The Assyrian conquest of Elam refers to the conquest of
Elam in western Persia by the
Neo-Assyrian Empire
The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the fourth and penultimate stage of ancient Assyrian history and the final and greatest phase of Assyria as an independent state. Beginning with the accession of Adad-nirari II in 911 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire grew ...
(911 BC-609 BC). The Elamite lands were finally ravaged beyond repair in 639 BC.
Background
Clashes between the
Elamites and the Assyrians had been ongoing for many years prior to 721 BC, the first recorded conflict between Elamites and Assyrians. For many centuries before that, the Elamites had made it a habit of intervening in
Babylonia
Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state ...
n politics. Naturally this would have placed them in conflict with the Assyrians, who saw
Babylon as within their
sphere of influence
In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence (SOI) is a spatial region or concept division over which a state or organization has a level of cultural, economic, military or political exclusivity.
While there may be a formal al ...
. In 721 BC, the Babylonians rebelled against Assyria and Elamite forces attempted to aid Babylon in her revolt. Following this event, the Assyrians and Elamites clashed on numerous occasions; at the
Tigris
The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...
in 717 BC, along the Elamite coast as part of an
amphibious invasion
Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducted u ...
in 694 BC, at the province of Der and again
at the River Diyala in 693 BC (this may have been the same battle). For the most part, these battles were bloody and inconclusive. However, the Assyrians were able to obtain the upper hand for the most part, demonstrated by the failure of the Elamites to extend their power beyond the boundaries of