Anshan, city and territory of ancient Elam, north of modern Shīrāz, southwestern Iran. The city’s ruins, covering 350 acres, have yielded major archaeological finds, including examples of early Elamite writing. Anshan came to prominence about 2350 bc as an enemy of the Mesopotamian dynasty of Akkad. Its greatest period, however, was during the 13th and 12th centuries bc, when, as “kings of Anshan and Susa,” Elamite rulers periodically raided Babylonian cities. About 675 the country apparently came to be controlled by Achaemenian Persians, who bore the title “kings of Anshan” down to the accession of Darius I (522 bc).