28: The Proto-Elamite period in Susa, 3200-2800 BCE (Lugalbanda, part 3)

Guest: Kelten

First: Anzu, the mythical bird guarding the mountains at the edge of the world, comes home to find that Lugalbanda has treated his beloved chick with the utmost generosity. In return, he makes several attempts to grant Lugalbanda his destiny.

Another fully new (as of Nov 2024) episode, which I’ve been waiting to post since summer 2022. This one is about the Proto-Elamite period, Iran’s answer to the Uruk expansion. Scribes at Susa (among other centers) created their own writing system and borrowed Unug’s numerical system to administer literate outposts spanning much of western and southern Iran, likely to facilitate a trade network similar to the one centered on Susa during the Uruk period.

Then, Lugalbanda rejoins the soldiers who left him for dead in a mountain cave! Can he help Enmerkar win Unug's war against Aratta?

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