Like a raining cloud: archery as the pillar of Elamite warfare (chapter 2)

Military histories of the ancient Near East rarely factor in the role of Elam (ca. 4200-525 BCE), which broadly encompassed today’s southwest Iran and emerged as one of the military powerhouses of the ancient world thanks to its lowland and highland geo-political composition, access to the extensive resources of the Iranian plateau, control of important trade routes, and a military famed for its cutting-edge archery technology and the finesse of its archers. This study begins at the late 5th millennium BCE to investigate the rise and evolution of archery in Elamite warfare, drawing on snippets of ‘war correspondence’ in local and foreign textual sources and the rich body of archaeological and iconographic evidence. It becomes clear throughout that archery was one of the cornerstones of Elamite warfare, its sovereignty, cultural identity, and longevity; and that Elam is crucial to our understanding of Near Eastern military history and the rise of the Achaemenid Persian empire.