The Sukkalmah Dynasty (c. 1900-1500 BCE), also Epartid Dynasty after the founder Eparti/Ebarat,[1] [2] was an early dynasty of West Asia in the ancient region of Elam, to the southeast of Babylonia. It corresponds to the latest part of the Old Elamite period (dated c. 2700-1600 BC).
The Sukkalmah dynasty followed the Shimashki Dynasty (c. 2200-1900 BCE).[3] [4] The name of the dynasty comes from the name Sukkalmah meaning "Grand Regent", the title used by Elamite rulers.[3]
Numerous cuneiform documents and inscriptions remain from this period, particularly from the area of Susa, making the Sukkalmah period one of the best documented in Elamite history.[3]
Sukkalmah was a Sumerian title first attested in the Pre-Sargonic texts from Girsu, where it seems to have had the meaning of "prime minister" or "grand vizier."[5] The title was well-attested under the powerful Ur III state, where it remained associated with Girsu and nearby Lagash. The Sukkalmahs of Lagash held effective control over the entire ma-da or buffer zone to the north and east of the Ur III core territory, and thus held authority over Susa.[6] The Sukkalmah Arad-Nanna held the title of shagina or military governor of Pashime on the southern coast of Iran, indicating that the influence of the Neo-Sumerian Sukkalmahs could extend quite deep into Elamite territory.[7] The later adoption of the title Sukkalmah by the Elamites probably reflects the considerable political influence that the Neo-Sumerian Sukkalmahs had on Susiana and Elam, and may have also been favored due to similarity between the Sumerian sukkal and the Elamite title sunkir or sukkir meaning "king".[8]
The founder of the dynasty was a ruler named Shilhaha, who described himself as "the chosen son of Ebarat", who may have been the same as King Ebarti mentioned as the 9th King of the Shimashki Dynasty.[4] Ebarat appears as the founder of the dynasty according to building inscriptions, but later kings rather seem to refer to Shilhaha in their filiation claims.[1]
The dynasty was roughly contemporary with the Old Assyrian period, and the Old Babylonian period in Mesopotamia. During this time, Susa was under Elamite control, but Akkadian-speaking Mesopotamian states such as Larsa and Isin continually tried to retake the city. Notable Sukkalmah dynasty rulers in Elam during this time include Suruhduh/Siruk-tuh/Sirukdukh (c. 1850), who entered into various military coalitions to contain the power of the south Mesopotamian states. Siruk-tuh was the king of Elam when Hammurabi first ruled,[9] he and later kings of the Elamite dynasty were referred to as "great king" and "father" by kings in Syria and Mesopotamia and were the only kings that the Mesopotamian Kings considered to be higher in status than themselves.[10] [11]
Siwe-Palar-Khuppak, who for some time was the most powerful person in the area, respectfully addressed as "Father" by Mesopotamian kings such as Zimrilim of Mari, Shamshi-Adad I of Assyria, and even Hammurabi of Babylon. During his reign alone, Elam interfered extensively with Mesopotamian politics, allowing messengers and envoys to travel far west to Emar and Qatna in Syria.[12] His messenger reached Emar and sent his three servants to King Amut-piʾel II of Qatna (1772-1762 BC), and the king of Qatna also sent two messengers to Elam.[13] Around 1760 BC, Hammurabi drove out the Elamites, overthrew Rim-Sin of Larsa, and established a Babylonian Empire in Mesopotamia. Thus, Siwe-Palar-Khuppak instead turned his army eastward conquering parts of Iran.
The Elamite rulers had become increasingly involved in Mesopotamian politics during the Sukkalmah dynasty. In fact, Rim-Sin of Larsa himself was of Elamite descent, notwithstanding his Akkadian name.[14] Kudur-Nahhunte, who plundered the temples of southern Mesopotamia. But Elamite influence in southern Mesopotamia did not last. Little is known about the later part of this dynasty, since sources again become sparse with the Kassite rule of Babylon (from c. 1595).
