The Dynasty of Isin refers to the final ruling dynasty listed on the ''
Sumerian King List
The ''Sumerian King List'' (abbreviated ''SKL'') or ''Chronicle of the One Monarchy'' is an ancient literary composition written in Sumerian that was likely created and redacted to legitimize the claims to power of various city-states and king ...
'' (''SKL''). The list of the Kings Isin with the length of their reigns, also appears on a cuneiform document listing the kings of Ur and
Isin
Isin (, modern Arabic: Ishan al-Bahriyat) is an archaeological site in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq. Excavations have shown that it was an important city-state in the past.
History of archaeological research
Ishan al-Bahriyat was visited b ...
, the ''List of Reigns of Kings of Ur and Isin'' (MS 1686).
The dynasty was situated within the ancient city of Isin (today known as the
archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
of
Ishan al-Bahriyat). It is believed to have flourished circa 1953—1717 BCE according to the
short chronology timeline
The chronology of the ancient Near East is a framework of dates for various events, rulers and dynasties. Historical inscriptions and texts customarily record events in terms of a succession of officials or rulers: "in the year X of king Y". Com ...
of the
ancient Near East
The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...
. It was preceded on the ''Sumerian King List'' by the
Third Dynasty of Ur
The Third Dynasty of Ur, also called the Neo-Sumerian Empire, refers to a 22nd to 21st century Common Era, BC (middle chronology) Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of Ur and a short-lived territorial-political state which some historians c ...
. The Dynasty of Isin is often associated with the nearby and contemporary dynasty of
Larsa
Larsa ( Sumerian logogram: UD.UNUGKI, read ''Larsamki''), also referred to as Larancha/Laranchon (Gk. Λαραγχων) by Berossos and connected with the biblical Ellasar, was an important city-state of ancient Sumer, the center of the cul ...
(1961-1674 BC), and they are often regrouped for periodization purposes under the name "
Isin-Larsa period
The Isin-Larsa period (circa 2025-1763 BCE, Middle Chronology, or 1961-1699 BCE, Short Chronology) is a phase in the history of ancient Mesopotamia, which extends between the end of the Third Dynasty of Ur and the conquest of Mesopotamia by King ...
". Both dynasties were succeeded by the
First Babylonian Empire
The Old Babylonian Empire, or First Babylonian Empire, is dated to BC – BC, and comes after the end of Sumerian power with the destruction of the Third Dynasty of Ur, and the subsequent Isin-Larsa period. The chronology of the first dynasty ...
.
History
Reign of Ishbi-Erra
![Cylinder seal and modern impression Presentation scene,ca](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Cylinder_seal_and_modern_impression_Presentation_scene%2Cca._2000%E2%80%931750_B.C._Isin-Larsa.jpg)
Ishbi-Erra (''fl.'' ''c.'' 1953—1920 BCE by the
short chronology
The chronology of the ancient Near East is a framework of dates for various events, rulers and dynasties. Historical inscriptions and texts customarily record events in terms of a succession of officials or rulers: "in the year X of king Y". Com ...
) was the founder of the Dynasty of Isin. Ishbi-Erra of the First Dynasty of Isin was preceded by
Ibbi-Sin
Ibbi-Sin ( sux, , ), son of Shu-Sin, was king of Sumer and Akkad and last king of the Ur III dynasty, and reigned c. 2028–2004 BCE ( Middle chronology) or possibly c. 1964–1940 BCE (Short chronology). During his rei ...
of the Third Dynasty of Ur in ancient
Lower Mesopotamia
Lower Mesopotamia is a historical region of Mesopotamia. It's located in the alluvial plain of Iraq from the Hamrin Mountains to the Faw Peninsula near the Persian Gulf.
In the Middle Ages it was also known as the ''Sawad'' and al-Jazira al-sfli ...
, and then succeeded by
Šu-ilišu. According to the
Weld-Blundell Prism
The Weld-Blundell Prism ("WB", dated 1800 BCE) is a clay, cuneiform inscribed vertical prism housed in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. The prism was found in a 1922 expedition in Larsa in modern-day Iraq by British archaeologist Herbert Weld Blun ...
