In the middle of the second millennium BC, the state of Elam, achieved much progress in political and military power, to form a unique artistic style that is distinctively their own. Inshushinak was an important Elamite deity who held close ties with royalty and kinship, which is evidenced by the number of royal names that contain ‘Inshushinak’ as an epithet. Inshushinak is a Sumerian name meaning “Lord of Susa,” which identifies him as a principal deity of that city. His first appearance is in a Mesopotamian god list from Abu Salabikh, dated to c. 2500 BC. Originally the city god of Susa, he soon became the national god of the Elamite state, the principal divine protector of the Elamite kingdom.
Visual representations of the god usually depict him wearing kaunakes robe and a headdress with rows of horns worn by the major divinities.