The names of Ebarat and Shilhaha, the founding members of the Sukkalmah Dynasty, have been found on the Gunagi silver vessels, inscribed in the Linear Elamite script. The Gunagi vessels were discovered relatively recently, in 2004. French archaeologist François Desset identified repetitive sign sequences in the beginning of the Gunagi inscriptions, and guessed they were names of Kings, in a manner somewhat similar to Grotefend's decipherment of Old Persian cuneiform in 1802-1815.[15] Using the small set of letters identified in 1905-1912, the number of symbols in each sequence taken as syllables, and in one instance the repetition of a symbol, Desset was able to identify the only two contemporary historical rulers that matched these conditions: Shilhaha and Ebarat, the two earliest kings of the Sukkalmah Dynasty. Another set of signs matched the well-known God of the period: Napirisha:
| Name | Portrait | Title | Born-Died | Entered office | Left office | Family Relations | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sukkalmah or Epartid dynasty,[18] c. 1970–c. 1500 BC | |||||||||
| 1 | Eparti II E-b-r-t. | king of Anshan & Susa | ?–? | c. 1973 BC | ? | Married with a daughter of Iddin-Dagan king of Isin in 1973 BC.[19] | cont. Iddin-Dagan king of Isin | ||
| 2 | Shilhaha Shi-l-ha-ha. | Sukkalmah | ?–? | ? | ? | "chosen son of Ebarat" [20] | |||
| 3 | Kuk-Nashur I | Sukkalmah | ?–? | ? | ? | son (ruhushak)[21] of Shilhaha | |||
| 4 | Atta-hushu | Sukkal and Ippir of Susa, Shepherd of the people of Susa, Shepherd of Inshushinak | ?–after 1894 BC | ?1928 BC | after 1894 BC | son of Kuk-Nashur I (?) | |||
| 5 | Tetep-Mada | Shepherd of the people of Susa | ?–? | after c. 1890 BC | ? | son of Kuk-Nashur I (?) | |||
| 6 | Palar-Ishshan | Sukkalmah | ?–? | ? | ? | ? | |||
| 7 | Kuk-Sanit | ?–? | ? | ? | son of Palar-Ishshan (?) | ||||
| 8 | Kuk-Kirwash | Sukkalmah, Sukkal of Elam and Simashki and Susa | ?–? | ? | ? | son of Lan-Kuku & nephew of Palar-Ishshan | |||
| 9 | Tem-Sanit | ?–? | ? | ? | son of Kuk-Kirwash | ||||
| 10 | Kuk-Nahhunte | ?–? | ? | son of Kuk-Kirwash | |||||
| 11 | Kuk-Nashur II | Sukkalmah, Sukkal of Elam, Sukkal of Elam and Simashki and Susa | ?–? | ? | ? | son of Kuk-Nahhunte (?) | |||
| 12 | Shirukduh | Sukkalmah | ?–? | c. 1790 BC | ? | ? | cont. Shamshi-Adad I king of Assyria | ||
| 13 | Shimut-Wartash I | ?–? | ? | ? | son of Shirukduh | ||||
| 14 | Siwe-Palar-Hupak | Sukkalmah, Sukkal of Susa, Prince of Elam | ?–? | before 1765 BC | after 1765 BC | son of Shirukduh | |||
| 15 | Kuduzulush I | Sukkalmah, Sukkal of Susa | ?–? | ? | ? | son of Shirukduh | |||
| 16 | Kutir-Nahhunte I | Sukkalmah | ?–? | c. 1710 BC | ? | son of Kuduzulush I | |||
| 17 | Atta-Merra-Halki | ?–? | ? | ? | son of Kuduzulush I (?) | ||||
| 18 | Tata II | Sukkal | ?–? | ? | ? | brother of Atta-Merra-Halki | |||
| 19 | Lila-Irtash | ?–? | ? | ? | son of Kuduzulush I | ||||
| 20 | Temti-Agun | Sukkalmah, Sukkal of Susa | ?–? | ? | ? | son of Kutir-Nahhunte I | |||
| 21 | Kutir-Shilhaha | Sukkalmah, Sukkal | ?–? | ? | ? | son of Temti-Agun | |||
| 22 | Kuk-Nashur III | Sukkal of Elam, Sukkal of Susa | ?–? | before 1646 BC | after 1646 BC | son of Kutir-Shilhaha | |||
| 23 | Temti-Raptash | ?–? | ? | ? | son of Kutir-Shilhaha | ||||
| 24 | Shimut-Wartash II | ?–? | ? | ? | son of Kuk-Nashur III | ||||
| 25 | Shirtuh | King of Susa | ?–? | ? | ? | son of Kuk-Nashur III | |||
| 26 | Kuduzulush II | Sukkalmah, King of Susa | ?–? | ? | ? | son of Shimut-Wartash II | |||
| 27 | Tan-Uli | Sukkalmah, Sukkal | ?–? | ? | ? | ? | |||
| 28 | Temti-Halki | Sukkalmah, Sukkal of Elam and Simashki and Susa | ?–? | ? | ? | son of Tan-Uli | |||
| 29 | Kuk-Nashur IV[22] | Sukkalmah | ?–? | ? | ? | son of Tan-Uli | |||
| 30 | Kutik-Matlat[23] | ?–? | c. 1500 BC | ? | son of Tan-Uli | ||||