Before Iran was called Iran, and before Iranians lived there, a different group of people, the Elamites, lived there. Their kingdom was called Elam. The Elamites are mentioned in the Bible. Elam was conquered by Iranian peoples, such as the Medes (a type of Iranian), because the Elamites became weak after fighting the Assyrian people (a different people) for too long. The Iranians would then go on to conquer the Assyrians, as well.