,
[WB 444, the Weld-Blundell prism, r. 33.] Ishbi-Erra reigned for 33 years and this is corroborated by the number of his extant year-names. While in many ways this dynasty emulated that of the preceding one, its language was Akkadian as the
Sumerian language
Sumerian is the language of ancient Sumer. It is one of the oldest attested languages, dating back to at least 3000 BC. It is accepted to be a local language isolate and to have been spoken in ancient Mesopotamia, in the area that is modern-day ...
had become moribund in the latter stages of the Third Dynasty of Ur.
At the outset of his career, Ishbi-Erra was an official working for Ibbi-Sin, the last king of the Third Dynasty of Ur. Ishbi-Erra was described as a man of
Mari,
[Tablet UM 7772.] either his origin or the city for which he was assigned. His progress was witnessed in correspondence with the king and between Ibbi-Sin and the governor of
Kazallu Kazalla or Kazallu is the name given in Akkadian sources to a city in the ancient Near East whose locations is unknown. Its god is Numushda.
History
Under its king Kashtubila, Kazalla warred against Sargon of Akkad in the 24th or 23rd century B ...
(Puzur-Numushda, latterly renamed Puzur-Šulgi.) These are literary letters, copied in antiquity as scribal exercises and whose authenticity is unknown.
Charged with acquiring grain in Isin and Kazallu, Ishbi-Erra complained that he could not ship the 72,000
GUR he had bought for 20 talents of silver—apparently an exorbitant price—and now kept secure in Isin to other conurbations due to the incursions of the
Amorites
The Amorites (; sux, 𒈥𒌅, MAR.TU; Akkadian language, Akkadian: 𒀀𒈬𒊒𒌝 or 𒋾𒀉𒉡𒌝/𒊎 ; he, אֱמוֹרִי, 'Ĕmōrī; grc, Ἀμορραῖοι) were an ancient Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic-speaking people ...
(“Martu”) and requested Ibbi-Sin supply 600 boats to transport it while also requesting governorship of Isin and
Nippur
Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian language, Akkadian: '' ...
.
[CBS 2272, letter from Ishbi-Erra to Ibbi-Sin.] Although Ibbi-Sin baulked at promoting him, Ishbi-Erra had apparently succeeded in wrestling control over Isin by Ibbi-Sin's 8th year, when he began assigning his own regnal year-names, and thereafter an uneasy chill descended on their relationship.
Ibbi-Sin bitterly lambasted Ishbi-Erra as “not of Sumerian seed” in his letter to Puzur-Šulgi and opined that: “
Enlil
Enlil, , "Lord f theWind" later known as Elil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Bab ...
has stirred up the Amorites out of their land, and they will strike the
Elamites and capture Ishbi-Erra.” Curiously, Puzur-Šulgi seems to have originally been one of Ishbi-Erra's own messengers and indicates the extent to which loyalties were in flux during the waning years of the Ur III regime. While there was no outright conflict, Ishbi-Erra continued to extend his influence as Ibbi-Sin's steadily declined over the next 12 years or so, until Ur was finally conquered by Kindattu of Elam.
Ishbi-Erra went on to win decisive victories against: the Amorites in his 8th year and the Elamites in his 16th years. Some years later, Ishbi-Erra ousted the Elamite garrison from
Ur, thereby asserting suzerainty over
Sumer
Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...
and
Akkad Akkad may refer to:
*Akkad (city), the capital of the Akkadian Empire
*Akkadian Empire, the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia
*Akkad SC, Iraqi football club
People with the name
*Abbas el-Akkad, Egyptian writer
*Abdulrahman Akkad, Syrian LGBT act ...
, celebrated in one of his later 27th year-name, although this specific epithet was not used by this dynasty until the reign of
Iddin-Dagan
Iddin-Dagan ( akk, , dingir, Di-din-dingir, Dda-gan), ''Floruit, fl.'' ''c.'' 1910 BC — ''c.'' 1890 BC by the short chronology or ''c.'' 1975 BC — ''c.'' 1954 BC by the middle chronology) was the 3rd king of the dynasty of Isin. Iddin-Dagan w ...
