Near East Kingdoms

Eparti Kings / Sukkalmahs (Elam) (Western Iran)

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The city states of Sumer formed one of the first great civilisations in human history (see feature link). This Near Eastern civilisation emerged a little way ahead of that of Africa's ancient Egypt, and up to a millennium before that of the Indus Valley culture.

Southern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq and the western edge of Iran) was subjected to permanent settlement during the Pottery Neolithic and, by the late fourth millennium BC, Sumer was divided into approximately a dozen city states, by which time other regions were emerging as population centres in their own right. Elam was located to the east of Sumer, with its own selection of city states at its core (and see feature link).

Access to Sumer was in the Zagros foothills, circling the marshes, but this meant difficulties in communication, and a feeling in Sumer of there being comparative barbarians on their eastern flank. Culturally, Elamite states achieved less than their more advanced neighbours, and their records are extremely sparse in recording local events. Large areas of Elamite history are almost totally unknown except through Sumerian records.

The 'Old Elamite Period' marks the beginnings of the historical era in Elam as a replacement for the 'Proto-Elamite Period'. Relations with the flourishing Sumerian city states at this time mean a greatly-improved record of Elamite events. Three dynasties of kings ruled: those of Marhashi, Simashki, and then the Eparti, the last of which formed a short-lived empire.

Under the Eparti the Elamites cemented their recent status as a regional power. Eparti kings were contemporaneous with the Old Babylonian empire, and they often threatened conquest upon it and other Amorite city states, such as Isin.

Elam was more closely involved in Mesopotamian affairs than at any other time in its history. It incorporated the lowlands which surrounded Susa and also the Zagros highlands around Anshan, a bipolar domain which was reflected in the ruler's joint title of 'king of Anshan and Susa'. This was a direct inheritance from, and continuance of, the ruling structure which had developed under the Simashki kings.

The Eparti were also the 'Sukkalmahs', referred to as being 'of the sukkalmahs' due to the title which their kings often bore: sukkal-mah, or 'grand regent'. As a regional title it had been retained from the period of 'Ur III' dominance, but it had evolved to refer to Elam's now-independent ruler. Precisely how and when is obscure, but the switchover from Simashki rulers to Eparti rulers seems to have promoted it.

The title first appears in pre-Akkadian texts from Girsu, where from its use in an inscription for Urukagina it appears to denote a post along the lines of 'prime minister' or 'grand vizier', an office which clearly was subservient to the ensi or paramount ruler in the territory of Lagash.

Next to the sukkal-mah were officials who bore titles such as 'sukkal of Susa and of Elam'. This position was often - but not always - held by the son of the sister of the ruling sukkal-mah. Quite often this nephew would succeed as the next senior sukkal-mah, but again not always. The dynasty itself is sometimes referred in modern works as the 'Sukkalmah Dynasty'.

In some lists the Eparti are included as Simashki kings.

Details on rulers is extremely sparse, and some names may not even be in the correct order.

Recent excavations (up to 2015) were being led by archaeologist Behzad Mofidi-Nasrabadi of Mainz University at the site of Haft Tepe or Tappeh (approximately twenty kilometres from Susa). These uncovered a workshop with an attached clay tablet archive which dates to this period, one in which the city is a prominent centre in the Elamite empire.

The workshop recorded the expansion of commerce, arts, and crafts. Physical evidence of this prosperity includes lavish grave goods which have been found in the tomb of a female official, and a well-crafted female figurine.

Elam in the eighteenth century BC again became a major player in Mesopotamian politics. Largely this was due to the fact that it controlled the vital tin trade from the Iranian plateau in the east, with Mari as its Mesopotamian distribution centre. It was helped by the fading power of Isin and the rise of Larsa which appears to have given Elam more flexibility to exercise its own will.

Elam was also in close contact with Dilmun in the Persian Gulf, Magan (probably Oman), and the BMAC culture of Bactria and Margiana, although its period of dominance was ephemeral.

Whilst the archaeological evidence for this era is abundant at Susa and in some of the Elamite plains in south-western Iran, it is slim in Anshan and to the east, although several important rock reliefs exist. Ultimately, Hammurabi of Babylon put an end to this phase of growth and influence.

Principal author(s): Page created: Page last updated:

