Journal of Archaeological Studies

Abstract The different environmental features of the Central Iranian Plateau and the Central Zagros region, including the type of access to hydrological resources adjacent to the climatically high pressure regions, such as desert lands and mountainous locations, and the communication constraints are characteristics that throughout the millennia shaped the cultures of these areas. It seems that according to the recent archaeological discoveries and the natural and geographical features’ effects on determination of cultural zones, the revision of archaeological divisions of the central plateau and Zagros is an obvious and essential issue. In the past, the definition of the Central Plateau mainly included the plains of Kashan, Qom and Saveh, Qazvin, Tehran, and the margins of Kavir desert, but did not mention Kurdistan and Hamedan at all. Also, in the Central Zagros area, never mentioned any sites beyond Asadabad and Nahavand. Thus, the role of these regions in the course of cultural transformation, like a blind spot, has always been neglected and archaeologists never considered important places in the areas located between the central plateau and central Zagros, until now. Whereas, geographical divisions, despite the differences between the views of some geographers, emphasize the geomorphologic distinctions of these regions against the Central Plateau and Zagros. Thus, by a review of the factors such as geographical features, catchment areas, quality of communication routes, and the distributional coherence of some cultural materials, especially pottery, the necessity of defining an independent identity for the “Near west” of central Iran, which corresponds to the geological zone of the Sanandaj-Hamedan, distinct from the Central Zagros and the Central Plateau zone, will simply be accepted.

Abstract Elymais regions include the elevated plains and valleys of Bakhtiary Mountains in east of Karun River and in fact it is the northeast of Khozestan province. Although the exact determining of the region extend is difficult but during its life the extend has changed in terms of the new conquests of parthians and some more or less important parts of Elymais were dominated by small neighboring states. In the Seleucids era and especially during the parthians era the regions which are now located in Ize, Shoshtar, Dezful, Ahvaz and even Susa were completely under influences of Elymaises. So far in the Elymais region some reliefs are discovered and introduced and every few years one or more samples are added to this category such as Sang-e Mahi relief in Andika region. The subject of this sample displays the war scene like other reliefs. So far the war scenes are not specially addressed, while the effect of this issue is absolutely obvious in the Elymais reliefs and Sasanian period. This issue is pointed in literature, poetries and stories. Besides introducing the new relief of Sang-e Mahi, some other reliefs displaying the war scenes of Elymais part are examined and the Elymais artistic relationship with Sasanian art will be discussed in this paper.