.
[ He readily adopted the regal privileges of the former regime, commissioning royal praise poetry and hymns to deities, of which seven are extant, and proclaiming himself Dingir-kalam-ma-na, “a god in his own country.”][Tablets NBC 6421. 7087. 7387.] He appointed his daughter, En-bara-zi, to succeed that of Ibbi-Sin's as Egisitu-priestess of An, celebrated in his 22nd year-name. He founded fortresses and installed city walls, but only one royal inscription is extant.[IM 58336, Construction of a great lyre for Enlil.]
Reign of Shu-Ilishu
Shu-Ilishu (''fl.'' ''c.'' 1920—1900 BCE by the short chronology) was the 2nd ruler of the Dynasty of Isin. He reigned for 10 years (according to his extant year-names and a single copy of the ''SKL'',[''Sumerian King List'', MS 1686.] which differs from the 20 years recorded by others.)[Such as WB 444, the Weld-Blundell prism.] Šu-ilišu was preceded by Išbi-erra. Iddin-Dagān then succeeded Šu-ilišu. Šu-ilišu is best known for his retrieval of the cultic idol of Nanna
Nanna may refer to:
*Grandmother
Mythology
* Sin (mythology), god of the moon in Sumerian mythology, also called Suen
* Nanna (Norse deity), goddess associated with the god Baldr in Norse mythology
* Nana Buluku, Fon/Dahomey androgynous deity cre ...
from the Elamites and its return to the city-state Ur.
Šu-ilišu's inscriptions gave him the titles: “Mighty Man” — “King of Ur” — “God of His Nation” — “Beloved of the gods: Anu, Enlil
Enlil, , "Lord f theWind" later known as Elil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Bab ...
, and Nanna” — “King of the Land of Sumer
Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...
and Akkad Akkad may refer to:
*Akkad (city), the capital of the Akkadian Empire
*Akkadian Empire, the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia
*Akkad SC, Iraqi football club
People with the name
*Abbas el-Akkad, Egyptian writer
*Abdulrahman Akkad, Syrian LGBT act ...
” — “Beloved of the god Enlil and the goddess Ninisina
Ninisina ( Sumerian: "Mistress of Isin") was a Mesopotamian goddess who served as the tutelary deity of the city of Isin. She was considered a healing deity. She was believed to be skilled in the medical arts, and could be described as a divine ph ...
” — “Lord of his Land”, but not “King of Isin” (a title which was not claimed by a ruler of this city-state until the later reign of Išme-Dagān.) Šu-ilišu did, however; rebuild the walls of his capital city: Isin. He was a great benefactor of the city-state Ur (beginning the restoration which was to continue through his successors: Iddin-Dagān and Išme-Dagan.) Šu-ilišu built a monumental gateway and recovered an idol representing Ur's patron deity (Nanna, god of the moon) which had been expropriated by the Elamites when they sacked the city-state, but; whether he obtained it either through diplomacy or conflict is unknown. An inscription tells of the city-state's resettlement: “He established for him when he established in Ur the people scattered as far as Anšan in their abode.”[ The "]Lamentation over the Destruction of Ur
The Lament for Ur, or Lamentation over the city of Ur is a Sumerian lament composed around the time of the fall of Ur to the Elamites and the end of the city's third dynasty (c. 2000 BC).
Laments
It contains one of five known Mesopotamian " ...
" was composed around this time to explain the catastrophe, to call for its reconstruction and to protect the restorers from the curses attached to the ruins of the é.dub.lá.maḫ.
Šu-ilišu commemorated: the fashioning of a great emblem for Nanna, an exalted throne for An, a dais for Ninisin, a magur-boat for Ninurta
, image= Cropped Image of Carving Showing the Mesopotamian God Ninurta.png
, caption= Assyrian stone relief from the temple of Ninurta at Kalhu, showing the god with his thunderbolts pursuing Anzû, who has stolen the Tablet of Destinies from En ...
