Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on an extraordinary range of sources to explore the scope of earlier understandings of Elam, reaching back to the Renaissance and perceived through the lenses of Biblical, Classical, cuneiform, and late Antique literature. It discusses the north and the often-antagonistic relations between Assyria and Elam in the 1st millennium when the Assyrian kings began attempting to expand their influence over territories in the western Zagros and southern Babylonia, inevitably clashing with Elamite interests. The book explores the history of the Louvre collection and the "Elam invented on the banks of the Seine", highlighting the manifold challenges involved in the museographic presentation of Elam and the mutable criteria used to bring it to life in public exhibit. It provides historical meaning to an otherwise scattered wealth of archaeological evidence.