Stele

This stele fragment bears a long inscription in the name of King Shilhak-Inshushinak, who reigned in Elam, in present-day Iran, from 1150 to 1120 BCE. The text begins with an invocation to the deities of the Elamite pantheon before listing the king’s genealogy and invoking the protection of the god of Susa, Inshushinak. It then lists more than 150 cities conquered by the king, concluding with a curse against anyone who might damage the stele. Carrying the longest known inscription in Medio-Elamite, the language spoken in Elam from 1350 to 1100 BCE, this stele is a historical document of the utmost importance, providing information about the scale of the king’s conquests and glorifying the god Inshushinak. After five years of research and restoration by the teams at the Louvre, this monument is being exhibited for the first time since its discovery in 1905.