kingdom · Mesopotamia and Iran

Neo-Elamite kingdom

1000 BCE – 539 BCE (approx.) · capital Susa

The last phase of Elam, a determined enemy of Assyria that was crushed by Ashurbanipal but passed its scribal culture on to the Persians.

Origins

After a dark period following the fall of the Middle Elamite kingdom, Elam reappears in the 8th century BCE as a kingdom centred on Susa and the highlands of Khuzestan and Fars. Its kings sought to resist the expanding Assyrian Empire, often by backing Babylonian rebels.

Rule and society

Humban-nikash I fought Sargon II at Der in 720 BCE, and Elamite armies supported Merodach-baladan of Bit-Yakin and fought Sennacherib at Halule in 691 BCE. Internal rivalries, often exploited by Assyria, produced frequent coups. Elamite religion centred on Inshushinak at Susa. Assyrian reliefs at Nineveh show the Battle of Til-Tuba in 653 BCE, where King Teumman was beheaded.

Decline and legacy

Ashurbanipal sacked Susa around 646 BCE, desecrating royal tombs and temples. Smaller Neo-Elamite kingdoms survived until Cyrus the Great absorbed them into the Achaemenid Empire around 539 BCE. Elamite remained an administrative language of the Persians, as the Persepolis tablets show.

Connections (3)

More states of Mesopotamia and Iran →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Neo-Elamite kingdom. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/neo-elamite-kingdom
MLA
“Neo-Elamite kingdom.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/neo-elamite-kingdom. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Neo-Elamite kingdom.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/neo-elamite-kingdom.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Neo-Elamite kingdom’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/neo-elamite-kingdom (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