The Neolithic revolution began around 10,000 years ago in Mesopotamia. Mountain tribes from the east and nomads from the Syro-Arabian desert occupied the fertile lands of Lower Mesopotamia. The earliest towns were established in the Proto-Urban period (3700-2900 BC), under local priest-kings. Writing evolved around 3300 BC, to meet the demands of an increasingly complex economy.

Settled civilizations were established on the Anatolian plateau from the 8th millennium BC. In the central region, brick houses, female idols, and other decorations at the site of Çatal Hüyük suggest a fertility cult similar to that of Hacilar, further to the west. 

On the Iranian plateau, nomadic populations continued to live alongside large urban settlements. Susa, founded in 4200 BC, became a veritable political and religious metropolis. Nomadic gods (such as Napirisha and Kiririsha) were worshipped in addition to Susa's own deity, Inshushinak, the protector of crops and vegetation, and governor of the kingdom of the dead. The cultural duality of the ancient state of Elam (with two capitals and languages) was evident in its adoption of Mesopotamian writing, and its trade links throughout the plateau. 

Further north, the nomads of Luristan were accomplished metalworkers who acted as intermediaries with Babylonia. In the 4th and 3rd millennia BC a trade route was established for precious stones (lapis lazuli and carnelian) from the Orient. Susa controlled their trade to Mesopotamia. 

(Source: The Louvre Museum)