Page:History of Early Iran.pdf/21

Rh proach, there grew up in antiquity a city to be famous in Babylonian as in Elamite and Iranian history—Susa. This city, today but a "tell," still speaks eloquently of its one-time grandeur. It measures almost 3,000 feet on a side, and its highest point is well over 120 feet above the surrounding plain. Since the winter of 1897 the Ministère de l'instruction publique et des beaux-arts, by authority of the French government, has excavated at this site; and each year has seen some striking revelation of the history of the ancient Orient or some beautiful addition to the magnificent collection in the Louvre. Though much still remains to be excavated, we must emphasize the fact that Susa alone, in her fertile lowland, can never reveal the deeper secrets of Elamite history. For the Elamites were primarily highlanders, and during many periods of their history Susa played but a minor part, while a leading character in the drama was Anshan, not yet certainly located. Doubtless one reason for this relative political unimportance was the climate of the Susa basin. During nine months of the year the whole plain is burned up by the sun's heat, whose intensity affords some credence to Strabo's tale that lizards and serpents could not crawl across the streets at midday without being burned. Susa must nevertheless provide most of our available material for a political history of early Iran, since no other Elamite site has been excavated.

Iran, as thus described, gave little geographical