Inshushinak
Inshushinak was the tutelary god of the city of Susa in Elam, whose name translates as "lord of Susa" from Sumerian etymology. He was associated with kingship, justice, and the underworld, and was the main god of the local pantheon in Susa. His iconography is uncertain, though snakes were possibly his symbolic animals.
↻ synthesized from 5 sources
When
- First attested
- 3000 BCE
- Attested period
- -3000 – 2020
- Historical notes
- Attested in Elamite cuneiform and Linear Elamite sources, as well as Mesopotamian texts; worshiped primarily in Susa with multiple temples.
Relationships
- co occurs with
- Upurkupak, dLAMA, kusarikku, Ereshkigal, Erra, Nungal, Enmesharra, Kanisurra, Birtum, Ishtaran, Tishpak, Simut, Nahhunte, Ruhurater, Pinikir, Nannar, Nah, Ishmekarab, Ninegal, Ipte-bit, Ikšudum, Rashnu, Sraosha, Marduk, Allani, Shuwala, Ugur, Shamash, Humban, Sin, Adad, Shala, Manzat, Nam-tar, Nergal, Enlil, Dagan, Urash, Mithra
- syncretized with
- Ninurta
- served by
- Lagamal, Ishmekarab
- allied with
- Ninazu, Ningishzida, Napirisha, Kiririsha
Mentioned by
- Marduk
- Allani
- Shuwala
- Ugur
- Shamash
- Humban
- Sin
- Adad
- Shala
- Manzat
- Nam-tar
- Nergal
- Enlil
- Dagan
- Urash
- Mithra
and 6 more
Sources
Source passages
“Inshushinak was the lead god of Susa and Napirisha held an analogous position in Anshan, rulers might have sometimes attempted to present them the same figure.”
#11789 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5
“Inshushinak (Elamite mythology; also present in the Mesopotamian An-Anum god list.)”
#12233 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5
“In later Babylonian god lists, Ereshkigal held a senior status among the underworld deities, ruling over the category of so-called "transtigridian snake gods" (such as Ninazu, Tishpak, Ishtaran, and the Elamite god Inshushinak, in Mesopotamia known almost exclusively in the afterlife context)”
#12502 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“Nahhunte occurs as the fifth of the invoked divine witnesses, right before Inshushinak, and a number of further mentions of him are present in the text. An inscription of Shilhak-Inshushinak mentions Nahhunte, labeled as "lord who protects," after Inshushinak, Kiririsha, Humban and Nannar”
#16959 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“A well established theory connects the Elamite group of Inshushinak, Lagamal and Ishmekarab with the later Zoroastrian belief that after death souls are judged by Mithra, Sraosha and Rashnu.”
#39057 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001