ancient kingdom of lower Mesopotamia, located in the lowlands and mountains of the southern Zagros, at the head of the Persian Gulf.

an ancient country in southwestern Asia east of the Tigris River (in what is modern Iran); was known for its warlike people

Elam (עֵילָם) in the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 10:22, Ezra 4:9;) is said to be the oldest son of Shem, the son of Noah. It is also used (as in Akkadian), for the country of Elam in what is now southern Iran, that the Hebrews believed to be the offspring of Elam, son of Shem. This implies that the Elamites were considered Semites by the Hebrews, although their language was actually unrelated to the Semitic languages family.