Shutruk-Nakhunte

Šutruk-Nakhunte was king of Elam from about 1184 to 1155 BC (middle chronology), and the second king of the Shutrukid Dynasty.

Shutruk-Nakhunte
King of Elam
Shutruk-Nakhunte, sculpted on a stele captured from Babylone and taken to Susa.[1]
Reign1184 to 1155 BCE
PredecessorHallutush-Inshushinak
SuccessorKutir-Nahhunte
DynastyShutrukid Dynasty
Babylonian stele taken to Susa by Shutruk-Nakhunte, with his image (left) added.[2]

Elam amassed an empire that included most of Mesopotamia and western Iran. Under his command, Elam defeated the Kassites and established the short-lived Elamite Empire, conquered within about 40 years by Nebuchadnezzar I of Babylon, in 1120 BC.

Šutruk-Nakhunte was married to the daughter of a Kassite king named Meli-Šipak.

Inscription on the Naram-Sin victory stele

Shutruk-Nahhunte is known by an inscription that he added to the Victory Stele of Naram-Sin, itself dated about one millennium earlier to circa 2250 BC. His inscription appears on the top right corner of the stele, on the depiction of a mountainous cone, and was written in Elamite by Shutruk-Nahhunte himself:[3]

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]

Shutruk-Nakhunte gained a small public exposition in Ethan Canin's short story "The Palace Thief", and its adaptation in the 2002 film The Emperor's Club, in which one of the key elements is a plaque describing the exploits of Shutruk-Nakhunte, described as a once famous egomaniacal conqueror virtually unknown today.

The quote from the film is, "'I am Shutruk Nahunte, King of Anšhan and Susa, Sovereign of the land of Elam. I destroyed Sippar, Took the Stele of Niran-Sin, and brought it back to Elam, where I erected it as an offering to my god.' — Šutruk-Nahunte, 1158 B.C."

The plaque hanging on the wall of the film reads...

'I am Shutruk Nahunte, King of Anšhan and Susa, Sovereign of the land of Elam. By the command of Inshushinak I destroyed Sippar, Took the Stele of Niran-Sin, and brought it back to Elam, where I erected it as an offering to my god, Inshushhinak.' — Šutruk-Nahunte, 1158 B.C.’

Sources
  1. Potts, Daniel T. (1999). The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-563585. pp. 233–234
  2. Potts, Daniel T. (1999). The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-563585. pp. 233–234
  3. Mieroop, Marc Van De (2015). A History of the Ancient Near East, ca. 3000-323 BC. John Wiley & Sons. p. 199. ISBN 9781118718230.
  • D.T. Potts: The Archaeology of Elam, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1999, 232-237
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