Elam - Igihalkid Period

  General Description   The Middle Elamite kingdom, about 250,000 square kilometers, was located in what is now Southwestern Iran. ^[1] The kingdom is commonly split into three phases: the first before 1400 BCE; the second, 1400-1200 BCE, which was characterised by intermarriage with the Kassites; and the third, 1200-1100 BCE, characterised by war with the Kassites.
The First Period lacks the evidence of the later periods, but can be seen to be a substantial state, where the kings held the title of king of Anshan and Susa, even if it is not clear how much control they exerted over Anshan. The kings of the First Period had local governors and diplomats, craft and cult organisation, and could wage war against the Babylonians. ^[2]
The Second Period has a comparative wealth of evidence, mostly royal inscriptions from building or dedicatory texts. During this period, the empire expanded and many building works were undertaken, including the construction of the new city al-Untash Napirisha. This period also saw the Elamites becoming increasingly involved in Mesopotamian politics. There were many marriages between Elamite princes (the Igihalkids) and Kassite princesses. ^[3] The "Berlin letter", an important text, names four marriages between Elamite princes and Kassite princesses. ^[4]
The Third Period involved military battles with Babylon, which had been annexed by Assyria. in 1158 BCE, the Elamite king Shutruk-Nahhunte invaded Babylonia and overthrew the Kassite king Zababa-shuma-iddina, probably giving the throne to his son Kutir-Nahhunte. The Middle Elamite Kingdom ended when the Babylonian army, led by Nebuchadnezzar, defeated the last Middle Elamite king, Hutelutush-Inshushinak and seized Susa in revenge for taking their god and invading their kingdom. ^[5]
Population and political organization
Kings of this period were commonly referred to by the title ’king of Susa and Anshan’ in Akkadian and ’king of Anshan and Susa’ in Elamite. It is a period characterised by this unity between the highlands, Anshan, and the lowlands, Susa. ^[6] A powerful bureaucracy had religious and secular influence in the government. ^[7]
The population for the entire empire is unknown, but the largest settlement is estimated at between 1,500-6,000 people during the early period, 2,750-11,000 people in 1300 BCE, and 5,000-20,000 in 1200 BCE.

[1]: (Liverani, 2014. 279) Liverani, Mario. The ancient Near East: history, society and economy. London: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group, 2014

[2]: Carter, E. and Stolper, M.W. 1984. Elam: Surveys of Political History and Archaeology. London: University of California Publication. p. 32-34

[3]: Carter, E. and Stolper, M.W. 1984. Elam: Surveys of Political History and Archaeology. Near Eastern Studies. Volume 25. Berkeley: University of California Press. p.37-38

[4]: Potts, D.T. 2012. The Elamites. In Daryaee, T. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 37

[5]: Potts, D.T. 1999. The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p.232-253

[6]: Potts, D. T. 1999. The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p.188

[7]: (Farazmand 2009, 21) Farazmand, Ali. 2009. Bureaucracy and Administration. CRC Press. Boca Raton.