, and a dais for Ningal
Ningal ( Sumerian: "Great Queen"), also known as Nikkal in Akkadian, was a Mesopotamian goddess of Sumerian origin regarded as the wife of the moon god, Nanna/Sin. She was particularly closely associated with his main cult centers, Ur and Harran, ...
in year names for Šu-ilišu's reign. An adab (or hymn) to Nergal
Nergal ( Sumerian: d''KIŠ.UNU'' or ; ; Aramaic: ܢܸܪܓܲܠ; la, Nirgal) was a Mesopotamian god worshiped through all periods of Mesopotamian history, from Early Dynastic to Neo-Babylonian times, with a few attestations under indicating hi ...
[Tablets CBS 14074, Ni 2482 and N 2833.] was composed in honor of Šu-ilišu, together with an adab of An and perhaps a 3rd addressed to himself. The archive of a craft workshop (or giš-kin-ti) from the city-state Isin has been uncovered with 920 texts dating from Išbi-Erra year 4 through to Šu-ilišu year 3 — a period of 33 years. The tablets are records of receipts and disbursements of the: leather goods, furniture, baskets, mats, and felt goods that were manufactured along with their raw materials. A 2nd archive (of receipt of cereal and issue of bread from a bakery, possibly connected to the temple of Enlil in Nippur) includes an accounting record[Tablet UM 55-21-125, University Museum, Philadelphia.] of expenditures of bread for the provision of the king and includes entries dated to his 2nd through 9th years which was used by Steele to determine the sequence of most of this king's year-names.[
]
Reign of Iddin-Dagan
Iddin-Dagan (''fl.'' ''c.'' 1900—1879 BCE by the short chronology) was the 3rd king of the Dynasty of Isin. Iddin-Dagān was preceded by his father Šu-ilišu. Išme-Dagān (to be confused with neither Išme-Dagān I nor Išme-Dagān II of the Old Assyrian Empire
The Old Assyrian period was the second stage of Assyrian history, covering the history of the city of Assur from its rise as an independent city-state under Puzur-Ashur I 2025 BC to the foundation of a larger Assyrian territorial state after the ...
) then succeeded Iddin-Dagān. Iddin-Dagān reigned for 21 years (according to the ''SKL''.)[''Sumerian King List'' extant in 16 copies.] He is best known for his participation in the sacred marriage rite and the risqué hymn that described it.
His titles included: "Mighty King", "King of Isin
Isin (, modern Arabic: Ishan al-Bahriyat) is an archaeological site in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq. Excavations have shown that it was an important city-state in the past.
History of archaeological research
Ishan al-Bahriyat was visited b ...
", "King of Ur", "King of the Land of Sumer
Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...
and Akkad Akkad may refer to:
*Akkad (city), the capital of the Akkadian Empire
*Akkadian Empire, the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia
*Akkad SC, Iraqi football club
People with the name
*Abbas el-Akkad, Egyptian writer
*Abdulrahman Akkad, Syrian LGBT act ...
".[''lugal-kala-ga'', ''lugal-i-si-in-''KI''-ga'' (''lugal-''KI''-úri-ma''), ''lugal-''KI''-en-gi-''KI''-uri-ke''4.] The 1st year name recorded on a receipt for flour and dates[Tablet UM 55-21-102, ]University Museum
A university museum is a repository of collections run by a university, typically founded to aid teaching and research within the institution of higher learning. The Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford in England is an early example, o ...
, Philadelphia. reads: “Year Iddin-Dagān (was) king and (his) daughter Matum-Niatum (“the land which belongs to us”) was taken in marriage by the king of Anshan
Anshan () is an inland prefecture-level city in central-southeast Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, about south of the provincial capital Shenyang. As of the 2020 census, it was Liaoning's third most populous city with a population ...
.”[''mu'' d''I-dan'' d''Da-gan lugal-e atum-ni-a-tum umu-mía-ni lugal An-ša-an(a)'' i/sup> ''ba-an-tuk-a''.] Vallat suggests it was to Imazu (son of Kindattu
Kindattu (, ''ki-in-da-tu'', also Kindadu, reigned ca. 2000 BC, middle Chronology) was the 6th king of the Shimashki Dynasty,D. T. Potts (2016). ''The Archaeology of Elam.'' Cambridge University Press. p. 135. in Elam (in present-day southwest Ira ...
