Elam

This map of ancient Elam unfolds the fertile plains east of the Tigris River and beneath the rugged Zagros Mountains, centering on mighty Susa-“Shushan the citadel” where Daniel saw his ram-and-goat vision (Daniel 8:2) and where Queen Esther later risked her life for Israel’s survival (Esther 4:16). The cartography frames Elam’s river arteries, the Choaspes (modern Karkheh) and the Ulai (modern Karun), which irrigated fields that fed an empire even before Babylon rose. Trade roads fan westward toward Mesopotamia-recalling how Chedorlaomer, “king of Elam,” led a coalition that Abraham pursued as far as Dan (Genesis 14:1-14)-and southeast to the Persian Gulf, a corridor that later funneled Cyrus’s armies. Hill-shade reveals the protective spine of the Zagros, explaining why prophets foretold Elam’s “broken bow” yet also its latter-day restoration (Isaiah 21:2; Jeremiah 49:35-39). By marking border fortresses, royal canals, and caravan paths that stitched Elam to Media and Persia, the map helps readers visualize how this ancient kingdom served as both cradle and crossroads of power-setting the stage for the edicts in Ezra 6:2 and Nehemiah 1:1 that would ultimately send Israel home from exile.