Elamite

Overview

Elamite represents the earliest attested language of the Iranian plateau, documented from at least the 3^rd millennium BCE until around 1000 CE—well before the arrival of Iranian-speaking populations in the region. Rediscovered in the 19^th century through the decipherment of Mesopotamian cuneiform and the reading of the royal Achaemenid inscriptions (6^th–4^th centuries BCE), Elamite remains only partially understood due to its linguistic isolation.

Linear Elamite writing, that was used in southern Iran in the late 3rd/early 2^nd millennium BCE, has been deciphered only recently.