Elam
Emirate of Elam | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
Motto: Huttak halik ume Allah napir uri in lina telakni. "May my work come as an offering to my god, Allah." | |
 | |
| Capital and largest city | Ardašir |
| Official languages | Elamite |
Recognised minority languages | Arabic, Persian |
| Ethnic groups (2018) | Elamites (51%) Arabs (24%) Persians (10%) Lurs (7%) Qashqai (3%) Armenians (2%) Assyrians (2%) Others (1%) |
| Religion (2003) | Shia Islam (70%) Sunni Islam (21%) Christianity (6%) Others (1%) |
| Demonym(s) | Elamite |
| Government | Unitary constitutional monarchy |
• Emir | Kindinu-Muhammad |
| Imran Hammadi | |
| Legislature | Majlis |
| Independence from Qajar dynasty | |
• Elamite civilization | 2700 – 539 BC |
• Persian coup d'état | 21 February 1921 |
| 1921 – 1925 | |
• Emirate | 1 May 1925 |
| Area | |
• Total | 64,055 km2 (24,732 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 2018 estimate | 4,711,000 |
• Density | 74/km2 (191.7/sq mi) |
| GDP (PPP) | estimate |
• Total | $303 billion |
• Per capita | $64,317.55 |
| GDP (nominal) | estimate |
• Total | $118.271 billion |
• Per capita | $25,105.29 |
| Gini | 41.1 medium |
| HDI (2018) |  0.802very high |
| Currency | Elamite Dinara (Dha.) (DHA) |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (AST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+4 (GST) |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +978 |
| Internet TLD | .ely |
Elam (Elamite: Haltamti; Arabic: عيلام), officially the Emirate of Elam (Elamite: Imarat Haltamtime; Arabic: إمارة عيلام), is a country in Western Asia. Situated at the foot of the central Zagros mountains, straddling the northern tip of the Persian gulf, it shares borders with Iraq and Iran. Elam has a population of 4.7 million, of which some 2.4 million are eponymous Elamites.
Historically one of the most important regions of the Ancient Near East, the seat Elam has for most of its history been in the northern reaches of the country, first at Susa and then at Shushtar. During a brief period during the Sasanian era, when Elam formed a province of the Persian empire, the captal was moved to its geographic center, the river town of Hormuzardashir, founded over the ancient city of Hurpahir by Ardashir I. This city is now known as Ardašir. Later in the Sasanian time and throughout the Islamic era, the provincial seat returned and stayed at Shushtar until the late Qajar period. With the increase in international sea commerce arriving on the shores of Elam, Ardašir became a more suitable location for the provincial capital, as the river Karun is navigable all the way up to the city. As of independence in 1921, Ardašir remains the capital of Elam.
Elam is known for its ethnic diversity; the population consists of the eponymous Elamites, as well as significant populations of Lurs, Arabs, Persians, Qashqais, Assyrians, and Armenians. The population is predominantly Shia Muslim, but there significant Sunni and Christian communities, as well as small Jewish and Mandean minorities. The Elamite language is the sole official language of government, but Arabic is widely spoken and culturally omnipresent.
Since the 1920s, tensions on religious and ethnic grounds have often resulted in violence and attempted separatism, including an Arab uprising in 1979, unrest in 2005, bombings in 2005-2006, and protests in 2011, drawing much criticism by international human rights organisations. The country is home to the Kušk and Husseyniyeh oil fields. It is estimated that oil reserves in Elam may be up to 17 billion barrels, of which 3 billion are considered to be currently recoverable.
Etymology
The Elamite endonym is Haltamti. Exonyms throughout history have included the Sumerian names NIM.MAki𒉏𒈠𒆠 and ELAM. The Akkadian Elamû (masculine/neuter) and Elamītu (feminine) meant "resident of Sousiane" or "Elamite". The modern English and Arabic names for the nation come from Akkadian.
The Persian name of the country, Xûzestân (خوزستان) is derived from Old Persian Hūjiya (𐎢𐎺𐎩). In Middle Persian this became Huź and in Modern Persian Xûz, compounded with the toponymic suffix -estân, meaning "place".
Geography and Climate
Elam can be generally divided into two regions: the rolling hills and mountains north of the Ahwaz Ridge, and the plains and marshlands to its south. The area is irrigated by the Karun, Ulay, Jarahi and Marun rivers.
Elam has great potential for agricultural expansion, which is almost unrivaled by the country's immediate neighbours. Large and permanent rivers flow over the entire territory contributing to the fertility of the land. The Karun River, the most effluent river of the Iranian plateau, flows into the Persian gulf through Elam. The agricultural potential of most of these rivers, however, and particularly in their lower reaches, is hampered by the fact that their waters carry salt, the amount of which increases as the rivers flow away from the source mountains and hills. In case of the Karun, a single tributary river, the Rud-i Shur, that flows into the Karun above Shushtar contributes most of the salt that the river carries. As such, the freshness of the Karun waters could be greatly enhanced if the Rud-i Shur could be diverted away from the Karun. The same applies to the Jarahi and Ulay in their lower reaches. Only the Marun is exempt from this.
The climate of Elam is generally very hot and occasionally humid, particularly in the south, while winters are cold and dry. Summertime temperatures routinely exceed 45°C (113°F) degrees Celsius almost daily and in the winter it can drop below freezing, with occasional snowfall as far south as Ardašir. Frequent sandstorms occur in the area of Elam.