Beginning in the eighth millennium B.C., agricultural communities form in western Iran. It is not clear if these represent an indigenous development or are the result of outside influences. By the end of the fifth millennium B.C., several settlements had grown considerably. The site of Susa is founded at this time with its political and artistic affiliation alternating between the nearby lowland cities of southern Mesopotamia and the highland civilizations of Iran. During the third millennium B.C., an Elamite kingdom emerges centered on the cities of Susa and Anshan, the latter in the Zagros Mountains.
Ancient Persia: Paleolithic Era