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from the Book of Jubilees (otherwise known as the Lesser Genesis (Leptogenesis), by unknown ancient Jewish religious authors), from Mesopotamia: The Invention of the City, Gwendolyn Leick (Penguin Books, 2001), from Encyclopaedia Britannica (Eleventh Edition, Cambridge (England), 1910), from Political Change and Cultural Continuity in Eshnunna from the Ur III to the Old Babylonian Period, Clemens Reichel (Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago, 11 June 1996), from Historical Atlas of the Ancient World, 4,000,000 to 500 BC, John Heywood (Barnes & Noble, 2000), from The Ancient Near East, c.3000-330 BC, Amélie Kuhrt (Routledge, 2000, Vol I & II), from Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East, Michael Road (Facts on File, 2000), from Mesopotamia: Assyrians, Sumerians, Babylonians, Enrico Ascalone (Dictionaries of Civilizations 1, University of California Press, 2007), from Early Mesopotamia: Society and Economy at the Dawn of History, J N Postgate (Routledge, 1994), from The First Empires, J N Postgate (Oxford 1977), from History of the Ancient Near East c.3000-323 BC, Marc van der Mieroop (Blackwell Publishing, 2004, 2007), from Mesopotamia, Chris Scarre (Ed, Past Worlds - The Times Atlas of Archaeology, Guild Publishing, London 1989), from The Age of the God-Kings, Kit van Tulleken (Ed, Time Life Books, Amsterdam 1987), from The Archaeology of Elam, D T Potts (Cambridge University Press, 1999), and from External Links: Archaeology.org, and International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia Online, and Ancient Worlds, and Ancient History, Anthony Michael Love (Sarissa.org).)

fl c.1970 BC

King in Anshan. Superseded the Simashki kings.

c.1970? BC

Eparti, or Ebarat, is king and priest of Anshan and Susa. His son (or grandson) is Shilhaha, sukkal-mah (see below). Adda-hushu is his regent and scribe of the people of Susa.

Eparti is the son of Kuk-sharum, a figure who is not claimed as one of the now-marginalised Simashki rulers. Power may have shifted from them to Anshan and Susa (albeit with some Simashki blood and influence), and Eparti may or may not be one of their number, although he is certainly part of a new ruling establishment.

Recent archaeology at the ancient site of Susa has confirmed traces of a village which was inhabited around 7000 BC, and painted pottery dating from about 5000 BC, along with previous finds at later levels which include carved cylinder seals, jewellery, clay balls, and clay tablets with cuneiform inscriptions which record business transactions, political history, and mathematical calculations

Possibly son of Eparti, but unclear.

fl c.1950s? BC

Son of Eparti. First known Elamite sukkal-mah.

fl c.1940s? BC

Title and relationship unclear.

c.1929 - 1927 BC

For reasons unknown and pursuing a more aggressive foreign policy than that of his predecessors, Gungunum of Larsa attacks and destroys Pashime in his third year (circa 1929 BC) and Anshan in his fifth year (circa 1927 BC). He may also be in control of Susa in his sixteenth year (circa 1916 BC), depending upon how a Susa text is interpreted.

fl c.1920s? BC

'Sister's son' of Silhaha. Sukkal-mah.

c.1920? BC

Isin suddenly and rapidly begins to decline. The precise events are not known but, around this time, Gungunum, Isin's governor of the province of Lagash (and apparently based at Larsa), seizes Ur. This move cuts Isin's vital trade route, economically crippling the city. It also loosens Isin's previously iron control over the entire region.

fl c.1910s? BC

Son of Silhaha. Sukkal-mah.

c.1904 - 1866 BC

Gungunum's two successors at Ur seek to cut off Isin's access to water by rerouting canals to Larsa. Nippur is also lost around this time, Kazallu seemingly follows suit at some point around 1900 BC, and Uruk breaks away around 1865 BC.

Eshnunna's kings regularly use the title of 'king' from the end of the 1900s, and sometimes deify themselves as god-kings. The old title of ensi is dropped, perhaps because Isin is no longer all-dominant in the north of Sumer.

fl bef c.1850 BC

c.1840s BC

Sin-iddinam of Larsa is well-known for his building activities in the Ebabbar shrine in his home city. His military activities include the conquest of the town of Ibrat on the Tigris, possibly to be located near today's Kut el-Amara.

If Ibrat had previously been under the control of the Elamite sukkal-mah of Susa (possibly the Eparti ruler, Epart III) and/or his sukkal, its loss might help explain the forging of an alliance a few years later between Elam and Zambija of Isin.

c.1836 BC

To commemorate Year 5 of his reign (his last, as it turns out), Sin-iqisham of Larsa gives it the year name 'year Uruk, Kazallu, the army of the land of Elam, and Zambija the king of Isin were defeated'. This would be the coalition which seemingly had been forming since the reign of Sin-iddinam of Larsa.

c.1850s? BC

Tribal ruler of an Elamite state north of Susa? In Zagros mountains?

c.1835 BC

Son and king. Captured Larsa.

c.1835 BC

Kudur-mabug or Kudur-mabuk, apparent king of an otherwise unknown Elamite state to the north, manages to install his son, Warad-Sin, on the throne of Larsa. Kudur-mabuk, his father, and his daughter all have seemingly Elamite names, but he is called 'father' or 'sheikh' of Yamutbal, just to the east of the Tigris.