, who was the groom and possibly the king of the region of Shimashki
The Shimashki or Simashki dynasty (, ''lugal-ene si-mash-giki'' "Kings of the country of Simashgi"), was an early dynasty of the ancient region of Elam, to the southeast of Babylonia, in approximately 2100-1900 BCE. A list of twelve kings of Shi ...
)[Dynastic list of the kings of Awan and Simashki, Sb 17729 in the Louvre.] as he was described as the King of Anshan in a seal inscription, although elsewhere unattested. Kindattu had been driven away from the city-state
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
of Ur by Išbi-Erra[''Išbi-Erra and Kindattu'', tablets N 1740 + CBS 14051.] (the founder of the First Dynasty of Isin), however; relations had apparently thawed sufficiently for Tan-Ruhurarter (the 8th king to wed the daughter of Bilalama, the '' énsí'' of Eshnunna
Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar in Diyala Governorate, Iraq) was an ancient Sumerian (and later Akkadian) city and city-state in central Mesopotamia 12.6 miles northwest of Tell Agrab and 15 miles northwest of Tell Ishchali. Although situated in th ...
.)
There is only 1 contemporary monumental text extant for this king and another 2 known from later copies. A fragment of a stone statue[MM 1974.26 ]Medelhavsmuseet
Medelhavsmuseet (The Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities) is a museum in central Stockholm focused around collections of mainly ancient objects from the Mediterranean area and the Near East. Since 1999 the museum is one of four c ...
, Stockholm. has a votive inscription which invokes Ninisina
Ninisina ( Sumerian: "Mistress of Isin") was a Mesopotamian goddess who served as the tutelary deity of the city of Isin. She was considered a healing deity. She was believed to be skilled in the medical arts, and could be described as a divine ph ...
and Damu
Damu ( sux, 𒀭𒁕𒈬) was a Mesopotamian god. While originally regarded as a dying god connected to vegetation, similar to Dumuzi or Ningishzida, with time he acquired the traits of a god of healing. He was regarded as the son of the medici ...
to curse those who foster evil intent against it. 2 later clay tablet copies[Tablets IM 85467 and IM 85466, ]National Museum of Iraq
The Iraq Museum ( ar, المتحف العراقي) is the national museum of Iraq, located in Baghdad. It is sometimes informally called the National Museum of Iraq, a recent phenomenon influenced by other nations' naming of their national museum ...
. of an inscription recording an unspecified object fashioned for the god Nanna
Nanna may refer to:
*Grandmother
Mythology
* Sin (mythology), god of the moon in Sumerian mythology, also called Suen
* Nanna (Norse deity), goddess associated with the god Baldr in Norse mythology
* Nana Buluku, Fon/Dahomey androgynous deity cre ...
were found by the British archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
Sir Charles Leonard Woolley in a scribal school house in the city-state of Ur. A tablet[Excavation number U 2682.] from the Enunmaḫ at the city-state of Ur dated to the 14th year of Gungunum
Gungunum ( akk, , Dgu-un-gu-nu-um) was a king of the city state of Larsa in southern Mesopotamia, ruling from 1932 to 1906 BC. According to the traditional king list for Larsa, he was the fifth king to rule the city, and in his own inscriptions h ...
(''fl.'' ''c.'' 1868 BCE — ''c.'' 1841 BCE) of Larsa
Larsa ( Sumerian logogram: UD.UNUGKI, read ''Larsamki''), also referred to as Larancha/Laranchon (Gk. Λαραγχων) by Berossos and connected with the biblical Ellasar, was an important city-state of ancient Sumer, the center of the cul ...
