Sarah's+Essay



** Rise of the Elamites to the “Golden Age” ** The Elamites were peoples who lived in Ancient Mesopotamia, presently known as Iran. The Empire consisted of strong and powerful leaders who led the empire to prosperity. The “Golden Age” of the empire occurred between the 13th and12th centuries B.C.E **(1)**. This was a period of rapid growth; they became enriched with many resources. Therefore they experienced tremendous growth and advancements in political structure, military, weaponries, and the economy. Ultimately, there was a renaissance and phenomenal development of art and architecture. They were a society which used natural resources to flourish, the People drew much of their artistic inspiration to religion, and used their scientific and inventive abilities to create beautiful architecture. __We can learn much from the rise of the Elamite Empire.__

The Old Elamite Period lasted from approximately 2500 to1600 B.C.E **(2)**. The People of this period became enriched with many essential resources. Despite living on a hot, rich plain with barely any rainfall, the Elamites were able to use natural resources which made their economy thrive. The Elamites and the rest of Ancient Mesopotamia were dependent on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which flowed all along Ancient Mesopotamia. The two rivers provided salvation for the People. The empire was east of the Tigris River, which supplied clean water, a vital source for growing crops. The crops were used to feed the citizens throughout the empire. Through trade, they provided neighboring empires Sumer, and Akkad with barley, fruits, vegetables, wood, and semiprecious stones. Just like our world today, the Elamites used their natural resources to trade with other empires throughout Mesopotamia. These are one of the factors which made their economy prosperous. This is similar to the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) between, Canada, The United states, and Mexico, which formed the world’s largest free trade area. This proves, free trade establishes a strong foundation for future and economic growth and raises the standard of living **(3)**.

During the golden age, the Elamites art evolved through the convergence of varied styles and cultures, mergers and refinement, developing finally into a distinctive new style **(4)**. The Elamites incorporated their artistic aptitudes into sculptures, figurines, statues, and painted pottery. The city of Susa, the capital of Elam, had several temples across the city. And, the biggest, more central temple belonged to the God of the city. The People believed the larger and more beautifully decorated the temples were, the happier the Gods would be. The Elamites place of worship is known as a ziggurat. Ziggurats were pyramid-shaped towers with three levels, with a terrace at each story and a temple at the very top. Their art provides us with knowledge and admiration, and lets us understand that religious art was very significant to their culture **(5)**.  The “Golden Age” of the Elamites was an era of superior architectural triumphs. They applied their talents of science, and inventive abilities to craft breathtakingly exquisite architecture. Although, there are not many remains of buildings found from the Old Period of Elam, which makes it difficult to form an opinion on Elamite architecture, there are inscribed tablets with buildings drawn on them, and huge palaces painted on pottery found within the Elamite Empire. The Achaemenid Empire adopted many of the customs, and architectural designs of the Elamites, the people they had conquered. Just like the Babylonians, and Sumerians, they used basic principles of mathematics and science to create massive structures **(6)**. The Elamites, along with its neighboring Mesopotamian empires (Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, and Babylonia) teach us that mathematics and science need to be used produce architecture in the way which they did. An example is Canada’s CN Tower, planned in 1968, which took a total of three years to design. The architects of the Tower correlated complex math to build its hollow concrete hexagonal pillars. This Tower, completed in1976, put a new meaning to “inventive” and led to the construction of more sophisticated and complicated architecture around the world **(7)**.

The Elamite Empire has made a huge impression on the world. Through the use of their natural resources, religious art, and architecture, they became a successful civilization. Their morals, values and art heavily influenced empires that continued after them. They were a very resourceful People. Thus, they used their agricultural resources to become one of the most efficient empires at the time, particularly in trade. Our world today can learn much from their empire. There are many ancient civilizations throughout history, and most are forgotten; but the contributions made from the Elamites will allow them to always be remembered. __

References __ (In order of which was used from first to last throughout the body of the essay) **(1)** Labedzki, Annette "The Art of Ancient Iran - Elam and Achaemenid Persia." __The Art of Ancient Iran - Elam and Achaemenid Persia__. 23 Feb. 2009. // EzineArticles.com //. 10 May 2009 <[|http://ezinearticles.com/?The- Art- of- Ancient- Iran- - - Elam- and- Achaemenid- Persia&id=2029326]>.


 * (2)** Shahmiri, Cyrus. “The Elamite Empire.” //All Empires, Online History Community.// 2004. <[]


 * (3)** “Canada and the North American Free Trade Agreement”. //Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada// []


 * (4)** Hinz, W. "Elam." //The Free Dictionary//. 2007. Farlex. Web.10 May 2009. []


 * (5)** Farkas, Ann. "Ziggurat." //Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia//. 2009. Grolier Online. 11 May 2009 []

Pg.296-300
 * (6)** “Elamite/Persian Empire”. //World Book, Encyclopedia.// Book M-P. 1988.
 * (7)** “CN Tower”. //Toronto// //Tour Guide//. 2009. 10 May 2009. []

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 * Note: Many of these points were not only acquired from the references listed above. Some were also from my Research Notes. Therefore not all the information is cited on this page. To look for additional references, click my __Works Cited__ Page.