User:SomeGuyWhoRandomlyEdits/Awan (ancient city)

Early Dynastic period

See also: Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)

According to the Sumerian King List (SKL): a dynasty from Awan exerted hegemony in Sumer after defeating the first dynasty of Ur. It mentions three Awanite kings, who supposedly reigned for a total of 356 years. Their names have not survived on the extant copies, apart from the partial name of the third king, "Ku-ul...", who it says ruled for 36 years. A separate regnal list discovered in Susa names an additional twelve Elamite rulers beside the three on the SKL: Peli, Tata, Ukku-Tanhish, Hishutash, Shushun-Tarana, Napi-Ilhush, Kikkutanteimti, Luh-ishan, Hishep-Ratep, Helu, Khita, and Puzur-Inshushinak. Some have suggested that the first three on the Susanian dynastic list may have been the same three on the SKL said to have ruled over both Elam and Sumer.

The dynasty of Awan was the first from Elam of which anything is known today. The dynasty corresponds to the Old Elamite period (c. 2700 – c. 1600 BCE). Awan was a city-state or possibly a region of Elam with an uncertain location, but it has been variously conjectured to have been in the: Khuzestan, Kermanshah, Lorestan, Ilam, and/or Fars provinces of Iran. This dynasty may have exerted hegemony in Sumer after defeating Ur at some point c. 2600 – c. 2400 BCE, and may have continued ruling independently over Elam from Awan up until c. 2220 – c. 2100 BCE after losing the hegemony. This information is not considered reliable, but it does suggest that Awan had political importance in the 3rd millennium BCE.

As there are very few other sources for this period, most of these names are not certain. Little more of these rulers' reigns is known, but the Elamites were likely major rivals of neighboring Sumer from remotest antiquity; they were said to have been defeated by Enmebaragesi, who is the earliest archaeologically attested Sumerian king, as well as by a later monarch, Enannatum I. It is also known that the Elamites carried out incursions into Mesopotamia, where they ran up against the most powerful city-states of this period, Kish and Lagash. One such incident is recorded in a tablet addressed to Enetarzi, a minor ruler or governor of Lagash, testifying that a party of 600 Elamites had been intercepted and defeated while attempting to abscond from the port with plunder.

Akkadian period

See also: Akkadian Period

Luh-ishan (r. c. 2350 – c. 2331, c. 2350 – c. 2320 BCE) is the eighth ruler on the Susanian dynastic list, while his father's name "Hishiprashini" is a variant of that of the ninth listed ruler, Hishepratep—indicating either a different individual or (if the same)—that the order of rulers on the Susanian dynastic list has been jumbled. Events become a little clearer at the time of the Akkadian empire, when historical texts tell of campaigns carried out by the kings of Akkad on the Iranian plateau. Luh-ishan was a vassal of Sargon of Akkad around the time that Sargon boasted of defeating Luh-ishan. Sargon's son and successor (Rimush) is said to have conquered Elam, defeating its king named Emahsini. Khita may have signed a peace treaty with Naram-Suen of Akkad c. 2280 BCE.

After the death of Emahsini, Elam became a vassal state ruled by several Akkadian governors. Among these governors were: Eshpum, Epirmupi, and Ili-ishmani. The last two ruled with both the Sumerian title for governor and the Akkadian title for military governor. They r. c. 2300 – c. 2153, c. 2270 – c. 2154 BCE.

Gutian period

See also: Gutian period

When the Akkadian empire started to break down around 2240 BC, it was Kutik-Inshushinak (or Puzur-Inshushinak), the governor of Susa on behalf of Akkad, who liberated Awan and Elam, ascending to the throne.

By this time, Susa had started to gain influence in Elam (later, Elam would be called Susiana), and the city began to be filled with temples and monuments. Kutik-Inshushinak next defeated Kimash and Hurtum (neighboring towns rebelling against him), destroying 70 cities in a day. Next he established his position as king, defeating all his rivals and taking Anshan, the capital. Not content with this, he launched a campaign of devastation throughout northern Sumer, seizing such important cities as Eshnunna. When he finally conquered Akkad he was declared king of the four quarters, owner of the known world. Later, Ur-Nammu of Ur, founder of the 3rd dynasty of Ur defeated Elam, ending the dynasty of Awan.

Kutik-Inshushinak's work was not only as a conqueror; he created Elam's organization and the administrative structure. He extended the temple of Inshushinak, where he erected a statue of her.

After his defeat, the Awan dynasty disappears from history, probably cut down by the Guti or Lullubi tribes that then sowed disorder in Mesopotamia and the Zagros, and Elam was left in the hands of the Shimashki dynasty.

The toponym "Awan" only occurs once more following the reign of Kutik-Inshushinak, in a year-name of Ibbi-Sin of Ur. The name Anshan, on the other hand, which only occurs once before this time (in an inscription of Manishtushu), becomes increasingly more commonplace beginning with king Gudea of Lagash, who claimed to have conquered it around the same time. It has accordingly been conjectured that Anshan not only replaced Awan as one of the major divisions of Elam, but that it also included the same territory.

List of Awanite kings

#	Depiction or inscription	Ruler	Reigned from	Reigned until	Succession and death	Notes and references
Old Elamite period (c. 2700 – c. 1500 BC)
Awan dynasty (r. c. 2600 – c. 2100 BC)
Denotes a ruler described with the Sumerian title for king   Denotes a ruler described with the Sumerian title for governor   Denotes a ruler described with the Sumerian title shakkanakku (military governor)
1st	Unknown		c. 2550 BC	Uncertain	Unclear succession
2nd	[...]-Lu		Uncertain		Unclear succession
3rd	Kul[...]		Uncertain (36 years)		Unclear succession
1st	Peli		c. 2450 BC	Uncertain	Unclear succession
2nd	Tata		Uncertain		Unclear succession
3rd	Ukku-Takhesh		Uncertain		Unclear succession
4th	Hishur		Uncertain		Unclear succession
5th	Shushun-Tarana		Uncertain		Unclear succession
6th	Napil-Khush		Uncertain		Unclear succession
7th	Kikkutanteimti		Uncertain		Unclear succession
8th	Hishep-Ratep		Uncertain		He may have been the father or son of his successor
9th		Luh-ishan	Uncertain	c. 2325 BC	He may have been the father or son of his predecessor Died c. 2325 BC
10th	Helu		c. 2300 BC	c. 2280 BC	Unclear succession
11th		Khita	c. 2280 BC	c. 2250 BC	Unclear succession
12th		Puzur-Inshushinak	c. 2100 BC		Unclear succession

References

Sources

Bibliography

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Further reading

External links

• Dahl, J. (2012-07-24). "Rulers of Elam". cdliwiki: Educational pages of the Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI).
• Frayne, D. (1993) [c. 2340–2200 BC]. "UCLA Library ARK 21198/z1z90hx0". CDLI (in Akkadian) (published 1993–2013).
• Jacobsen, T. (1939). Zólyomi, G.; Black, J.; Robson, E.; Cunningham, G.; Ebeling, J. (eds.). "Sumerian King List". ETCSL. Translated by Glassner, J.; Römer, W.; Zólyomi, G. (revised ed.). United Kingdom: Oxford.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
• Kessler, P. (2021). "Kingdoms of Iran - Elam / Haltamtu / Susiana". The History Files. Kessler Associates (published 1999–2021).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
• Langdon, S. (1923) [c. 1827–1817 BC]. "W-B 444". CDLI. Ashmolean Museum. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
• Lendering, J. (2006) [c. 2250–165 BC]. "Sumerian King List".