, after his conquest of the city, bears the seal impression of a servant of his. A tablet[Tablet UM L-29-578, University Museum Philadelphia.] described Iddin-Dagān's fashioning of two copper festival statues for Ninlil
Ninlil ( D NIN.LÍL; meaning uncertain) was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife of Enlil. She shared many of his functions, especially the responsibility for declaring destinies, and like him was regarded as a senior deity and head of the ...
, which were not delivered to Nippur
Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian language, Akkadian: '' ...
until 170 years later by Enlil-bāni. Belles-lettres
is a category of writing, originally meaning beautiful or fine writing. In the modern narrow sense, it is a label for literary works that do not fall into the major categories such as fiction, poetry, or drama. The phrase is sometimes used pejora ...
preserve the correspondence from Iddin-Dagān to his general Sîn-illat about Kakkulātum and the state of his troops, and from his general describing an ambush by the Martu (Amorites
The Amorites (; sux, 𒈥𒌅, MAR.TU; Akkadian language, Akkadian: 𒀀𒈬𒊒𒌝 or 𒋾𒀉𒉡𒌝/𒊎 ; he, אֱמוֹרִי, 'Ĕmōrī; grc, Ἀμορραῖοι) were an ancient Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic-speaking people ...
).
The continued fecundity of the land was ensured by the annual performance of the sacred marriage ritual in which the king impersonated Dumuzi- Ama-ušumgal-ana and a priestess substituted for the part of Inanna
Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, Divine law, divine justice, and political p ...
. According to the ''šir-namursaḡa'', the hymn composed describing it in 10 sections (''Kiruḡu''), this ceremony seems to have entailed the procession of: male prostitutes, wise women, drummers, priestesses and priests bloodletting with swords, to the accompaniment of music, followed by offerings and sacrifices for the goddess Inanna
Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, Divine law, divine justice, and political p ...
, or Ninegala.
Reign of Ishme-Dagan
Ishme-Dagan (''fl.'' ''c.'' 1879—1859 BCE by the short chronology) was the 4th king of the Dynasty of Isin, according to the ''SKL''. Also according to the ''SKL'': he was both the son and successor of Iddin-Dagān. Lipit-Ištar then succeeded Išme-Dagān. Išme-Dagān was one of the kings to restore the Ekur
Ekur ( ), also known as Duranki, is a Sumerian term meaning "mountain house". It is the assembly of the gods in the Garden of the gods, parallel in Greek mythology to Mount Olympus and was the most revered and sacred building of ancient Sumer. ...
.
Reign of Lipit-Ishtar
Lipit-Ishtar (''fl.'' ''c.'' 1859—1848 BCE by the short chronology) was the 5th king of the Dynasty of Isin, according to the ''SKL''. Also according to the ''SKL'': he was the successor of Išme-Dagān. Ur-Ninurta
Ur-Ninurta, c. 1859 – 1832 BC (short chronology) or c. 1923 – 1896 BC (middle chronology), was the 6th king of the 1st Dynasty of Isin. A usurper, Ur-Ninurta seized the throne on the fall of Lipit-Ištar and held it until his violent death so ...
then succeeded Lipit-Ištar. Some documents and royal inscriptions from his time have survived, however; Lipit-Ištar is mostly known due to the Sumerian language
Sumerian is the language of ancient Sumer. It is one of the oldest attested languages, dating back to at least 3000 BC. It is accepted to be a local language isolate and to have been spoken in ancient Mesopotamia, in the area that is modern-day ...
hymns that were written in his honor, as well as a legal code written in his name (preceding the famed Code of Hammurabi
The Code of Hammurabi is a Babylonian legal text composed 1755–1750 BC. It is the longest, best-organised, and best-preserved legal text from the ancient Near East. It is written in the Old Babylonian dialect of Akkadian, purportedly by Hamm ...
by about 100 years)—which were used for school instruction for hundreds of years after Lipit-Ištar's death. The annals of Lipit-Ištar's reign recorded that he also repulsed the Amorites
The Amorites (; sux, 𒈥𒌅, MAR.TU; Akkadian language, Akkadian: 𒀀𒈬𒊒𒌝 or 𒋾𒀉𒉡𒌝/𒊎 ; he, אֱמוֹרִי, 'Ĕmōrī; grc, Ἀμορραῖοι) were an ancient Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic-speaking people ...
