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Elam (Persian: تمدن ایلام, Arabic: حضارة عيلام) is one of the oldest recorded civilizations. Elam was centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran (Ilam Province and the lowlands of Khuzestan) and parts of southern Iraq. It lasted from around 2700 BC to 539 BC. It was preceded by what is known as the Proto-Elamite period, which began around 3200 BC when Susa (later capital of Elam) began to be influenced by the cultures of the Iranian plateau to the east.