Page:History of Early Iran.pdf/55

Rh survived to our day. Clay cones commemorated the erection of a dwelling for the god Shugu on behalf of Inshushinak; but alabaster statuettes, fashioned with the boast that they were neither of silver nor of copper, were dedicated to deities other than the local god, and on some of these the Akkadian inscription is supplemented by a proto-Elamite text. In the curses which he invokes against those who would damage his monuments, Puzur-Inshushinak calls upon Inshushinak, Narite or Narute, and Nati of the Elamite deities, and upon Shamash, Nergal, Ishtar and Sin, Enlil and Ea, and Ninhursag of the Babylonian gods. Some of the latter may have had Elamite epithets, for the proto-Elamite texts themselves indicate that the ruler was attempting to revive the national feeling of his subjects.

If this were indeed his purpose, he was wise to wait until the death of his nominal lord in Babylonia. When Naram-Sin gave place to Sharkalisharri, the Elamite declared his independence with a vengeance. Allied with Zahara, the land which had previously aided Elam and Barahshi against Rimush, he invaded Babylonia early in the reign of the new sovereign; his troops were driven back only after they had penetrated to the territory of Opis in the very center of