.
Reign of Ur-Ninurta
Ur-Ninurta (''fl.'' ''c.'' 1848—1820 BCE by the short chronology) was the 6th king of the Dynasty of Isin. A usurper, Ur-Ninurta seized the throne on the fall of Lipit-Ištar and held it until his violent death some 28 years later.
He called himself “son of Iškur,” the southern storm-god synonymous with Adad
Hadad ( uga, ), Haddad, Adad ( Akkadian: 𒀭𒅎 '' DIM'', pronounced as ''Adād''), or Iškur ( Sumerian) was the storm and rain god in the Canaanite and ancient Mesopotamian religions.
He was attested in Ebla as "Hadda" in c. 2500 BCE. ...
, in his ''adab to Iškur''.[VAT 8212.] His name was wholly Sumerian, in marked contrast to the Amorite
The Amorites (; sux, 𒈥𒌅, MAR.TU; Akkadian: 𒀀𒈬𒊒𒌝 or 𒋾𒀉𒉡𒌝/𒊎 ; he, אֱמוֹרִי, 'Ĕmōrī; grc, Ἀμορραῖοι) were an ancient Northwest Semitic-speaking people from the Levant who also occupied lar ...
names of his five predecessors. There are only two extant inscriptions, one of which is stamped on bricks in 13 lines of Sumerian from the cities of Nippur
Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian language, Akkadian: '' ...
, Isin, Uruk
Uruk, also known as Warka or Warkah, was an ancient city of Sumer (and later of Babylonia) situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates River on the dried-up ancient channel of the Euphrates east of modern Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Harm ...
and Išān Ḥāfudh, a small site southeast of Tell Drehem, which gives his standard inscription[Extant on numerous bricks, for example BM 90378.] describing him as an “''Išippum'' priest with clean hands for Eridu
Eridu ( Sumerian: , NUN.KI/eridugki; Akkadian: ''irîtu''; modern Arabic: Tell Abu Shahrain) is an archaeological site in southern Mesopotamia (modern Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq). Eridu was long considered the earliest city in southern Mesopotam ...
, favorite ''en'' priest of Uruk” and there is a copy of an inscription relating to the erection of a statue of the king with a votive goat.[CBS 12694.]
He was contemporary with Gungunum
Gungunum ( akk, , Dgu-un-gu-nu-um) was a king of the city state of Larsa in southern Mesopotamia, ruling from 1932 to 1906 BC. According to the traditional king list for Larsa, he was the fifth king to rule the city, and in his own inscriptions h ...
, c. 1868 – 1841 BCE (short), and his successor Abī-sarē, c. 1841 – 1830 BCE (short), the resurgent kings of Larsa
Larsa ( Sumerian logogram: UD.UNUGKI, read ''Larsamki''), also referred to as Larancha/Laranchon (Gk. Λαραγχων) by Berossos and connected with the biblical Ellasar, was an important city-state of ancient Sumer, the center of the cul ...
. His reign marks the beginning of a decline in Isin's fortunes coinciding with a rise in those of Larsa. Gungunum had wrestled Ur from Isin's control by his 10th year and it is possible this was the cause of Lipit-Ištar's overthrow. Indeed, Ur-Ninurta made a dedicatory gift to the temple of Ningal in Ur during the 9th year of Gungunum. However, Ur-Ninurta continued to mention Ur in his titles ("herdsman of Ur") as did his successors in Isin. Gungunum went on to expand his kingdom, perhaps taking Nippur
Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian language, Akkadian: '' ...
late in his reign. His death allowed Ur-Ninurta to launch a temporary counter-offensive, recapturing Nippur and several other cities on the Kishkattum canal. His year-name “year (Ur-Ninurta) set for Enlil
Enlil, , "Lord f theWind" later known as Elil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Bab ...
free (of forced labor) for ever the citizens of Nippur and released (the arrears of) the taxes which they were bearing on their necks” may mark this point. His offensive was stopped at Adab, modern Bismaya, where Abī-sarē “defeated the army of Isin with his weapon,” in the 9th year-name of his reign. It may be that this battle was where he was killed, as a year A of Halium of the kingdom of Mananâ,[''mu ur-''d''nin-urta ba-gaz''.] reads “the year Ur-Ninurta was slain” and Manabalte’el of Kisurra
Kisurra (modern Tell Abu Hatab, Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq) was an ancient Sumerian '' tell'' (hill city) situated on the west bank of the Euphrates, north of Shuruppak and due east of Kish.
