Khutelutush-Inshushinak

There were neither numerous nor extensive inscriptions from Khutelush-Inshushinaka in Susa, but nevertheless they can be attributed to the most substantial royal documents, since the originality of the Elam character is especially vivid in them. For unknown reasons, Khutelushush-Inshushinak abandoned the former honorary royal title taken by his ancestors: he no longer calls himself "the king of Anshan and Souz" , but "the multiplier of the state, the heir of Elam and Souz" . It is possible that behind this lies the state-legal reorganization. In any case, while reading the documents of this king, one gets the impression that he had to sacrifice something in managing the kingdom compared with the complete domination of his ancestors.

Khutelutush-Inshushinak donated a new stone door hinge to the temple of the divine couple Simut and Manzat in Susa. The gift was intended primarily to the goddess. The king generally preferred to refer to the goddesses, especially Ishmekarab and Upurkupak. The popularity of the god Inshushinaka drops noticeably, and other male deities, as far as testimonies are still available to us, are completely ignored. The inscription on the said door hinge reads: “O Goddess Manzat, great madam! I, Khutelutush-Inshushinak, the son of Kutir-Nakhunt and Shilhak-Inshushinka , the multiplier of the kingdom. I prayed for my life, for the life of Nahhunta-Utu, my dear mother, for the life of my brothers and sisters, and therefore I ordered the door hinge to be made of stone and installed in the temple of the goddess Manzat and the Elam god Simut . ”

It follows from the above inscription Khutelush-Inshushinaka on the door hinge that his mother Nakhunte-Utu was still alive by the time the inscription was made. In the later inscriptions, she is absent, which means that she briefly outlived her two spouses (= brothers). In addition, the inscription proves that Khutelutush-Inshushinak died childless, because immediately after his mother he lists his brothers and sisters. In fact, they accounted for him only half-brothers and sisters, as they were the children of his mother Nahhunte-Utu after his second marriage with his uncle Shilhak-Inshushinaki. According to Elamian concepts, there was no difference in this. The main thing was that eight sisters and brothers descended from the "revered mother" , which personified the hereditary rights of the dynasty to the throne.

Elam's foreign policy under Khutelush-Inshushinak is known only from the records of Nebuchadnezzar I. This fourth king of the II Dynasty, Isin, made desperate efforts to break the Elama domination in the south of Mesopotamia . Reluctantly, he decided around 1115 BC. er on a campaign against Elam. Nebuchadnezzar's reserves reveal the risk he was taking: “I told myself in fear, anxiety and despair: I don’t want to share the fate of my predecessor, who is in Elam; it is better for me to die . " Referring to this predecessor, who was languishing in Elama captivity, Nebuchadnezzar probably had in mind King Ninurta-nadin-shumi from Isin , because after the violent hijacking of Kutir-Nakhunt I of the last kassite king of Babylonia, Ellil-nadin-ahhe in 1157 BC. er It took too long for the prisoner to be still alive. Consequently, from this we can conclude that Shilhak-Inshushinak during his victorious advance to the Euphrates also captured the third king of the II Dynasty Isin and also took him then to Elam. In any case, Nebuchadnezzar I strongly opposed a similar fate. “I don’t want to dodge the battle with Elamites,” he continues, “I don’t want to turn back. Therefore, I waited for him with the remaining troops at the headwaters of the Uknu River (modern Kerkha). However, Nergal , the strongest of the gods, punished my warriors [with illness] . ” Here in the clay tablet pass. Then Nebuchadnezzar continues: “I was afraid of death and did not dare to fight, I turned back ... In the city of Kar-Dur-Apil-Sin, I sat as if stunned. Elamit (Khutelush-Inshushinak) came, and I fled from the city. I lay on the bed of moaning and sighing and crying, I prayed to the gods . ” The end of this record is absent, but its content is beyond doubt: Nebuchadnezzar was defeated by the Elamites and had both for himself and for his kingdom Isin to fear the worst.

However, the Babylonian received unexpected help. It seems that the king of Elama ruled too abruptly in the dominion of his possessions. In any case, not only two very influential priests escaped from Suziana to Nebuchadnezzar, capturing the statue of the bot Ria, but also the ruler Lakti-Shikhu from Bit-Karziyabka, located in the Elam border region of Der , transferred from the Elam subordination to the Babylonian one. Nebuchadnezzar, inspired, immediately put Lakti-Shihu in command of his war chariots, and dared, apparently, around 1110 BC. er on a new assault on Elam from Dera. Details are known from the security letters on the stone ( kudurra ), which the king dedicated to his ally Lakti-Shih after his victorious return home. In it, Lakti-Shihu is granted a number of privileges in Bit-Karziyabka. The letter reads: “Nebuchadnezzar, heeding the advice of the king of the gods Marduk , took up arms to take revenge on Akkad . He went out with his army from Dera and marched twice for 30 hours. In the month of Tammuz (approximately July), he undertook this campaign. [Stones] on the roads burned like fire, the water ran out, the horses were tired, the soldiers' legs gave way. However, the noble king did not stop, he was not afraid of inaccessible land, he continued to drive horses in harness. Lakti-Shihu, the ruler of Beat-Kirzyabka, the commander of his war chariots, whose place was to the right of the king, did not leave his sovereign in trouble and also drove his war chariot forward. The mighty king reached the coast of the river Ulay; and both kings (Nebuchadnezzar and Khutelutush-Inshushinak) began the battle. Next to them, fire flared up every now and then, dust eclipsed the sunlight, war raged like a hurricane . ” This time, the military happiness smiled at the Babylonian: "Khutelutush-Inshushinka, the king of Elam, hid in his grief . " The mysterious turn of speech means that Khutelutush-Inshushinak then found his death. "King Nebuchadnezzar conquered, he conquered the country of Elam and plundered his wealth . "

Although Elam briefly fell under the rule of the Babylonian king, yet the battle on the Ulay river, near Susa, determined the further fate of the state. Even centuries later, they recalled this decisive victory: in the historical records of the Babylonian astrologers, she was associated with the appearance of a meteor, which augured "the defeat of Nebuchadnezzar Elam . " The zenith of fame Elam was left behind.

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