Shutrukid dynasty

Shutrukid dynasty
Map of the territory of Elam.
Parent familyIgihalkid dynasty
CountryElam
Current regionWestern Iran
Place of originAsia
Foundedc. 1200 BC (c. 1200 BC)
FounderShutruk-Nakhunte I
Final rulerShutur-Nahhunte I
Historic seatSusa
Connected familiesHumban-Tahrid dynasty
TraditionsElamite religion
Dissolutionc. 970 BC (c. 970 BC)
Depositionc. 1115 BC (c. 1115 BC)
Cadet branchesElamite dynasty

The Shutrukid dynasty (c. 1200 – c. 1100 BC) was a dynasty of the Elamite empire, in modern Iran. Under the Shutrukids, Elam reached a height in power.[1]

History

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Shutruk-Nakhkhunte was the founder of this dynasty. He took as wife a Babylonian princess, the eldest daughter of Melishihu of Babylon.[2] Shutruk-Nakhkhunte and his three sons, Kutir-Nakhkhunte II, Shilhak-In-Shushinak, and Khutelutush-In-Shushinak were capable of frequent military campaigns into Kassite Babylonia (which was also being ravaged by the empire of Assyria during this period), and at the same time were exhibiting vigorous construction activity—building and restoring luxurious temples in Susa and across their Empire.[1] Shutruk-Nakhkhunte raided Babylonia, carrying home to Susa trophies like the statues of Marduk and Manishtushu, the Manishtushu Obelisk, the Stele of Hammurabi and the stele of Naram-Sin.[1] With these trophies, he attempted to give a new aura to Elam, as the conqueror of Babylonia.[1] Shutruk-Nakhunte added his own inscription on the stele of Naram-Sin:

Inscription of Shutruk-Nahhunte in Elamite on the Victory Stele of Naram-Sin.
Inscription of Shutruk-Nahhunte in Elamite on the Victory Stele of Naram-Sin.

"I am Shutruk-Nahhunte, son of Hallutush-Inshushinak, beloved servant of the god Inshushinak, king of Anshan and Susa, who has enlarged the kingdom, who takes care of the lands of Elam, the lord of the land of Elam. When the god Inshushinak gave me the order, I defeated Sippar. I took the stele of Naram-Sin and carried it off, bringing it to the land of Elam. For Inshushinak, my god, I set it as an offering."

— Elamite inscription of Shutruk-Nahhunte on the victory stele of Naram-Sin.[3]

In 1158 BC, after much of Babylonia had been annexed by Ashur-Dan I of Assyria and Shutruk-Nakhkhunte, the Elamites defeated permanently the Kassites, a dynasty which had ruled Mesopotamia for four centuries.[1][4] They killed the Kassite king of Babylon, Zababa-shuma-iddin, and replaced him with Shutruk-Nakhkhunte's eldest son, Kutir-Nakhkhunte, who held it no more than three years before being ejected by the native Akkadian speaking Babylonians. The Elamites then briefly came into conflict with Assyria, managing to take the Assyrian city of Arrapha (modern Kirkuk) before being ultimately defeated and having a treaty forced upon them by Ashur-Dan I.

Kutir-Nakhkhunte's son Khutelutush-In-Shushinak was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar I of Babylon, who sacked Susa and returned the statue of Marduk, but who was then himself defeated by the Assyrian king Ashur-resh-ishi I. He fled to Anshan, but later returned to Susa, and his brother Shilhana-Hamru-Lagamar may have succeeded him as last king of the Shutrukid dynasty. Following Khutelutush-In-Shushinak, the power of the Elamite empire began to wane, for after the death of this ruler, Elam disappears into obscurity for more than three centuries.

List of rulers

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The following list should not be considered complete:

# Depiction Name Succession Title Approx. dates Notes
Middle Elamite II period (c. 1400 – c. 1200 BC)
Shutrukid dynasty (c. 1200 – c. 970 BC)[5]
1st Hallutush-Inshushinak Unclear succession King of Anshan and Susa Uncertain, fl.c. 1217 – c. 1184 BC
2nd Shutruk-Nakhunte I Eponymous founder of the Shutrukid dynasty
Son of Hallutush-Inshushinak
Son-in-law of Melishihu of Babylon[2]
King of Anshan and Susa
Sovereign of the land of Elam
Lord of the land of Elam
Uncertain, r. c. 1184 – c. 1155 BC temp. of:
3rd Kutir-Nahhunte II Son of Shutruk-Nahhunte I King of Anshan and Susa
King of Elam
King of Babylon
Uncertain, r. c. 1155 – c. 1150 BC temp. of:
4th Shilhak-Inshushinak I Son of Shutruk-Nahhunte I King of Anshan and Susa
King of Elam
Uncertain, r. c. 1150 – c. 1120 BC
(30 years)
temp. of:
5th Hutelutush-Inshushinak Son of Kutir-Nahhunte II King of Anshan and Susa
King of Elam
King of Elam and Susiana
Uncertain, r. c. 1120 – c. 1100 BC temp. of:
Neo-Elamite I period (c. 1100 – c. 770 BC)
6th Shilhina-Hamru-Lakamar Son of Shilhak-Inshushinak I King of Anshan and Susa
King of Elam
Uncertain, fl.c. 1115 – c. 980 BC
Elamite dynasty of Babylonia (c. 980 – c. 975 BC)
7th Mar-biti-apla-usur Unclear succession King of Babylon
Son of Elam
Uncertain, r. c. 980 – c. 975 BC
(6 years)
temp. of:
Elamite Dark Ages (c. 975 – c. 770 BC)
8th Akshir-Shimut Unclear succession King of Anshan and Susa Uncertain, fl.c. 1110 – c. 975 BC
9th Akshir-Nahhunte Unclear succession King of Anshan and Susa Uncertain, fl.c. 1100 – c. 970 BC
10th Kara-Indash Unclear succession King of Elam Uncertain, fl.c. 1070 – c. 830 BC
Neo-Elamite II period (c. 770 – c. 688 BC)
Humban-Tahrid dynasty (c. 830 – c. 688 BC)
11th Unknown Unclear succession King of Anshan and Susa Uncertain, fl.c. 821 BC temp. of:
12th Humban-Numena II Unclear succession King of Elam Uncertain, fl.c. 1100 – c. 821 BC
13th Shutruk-Nahhunte II Son of Humban-Numena II King of Elam Uncertain, fl.c. 1070 – c. 770 BC
14th Shutur-Nahhunte I Son of Humban-Numena II King of Anshan and Susa Uncertain, fl.c. 1050 – c. 760 BC
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See also

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d e The Royal City of Susa: Ancient Near Eastern Treasures in the Louvre. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1992. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-87099-651-1.
  2. ^ a b Potts, D. T. (April 2006). "Elamites and Kassites in the Persian Gulf". Journal of Near Eastern Studies. 65 (2). University of Chicago Press: 111–119. doi:10.1086/504986.
  3. ^ Mieroop, Marc Van De (2015). A History of the Ancient Near East, ca. 3000-323 BC. John Wiley & Sons. p. 199. ISBN 9781118718230.
  4. ^ Álvarez-Mon, Javier (31 March 2020). The Art of Elam CA. 4200–525 BC. Routledge. p. 434. ISBN 978-1-000-03485-1.
  5. ^ Cameron, 1936; The Cambridge History of Iran; Hinz, 1972; The Cambridge Ancient History; Majidzadeh, 1991; Majidzadeh, 1997; Vallat, "Elam ...", 1998.

Bibliography

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