Gutian rule in Mesopotamia
Originally thought to be a horde that swept in and brought down Akkadian and Sumerian rule in Mesopotamia, the Gutians are now known to have been in the area for at least a century by then.By the end of the Akkadian period, the Sumerian city of Adab was occupied by the Gutians, who made it their capital.[1][2] The Gutian Dynasty came to power in Mesopotamia near the end of the 3rd millennium BC, after the decline and fall of the Akkadian Empire.How long Gutian kings held rulership over Mesopotamia is uncertain, with estimates ranging from a few years up to a century.Still, clearly the Gutian rulers had a huge impact on late–3rd-millennium Mesopotamia, reflected in the vast array of literary compositions featuring them, continuing for almost two millennia.[8] For what happened up to then our only sources are the many conflicting recensions of the Sumerian King List (SKL) and the various literary compositions that were produced in the following centuries and millennia.[3] [9][10][11][12] In the period before the Gutian Dynasty gained rulership over Mesopotamia the Akkadian Empire controlled the region.Two year names of Akkadian ruler Shar-kali-sharri (the last before the empire began to unravel) reflect of interaction with Gutium.A tablet from Umma, dating to the waning days of the Akkadian empire, mentions a Gutian governor.An inscription of the Uruk ruler Utu-hengal, known from 3 Old Babylonian copies, commemorated the defeat of Gutian (and its king Tirigan) and the return of rulership to Sumer.It is known from a single tablet, findspot thought to be Qalat Sherqat, which was translated in 1925, in the early days of cuneiform studies.[21] There are scholars who state that the description of the Gutian rule over parts of Mesopotamia was fiction or that it at least gave undue importance to the Guti horde.This is believed to be perpetuated by the chroniclers of Uruk to turn Utu-hegal's minor victory into an event of universal significance for the purpose of solidifying support for his emergent regime.
Gutian languageSumerian languageMonarchyErridu-pizirTiriganBronze AgeAkkadian EmpireThird Dynasty of UrSumerianGutian peopleMesopotamiaUtu-hengalUr-NammuLa-erabumSumerian King ListBritish MuseumLugal-Anne-MunduShar-Kali-SharriLagashLugalanatumLouvre MuseumNinuraSon of a nobodyWeidner ChronicleCuthean Legend of Naram-SinUmman MandaAkkadian periodEnshakushannaSargonNaram-SuenErridupizirreignedKing of the Four CornersabolishedkingshipGutiumInkishushSarlagabSharkalisharriShulmeElulmeshInimabakeshIgeshaushYarlagabApilkinSipparIrarumIbranumHablumPuzur-SuenYarlagandaLugalannatumHistory of SumerList of Mesopotamian dynastiesAncient MesopotamiaGeographyUpper MesopotamiaLower MesopotamiaMesopotamian MarshesPersian GulfSyrian DesertTaurus MountainsTigris–Euphrates river systemEuphratesTigrisZagros MountainsHamrin MountainsSinjar MountainsFertile CrescentAdiabeneArmaniAssyriaBabyloniaChaldeaHamaziHittitesKassitesMitanniSimurrumSubartuUrartuCitiesPrehistoryAcheuleanMousterianTrialetianZarzianNatufianNemrikKhiamianPre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA)Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB)HassunaSamarraJemdet NasrKish civilizationHistoryEarly DynasticAkkadianUr IIIIsin-LarsaOld BabylonianKassiteMiddle BabylonianNeo-AssyrianNeo-BabylonianFall of BabylonAchaemenidSeleucidParthianSasanianMuslim conquestLanguagesAmoriteAramaicEblaiteElamiteGutianHittiteHurrianLuwianMedianMiddle PersianOld PersianProto-ArmenianSutean