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The ancient history of Afghanistan, also referred to as the pre-Islamic period of Afghanistan, dates back to the Helmand Civilization around 3300–2350 BCE and the Oxus Civilization around 2400–1950 BCE. Archaeological exploration began in Afghanistan in earnest after World War II and proceeded until the late 1970s during the Soviet–Afghan War. Archaeologists and historians suggest that humans were living in Afghanistan at least 50,000 years ago, and that farming communities of the region were among the earliest in the world. Urbanized culture has existed in the land from between 3000 and 2000 BC. Artifacts typical of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron ages have been found inside Afghanistan.
Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire. It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by southern Zagros mountains in Iran. It is one of the key Iranian Cultural Heritages. The city of Shiraz is situated 60 km (37 mi) southwest of Persepolis. UNESCO declared the ruins of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979.
Elam was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of southern Iraq. The modern name Elam stems from the Sumerian transliteration elam(a), along with the later Akkadian elamtu, and the Elamite haltamti. Elamite states were among the leading political forces of the Ancient Near East. In classical literature, Elam was also known as Susiana, a name derived from its capital Susa.
A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a large rigid or stiff neck ring in metal, made either as a single piece or from strands twisted together. The great majority are open at the front, although some have hook and ring closures and a few have mortice and tenon locking catches to close them. Many seem designed for near-permanent wear and would have been difficult to remove.
The Iranian Plateau or Persian Plateau is a geological feature spanning parts of Central Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. It makes up part of the Eurasian Plate, and is wedged between the Arabian Plate and the Indian Plate. The plateau is situated between the Zagros Mountains to the west, the Caspian Sea and the Köpet Dag to the north, the Armenian Highlands and the Caucasus Mountains to the northwest, the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf to the south, and the Indian subcontinent to the east.
The National Museum of Iran is located in Tehran, Iran. It is an institution formed of two museums; the Museum of Ancient Iran and the Museum of Islamic Archaeology and Art of Iran, which were opened in 1937 and 1972, respectively.
Teppe Hasanlu or Hasanlu Tepe is an archeological site of an ancient city located in northwest Iran, a short distance south of Lake Urmia. The nature of its destruction at the end of the 9th century BC essentially froze one layer of the city in time, providing researchers with extremely well preserved buildings, artifacts, and skeletal remains from the victims and enemy combatants of the attack. The site was likely associated with the Mannaeans.
The Ziwiye hoard is a treasure hoard containing gold, silver, and ivory objects, also including a few gold pieces with the shape of human face, that was uncovered on in Ziwiyeh plat near Saqqez city in Kurdistan Province, Iran, in 1947.
Godin Tepe is an archaeological site in western Iran, located in the valley of Kangavar in Kermanshah Province. The importance of the site may have been due to its role as a trading outpost in the early Mesopotamian trade networks.
Oscar White Muscarella was an American archaeologist and former Senior Research Fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he worked for over 40 years before retiring in 2009. He specialized in the art and archaeology of the Ancient Near East, in particular Ancient Persia and Anatolia. Muscarella was an untiring opponent of the Looting of ancient sites and earned a reputation as the conscience of the discipline. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1965.
Tapeh Yahya is an archaeological site in Kermān Province, Iran, some 220 kilometres (140 mi) south of Kerman city, 90 kilometres (56 mi) south of Baft city and 90 km south-west of Jiroft. The easternmost occupation of the Proto-Elamite culture was found there.
Kamyar Abdi is an Iranian anthropologist and assistant professor of archaeology at Shahid Beheshti University. He initiated his undergraduate studies in archaeology at the University of Tehran, leading to a master's degree. Subsequently, he joined the Oriental Institute based in the University of Chicago to study the near east civilizations and languages. Abdi holds his PhD in Anthropology from the University of Michigan, under supervision of Henry T. Wright. Prior to joining the Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran, he taught and researched in many institutions, namely Dartmouth College, Harvard University, University of California, Irvine and British Museum. He used to be a research associate at the Iranian Center for Research on Humanities and Cultural Studies, in addition to many editorial memberships in reputable journals, affiliation with councils and associations, and executive experiences such as leading the American Institute of Iranian Studies. He has carried out numerous extensive archaeological excavations in Iran, financially supported by domestic and international organizations. The outcomes of his research have played a major role in assisting the scientific community with resolving many questions pertinent to Iranian protohistory, calcolithic, Elamites and Achaemenids. Not only has he written several original publications, but also has translated many English books and articles into Persian, and keeps supervising graduate students.
The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, ancient Persia, Anatolia and the Armenian highlands, the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula. The ancient Near East is studied in the fields of ancient Near East studies, Near Eastern archaeology, and ancient history.
The prehistory of the Iranian plateau, and the wider region now known as Greater Iran, as part of the prehistory of the Near East is conventionally divided into the Paleolithic, Epipaleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age periods, spanning the time from the first settlement by archaic humans about a million years ago until the beginning of the historical record during the Neo-Assyrian Empire, in the 8th century BC.
Shahrokh Razmjou is an Iranian archaeologist and historian, specializing in Achaemenid Archaeology and History. He received his PhD in Achaemenid Archaeology at the University of London. He established the Inscriptions Hall (1998–1999) and the Centre for Achaemenid Studies (2001) at the National Museum of Iran. He was curator of Ancient Iran in the Department of the Middle East, British Museum (2009–2012) and during this time, he produced a new updated translation of the text on the Cyrus Cylinder from Babylonian to Persian. He also excavated the ancient man-made caves of Niyasar, Kashan. He is currently teaching at the Department of Archaeology, University of Tehran.
Around 535 BCE, the Persian king Cyrus the Great initiated a protracted campaign to absorb parts of India into his nascent Achaemenid Empire. In this initial incursion, the Persian army annexed a large region to the west of the Indus River, consolidating the early eastern borders of their new realm. With a brief pause after Cyrus' death around 530 BCE, the campaign continued under Darius the Great, who began to re-conquer former provinces and further expand the Achaemenid Empire's political boundaries. Around 518 BCE, the Persian army pushed further into India to initiate a second period of conquest by annexing regions up to the Jhelum River in what is today known as Punjab. At peak, the Persians managed to take control of most of modern-day Pakistan and incorporate it into their territory.
The Museum of Ancient Iran is located at the western part of Mashhq Square in Tehran, Iran. A French architect, named André Godard, started the construction of the museum on May 11, 1934 by the order of Reza Shah. The museum building was completed in 1937 and then was opened for first public visits. The land allocated to this museum is 5,500 square meters, of which 2,744 square meters is used for the foundation of the museum.
