Elam

3 definitions found

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  Elam
       n : an ancient country in southwestern Asia east of the Tigris
           River (in what is modern Iran); was known for its warlike
           people [syn: {Susiana}]

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:



  Elam
     highland, the son of Shem (Gen. 10:22), and the name of the
     country inhabited by his descendants (14:1, 9; Isa. 11:11; 21:2,
     etc.) lying to the east of Babylonia, and extending to the shore
     of the Mediterranean, a distance in a direct line of about 1,000
     miles. The name Elam is an Assyrian word meaning "high."
     
       "The inhabitants of Elam, or 'the Highlands,' to the east of
     Babylon, were called Elamites. They were divided into several
     branches, speaking different dialects of the same agglutinative
     language. The race to which they belonged was brachycephalic, or
     short-headed, like the pre-Semitic Sumerians of Babylonia.
     
       "The earliest Elamite kingdom seems to have been that of
     Anzan, the exact site of which is uncertain; but in the time of
     Abraham, Shushan or Susa appears to have already become the
     capital of the country. Babylonia was frequently invaded by the
     Elamite kings, who at times asserted their supremacy over it (as
     in the case of Chedorlaomer, the Kudur-Lagamar, or 'servant of
     the goddess Lagamar,' of the cuneiform texts).
     
       "The later Assyrian monarchs made several campaigns against
     Elam, and finally Assur-bani-pal (about B.C. 650) succeeded in
     conquering the country, which was ravaged with fire and sword.
     On the fall of the Assyrian Empire, Elam passed into the hands
     of the Persians" (A.H. Sayce).
     
       This country was called by the Greeks Cissia or Susiana.
     

From Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (late 1800's) [hitchcock]:

  Elam, a young man; a virgin; a secret