page_title: Assyrian conquest of Elam
section_title: Collapse of Elam
hierarchical_section_title: Assyrian conquest of Elam / Campaign against Elam / Collapse of Elam
caption_attribution_description: English: Battle of Ulai, Elam, 653 BCE, British Museum
context_page_description: The Assyrian conquest of Elam refers to the conquest of Elam in western Persia by the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The Elamite lands were finally ravaged beyond repair in 639 BC.
context_section_description: The defeats inflicted by Assyria on Elamite offensives were one of many problems facing the Elamites; civil war had erupted in the land, whilst her northern borders were being overrun by the Persians. In 639 BC, Assurbanipal moved into Elam and proudly documented the vengeance against Elamite incursions:
  For a distance of a month and twenty-five days' journey I devastated the provinces of Elam. Salt and sihlu I scattered over them... The dust of Susa, Madaktu, Haltemash and the rest of the cities I gathered together and took to Assyria... The noise of people, the tread of cattle and sheep, the glad shouts of rejoicing, I banished from its fields. Wild asses, gazelles and all kinds of beasts of the plain I caused to lie down among them, as if at home.
  — Ashurbanipal
  With Elam destroyed, the Assyrians returned to find their Empire falling apart; years of war had destroyed their ability to wage it. Within 34 years of Elam's destruction, Assyria fell as an independent political entity in the Middle East forever.
caption: Relief of the Battle of Ulai, British Museum.[3]
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "5472", "Image ImageLength": "2161", "Image Software": "PaintShop Pro 20,00", "Image InterColorProfile": "[]", "Image ExifOffset": "74", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "3382", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4791", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "5472", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2161"}