Local cities also appear to be dominated by Warad-Sin, including Zabalam and (therefore possibly) Girsu. Perhaps the Eparti kings are too, under the potential usurper, Atta-hushu. Warad-Sin's brother appears to be one Eri-Aku, and he briefly succeeds to the same throne before being succeeded by another brother, Rim-Sin (I).

fl after c.1830 BC

'Sister's son' of Silhaha. Potential usurper.

c.1830 BC

Atta-hushu (and also his likely successor, Tetep-mada) is generally considered to be a usurper. All of the Eparti-era rulers bear a remarkably variegated array of titles, something which probably reflects the divided origins of the single kingdom in terms of power centres in Anshan and Susa and with the Simashki.

The title held by Atta-hushu and Tetep-mada is 'shepherd of the people of Susa'. Atta-hushu is also unique in using the titles 'shepherd of Inshushinak', 'sukkal [perhaps 'grand regent'] and ippir [potentially 'magistrate'], and 'he who holds the [missing word(s)] of Susa'.

He is again unique in using the dating from a Babylonian era, which has raised the possibility in the minds of modern scholars that he is a vassal or close ally of Larsa rather than a rightful or recognised Eparti ruler. The ruler of Larsa at this time is likely to be another usurper, in the form of Warad-Sin.

'Sister's son' of Silhaha. Usurper? 'Shepherd of the people of Susa'.

fl c.1792 BC

'Sister's son' of Silhaha.

c.1772 - 1763 BC

Son. Only sukkal?

c.1770? - 1765 BC

Elam apparently takes control of the city of Apum after the fall of the kingdom of 'Upper Mesopotamia'. Elamite rule is eventually thrown out when the city of Andarig takes control there.

c.1763 BC

Following an attempted invasion the previous year (during which Ekallatum is conquered by Elam), the Elamites are defeated in southern Mesopotamia by Hammurabi's Babylonian empire, and the kingdom begins a period of vassalage to Babylon.

It keeps its own kings though, and maintains close contacts with important centres such as Dilmun, although the region's previous political unity is probably shattered.

c.1763 - 1745 BC

'Sister's son' of Silhaha. Briefly most powerful regional ruler.

c.1750 BC

Chedorlaomer or Kedorlaomer of the Bible. Existence unconfirmed.

c.1750 BC

Shinar, or Sennaar, is equated with Babylon, making the king identifiable with Hammurabi, although this theory appears to be falling out of favour with many scholars.

King Amraphel of Shinar is allied with 'Chedorlaomer' of Elam, plus 'Arioch of Ellasar' (originally thought to be Rim-Sin of Larsa, but now thought more likely to be the early Hurrian King Ariukki), and 'Tidal, king of nations' (probably the Hittite king, Tudhaliya I).

Together they attack the early Israelites during a general conflict. After twelve years of paying tribute, several Canaanite 'cities of the plain' rebel but are quickly brought back into line. Chedorlaomer (Kedorlaomer, or Kedor-Laomer) also attacks the Rephaim and defeats them, while the Horites are said to be members of the coalition which includes Sodom and Gomorrah, and they are similarly defeated.

fl c.1745 - 1730 BC

'Sister's son' of Silhaha. Sukkul of Susa.

c.1732 BC

Elam loses control of Kish to the kings of Sealand.

fl c.1730 - 1700 BC

Son. Sukkal-mah.

c.1700 BC

The Indus Valley civilisation dies out, alongside a similar fading for the Oxus civilisation (the BMAC). Its people disperse into the Indian sub-continent, with the sea port at Lothal continuing to flourish for a time before also being abandoned. This no doubt also tips the trading culture into decline on the Iranian plateau and damages Elam's prosperity.

fl c.1700 - 1698 BC

Only sukkal?

fl c.1698 - 1690 BC

'Sister's son of' Sirukdukh. Sukkal-mah.

fl c.1690 - 1655 BC

Sukkal-mah and sukkal of Elam & Shimashki.

fl c.1655 - 1650 BC

'Sister's son of' Silhaha. Sukkal-mah & sukkal.

fl c.1650 - 1635 BC

'Sister's son of' Temti-Agun. Sukkal of Susa.

fl c.1635 - 1625 BC

Sukkal and sukkal-mah.

fl c.1625 - 1605 BC

Only sukkal?

fl c.1605? BC

Only sukkal?

fl c.1605 - 1600 BC

'King of Susa'.

fl c.1600? BC

'Sister's son of' Silhaha. Sukkal-mah.

fl c.1600 - 1580 BC

c.1595 BC

It appears that at the same time as they take control in Babylon, the Kassites are able to devastate Elam. The final stages of (non-continuous) occupation of Chogha Mish end with the Eparti-era fort here being abandoned. Elam slides into gradual obscurity.

fl c.1580 - 1570 BC

fl c.1570 - 1545 BC

fl c.1545 - 1520 BC

fl c.1520 - 1505 BC

Plundered the temples of Amorite Akkad.

fl c.1505 - ? BC

c.1500 BC

Perhaps due in part (at least) to the devastation of Elam of a century before, the kingdom has entered a long, slow decline into obscurity at the start of the 'Middle Elamite Period'.