.
Awan
dynasty :
![](512px-Cubist_orant_Louvre_Sb77.jpg)
Orant figure, Susa IV, 2700–2340 BC
The Awan dynasty (2350–2150 BC) was partly contemporary with
that of the Mesopotamian emperor Sargon of Akkad, who not only defeated
the Awan king Luh-ishan and subjected Susa, but attempted to make
the East Semitic Akkadian the official language there. From this
time, Mesopotamian sources concerning Elam become more frequent,
since the Mesopotamians had developed an interest in resources (such
as wood, stone, and metal) from the Iranian plateau, and military
expeditions to the area became more common. With the collapse
of Akkad under Sargon's great great-grandson, Shar-kali-sharri,
Elam declared independence under the last Awan king, Kutik-Inshushinak
(c. 2240 – c. 2220 BC), and threw off the Akkadian language,
promoting in its place the brief Linear Elamite script. Kutik-Inshushinnak
conquered Susa and Anshan, and seems to have achieved some sort
of political unity. Following his reign, the Awan dynasty collapsed
as Elam was temporarily overrun by the Guti, another pre-Iranic
people from what is now north west Iran who also spoke a language
isolate.
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Elam