Inshushinak

Inshushinak was closely related to the afterlife, and appears as a judge of the dead in the so-called Susa funerary texts.[15] One of Inshushinak's temples was called haštu, "tomb."[16]

The scholarly consensus is that Inshushinak's judgment involved the weighing of souls, an element unknown in Mesopotamia; the idea presumably developed independently from similar Egyptian beliefs.[17] However, archaeologist Nathan Wassermann recently challenged this view, arguing references to weighing in the Susa funerary texts were a mistranslation.[18]

Inshushinak's temple located near the acropole of Susa is among the best documented buildings from that city. However multiple temples dedicated to him were located in it, including Ekikuanna ("Pure place of heaven"), a siyan husame (temple in a sacred grove) shared with Lagamar, and more.[19]

Inscriptions of the Sumerian king Shulgi state that he built an Inshushinak temple in Susa.[20] It's possible it was the same building as the "old temple" restored by the Sukkalmah dynasty king Kuk-Kirwash.[21]

The kukkunum ("high temple") on top of Chogha Zanbil was dedicated to Inshushinak and Napirisha.[22] Shutruk-Nahhunte built another Inshushinak kukkunum in Karintash.[23]

The fate of Inshushinak's cult in Achaemenid times is uncertain – while Heidemarie Koch proposed that he entirely lost his importance,[24] Wouter Henkelman pointed out in a more recent publication that there is simply no known source dealing with his cult in these times, which isn't necessarily the same as evidence of loss of status, especially considering it is known that he maintained his prestige in the final decades of the Neo-Elamite period, and that other Elamite gods, especially Humban, continued to be venerated under Achamaenid rule, not necessarily only by Elamites.[25]

Lagamar or Lagamal (Akkadian: "no mercy") was an underworld deity first recorded in the Ur III period, attested as far west as Mari, and presumably introduced to Elam from Mesopotamia. Some later Mesopotamian god lists equate Lagamar with Nergal.[33]

Most sources regard Lagamar as a male deity, though Milad Jahangirfar notes there are some claims that the name belongs to a goddess.[34] Lagamar was regarded as the son of Urash (the tutelary god of Dilbat rather than the earth goddess Urash) in Mesopotamia[35][36] which casts doubts on the possibility of this deity being female.

Ishmekarab (Akkadian: "he heard the prayer") was a law deity with some underworld-related functions, and also a guardian of oaths.[37] Outside of the underworld context, texts related to oaths also associate Inshushinak with Ishmekarab.[38]

Ishmekarab's gender is uncertain. Florence Malbran-Labat refers to Ishmekarab as a goddess,[39] but Wilfred G. Lambert wrote that while it's not impossible that Lagamar and Ishmekarab were a mixed gender pair, it's far from certain and both of them being male is a more likely possibility.[40]

In Mesopotamia Ishmekarab was one of the "standing gods" in Ebabbar, a cult site dedicated to Shamash.[41]