Records of Babylon on the Nazimaruttaš kudurru stone

Records of Babylon on 

the Nazimaruttaš kudurru stone

The Kassites gained control of Babylonia after the Hittites sacked it in 1531 BC and founded a dynasty that is generally assumed to have been based there. After a period of turmoil they acted sometimes for Babylon's benefit and sometimes against it Records of Kassite-Babylonian interactions are documented in the context of warfare during the reign of King Samsu-Iluna of Babylon 1686–1648 BC. Carved inscriptions depicting various Mesopotamian deities have been unearthed at Susa a major ancient city in modern-day Iran They were summoned to defend the land and punish those who violated it The Kudurru is a 13th-century Babylonian boundary stone discovered in Susa.

Depicted by the king who sent them the Kudurru represents a Mesopotamian deity often depicted on stone fragments The ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war love and fertility and associated with divine power and law was worshipped in Sumer Known to the Akkadians Babylonians and Assyrians as Ishtar the patron goddess of the Temple of Ianna at Uruk the main religious center of ancient Uruk she was worshipped in three forms alongside the Mesopotamian goddess Ninshubur and as Sukkal the goddess Inanna which was later combined with the male deities Ilabrat and Papsukkal.

Mesopotamian symbols of the goddess were carved into stone to invoke protection and power over the land. The surface of the stone was inscribed with curses meant to bring divine wrath upon those who dared to challenge her domination of the land a powerful deterrent. The Kudurru Stone of Nasima Ruttash the boundary stone of Nasima Ruttash the Kassite king of Babylon circa 1307–1282 BC was found in Susa and is now on display in the Louvre Museum Some depict the spearhead of Marduk The eight-pointed star of Ishtar and the plate of Shamash which invoke the 19 gods curse the impulsive person who tries to destroy it.