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The region around [[Susa]] in the southwest of modern [[Iran]], is located right next to lower Mesopotamia, which exercised a powerful influence on it from the 5th millennium BC, and might be considered to have been part of the Uruk culture in the second half of the 4th millennium BC, either as a result of conquest or a more gradual acculturation, but it did retain its own unique characteristics.<ref>M.-J. Stève, F. Vallat, H. Gasche, C. Jullien et F. Jullien, "Suse," ''Supplément au Dictionnaire de la Bible'' fasc. 73, 2002, col. 409–413</ref> The Uruk period levels at Susa are called Susa I (c. 4000–3700 BC) and Susa II (c. 3700–3100 BC), during which the site became an urban settlement. Susa I saw the beginning of monumental architecture on the site, with the construction of a 'High Terrace', which was increased during Susa II to measure roughly 60 x 45 metres. The most interesting aspect of this site is the objects discovered there, which are the most important evidence available to us for the art of the Uruk period and the beginning of administration and writing. The [[cylinder seal]]s of Susa I and Susa II have a very rich iconography, uniquely emphasising scenes of everyday life, although there is also some kind of local potentate which P. Amiet sees as a 'proto-royal figure,' preceding the 'priest-kings' of Late Uruk.<ref>P. Amiet, "Glyptique susienne archaïque," ''Revue Assyriologique'' 51, 1957, p. 127</ref> These cylinder seals, as well as [[bulla (seal)|bulla]]e and clay tokens, indicate the rise of administration and of accounting techniques at Susa during the second half of the 4th millennium BC. Susa has also yielded some of the most ancient writing tablets, making it a key site for our understanding of the origins of writing. Other sites in Susiana also have archaeological levels belonging to this period, like [[Jafarabad, Alborz|Jaffarabad]] and [[Chogha Mish]].<ref>G. Johnson and H. Wright, "Regional Perspectives on Southwest Iranian State development," ''Paléorient'' 11/2, 1985, pp. 25–30</ref>
Further north, in the [[Zagros]], the site of [[Godin Tepe]] in the [[Kangavar]] valley is particularly important. Level V of this site belongs to the Uruk period. Remains have been uncovered of an ovoid wall, enclosing several buildings organised around a central court, with a large structure to the north which might be a public building. The material culture has some traits which are shared with that of Late Uruk and Susa II. Level V of Godin Tepe could be interpreted as an establishment of merchants from Susa and/or lower Mesopotamia, interested in the location of the site on commercial routes, especially those linked to the [[tin]] and [[lapis lazuli]] mines on the [[Iranian Plateau]] and in [[Afghanistan]].<ref>H. Weiss and T. Cuyler Young Jr., "Merchants of Susa: Godin V and plateau-lowland relations in the late Fourth Millennium B.C.," ''Iran'' 10 (1975) pp. 1–17</ref> Further east, the key site of [[Tepe Sialk]], near [[Kashan]], shows no clear evidence of links with the Uruk culture in its Level III, but [[beveled rim bowl]]s are found all the way out to Tepe Ghabristan in the [[Elbourz]]<ref>Y. Majidzadeh, "Sialk III and the Pottery Sequence at Tepe Ghabristan: The Coherence of the Cultures of the Central Iranian Plateau," ''Iran'' 19 (1981) p. 146</ref> and at
In this region, the retreat of the Uruk culture resulted in a particular phenomenon, the [[Proto-Elamite]] civilization, which seems to have been centred on the region of [[Anshan (Persia)|Tell-e Malyan]] and Susiana and seems to have taken over the Uruk culture's links with the Iranian plateau.<ref name=butiran>{{harvsp|id=BUT|Butterlin|2003|pp=139–150}}</ref><ref>P. Amiet, ''L'âge des échanges inter-iraniens, 3500–1700 av. J.-C.'', Réunion des musées nationaux, Paris, 1986.</ref>
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