Larkutla: Last King of the Lullubi Kingdom

Jamal Latif
May 5
3 min read

Who Was Larkutla?

Larkutla was the twelfth and final known king of the Lullubi Kingdom, reigning c. 675 BCE. Larkutla was the last known king of the Lullubi Kingdom, reigning c. 675 BCE. His reign marked the end of a dynasty that had endured for nearly 1,800 years, from its founding by Immashkush c. 2400 BCE through the eras of the Akkadian Empire, the Gutian period, the Third Dynasty of Ur, the Old Babylonian period, and finally the Neo-Assyrian Empire. He was part of the Lullubi dynasty that Kurdish historians regard as one of the most important ancestral roots of the Kurdish people — a mountain civilisation that governed the Sharazor plain of the Zagros for nearly 1,800 years, from the era of the Akkadian Empire to the age of Assyrian dominance.

As the final known Lullubi king, Larkutla represents the closing chapter of a dynasty that began with Immashkush c. 2400 BCE. Nearly 1,800 years of continuous Lullubi rule over the Zagros Mountains ended with his reign — but the Kurdish ancestral people of the Zagros did not disappear. Through the Medes, the Persians, and the unbroken tradition of mountain peoples in the Zagros, the spirit of the Lullubi lived on in the Kurdish people of today.

Key Takeaways

Larkutla was the twelfth and final known Lullubi king, c. 675 BCE.
The Lullubi Kingdom endured for nearly 1,800 years (c. 2400–650 BCE) in the Zagros Mountains — the heartland of the Kurdish people.
Their capital Lulubuna is identified with the modern Halabja region, connecting the Lullubi directly to Kurdish historical consciousness.
Larkutla was the last Lullubi king, closing a dynasty that began in 2400 BCE — one of history's longest-running ancestral Kurdish dynasties.
Larkutla is honoured as part of the lineage of Kurdish ancestral rulers whose story reaches from 2400 BCE to the Kurdish nation of today.

Quick Facts

Historical Context

Larkutla's reign (c. 675 BCE) placed him in the era of Neo-Assyrian imperial expansion. The Assyrian Empire under rulers such as Shalmaneser III, Tiglath-Pileser III, and Sargon II was aggressively extending its dominance across the Near East, including into the Zagros Mountains where the Lullubi had held sway for over a millennium. The later Lullubi kings navigated this reality with varying degrees of independence and vassalage. Larkutla's reign coincided with the height of Assyrian power in the Middle East. The Assyrian king Esarhaddon (r. 681–669 BCE) was at this time extending Assyrian control deep into the Zagros Mountains and beyond. The absorption of the Lullubi Kingdom into the Assyrian imperial sphere — whether by conquest, negotiation, or gradual political dissolution — ended the Lullubi era. But it did not end the Kurdish ancestral people of the Zagros.

Despite the pressure of Assyrian power, the Lullubi maintained their presence and political identity in the Zagros. The very fact that Larkutla and the other late Lullubi kings are documented in the historical record — whether through Assyrian annals, tribute records, or other sources — proves that the Lullubi remained a recognised political entity until the very end of their recorded history.

Legacy and Cultural Impact

Larkutla's legacy is part of the collective legacy of the Lullubi Kingdom — one of the longest-running Kurdish ancestral dynasties in the ancient world. As the last known Lullubi king, his reign brought to a close a dynasty that had stood for nearly 1,800 years. The end of the Lullubi Kingdom was not the end of the Kurdish ancestral people of the Zagros — it was a transition. The Medes, who absorbed the Zagros mountain peoples in the 7th century BCE, carried forward the cultural inheritance of the Lullubi, and through the Medes and their successors, the Kurdish people emerged as the heirs of this ancient mountain civilisation.

For the Kurdish people, the Lullubi are the mountain ancestors whose civilisational roots reach to 2400 BCE. The mountains they defended are the mountains that the Kurdish people call home. Their spirit — fierce, independent, deeply rooted in the Zagros landscape — flows through Kurdish history from Immashkush to the present day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Larkutla?

Larkutla was the twelfth and final known Lullubi king, c. 675 BCE. He was the last ruler of the Lullubi Kingdom, closing a dynasty that had endured for nearly 1,800 years in the Zagros Mountains. Kurdish historians regard him as one of the Kurdish ancestral rulers of the first Zagros mountain kingdom.

References and Further Reading

Lullubi — Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lullubi); IranianTours.com: Lullubi Culture.

The Lullubi: Bronze Age Giants and the Ancient Roots of the Kurdish People — Kurdish-History.com, 2026.