ELYMAIS

ancient Parthian vassal state located east of the lower Tigris River and usually considered part of the larger district of Susiana. It incorporated much of the area of the biblical region of Elam, approximately equivalent to the modern region of Khuzestan, Iran. Though the capital city of Susa belonged to Elymais, it seems to have been administered by a Persian satrap; the heart of the kingdom centred near the mountains of Luristan near modern Behbehan and Izeh, where the local dynasty left rock reliefs and inscriptions in a form of Aramaic. The dynasty seems to have been founded by Kamnaskires, known from coins dated 81 BC. The kingdom, though seldom mentioned, survived until its extinction by the Sasanian king Ardashir I (reigned AD 224241).