History
Kisurra was established ca. 2700 BC, ...
’s year G,[''mu ur-''d''nin-urta ba-ugà''.] “the year Ur-Ninurta was killed.”
There is a year name[''mu ús.sa'' d''Ur-''d''Nin.urta lugal.e a.gàr gal.gal a.ta im.ta.an.e''11 ''mu.ús.sa.bi''.] “year following the year that king Ur-Ninurta made emerge large a.gàrs from the water.” Marten Stol suggests that it indicates he succeeded in converting swamp or similar into cultivatable land.
A curious legal case arose came to his attention which he ordered by heard by the Assembly of Nippur. Lu-Inanna, a ''nišakku'' priest was murdered by Nanna-sig, Ku-Enlilla (a barber) and Enlil-ennam (an orchard-keeper) who then confessed to his estranged wife, Nin-dada, who remained suspiciously silent on the matter. Nine persons, with occupations ranging from bird-catcher to potter, presented the prosecution's case. Two others sprang to the defense of the widow, as she had not actually participated in the murder, but the assembly concluded she must have been “involved” with one of the murders and consequently in cahoots with them. All four were condemned to execution in front of the victim's chair.
The ''Instructions of Ur-Ninurta and Counsels of Wisdom'' is a Sumerian courtly composition which extols the virtues of the king, the reestablisher of order, justice and cultic practices after the flood in emulation of the older role models Gilgamesh and Ziusudra. The ''SKL''[''Sumerian King List'' extant in 16 copies.] gives his reign for 28 years. He was succeeded by his son, Būr-Sīn.
Reign of Bur-Suen
Bur-Suen (''fl.'' ''c.'' 1820—1799 BCE by the short chronology) was the 7th king of the Dynasty of Isin and ruled for 21 years according to the ''SKL'',[''Sumerian King List'', WS 444, the Weld Blundell prism.] 22 years according to the ''Ur-Isin king list''.[''Ur-Isin king list'' MS 1686.] His reign was characterized by an ebb and flow in hegemony over the religious centers of Nippur
Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian language, Akkadian: '' ...
and Ur.
The titles “shepherd who makes Nippur content,” "mighty farmer of Ur," “who restores the designs for Eridu
Eridu ( Sumerian: , NUN.KI/eridugki; Akkadian: ''irîtu''; modern Arabic: Tell Abu Shahrain) is an archaeological site in southern Mesopotamia (modern Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq). Eridu was long considered the earliest city in southern Mesopotam ...
” and “''en'' priest for the ''mes'', for Uruk” were used by Bur-Suen in his standard brick inscriptions in Nippur and Isin,[For example, brick CBS 8642 from Nippur and brick IM 76546 from Isin.] although it seems unlikely that his rule stretched to Ur or Eridu at this time as the only inscriptions with an archaeological provenance come from the two northerly cities. A solitary tablet from Ur is dated to his first year, but this is thought to correspond to Abē-sarē's year 11, for which several tablets attest to his reign over Ur.
He was contemporary with the tail end of the reign of Abī-sarē, ca, 1841 to 1830 BCE (short) and that of Sūmú-El, c. 1830 to 1801 BCE (short), the kings of Larsa
Larsa ( Sumerian logogram: UD.UNUGKI, read ''Larsamki''), also referred to as Larancha/Laranchon (Gk. Λαραγχων) by Berossos and connected with the biblical Ellasar, was an important city-state of ancient Sumer, the center of the cul ...
. This latter king's year-names record victories over Akusum, Kazallu Kazalla or Kazallu is the name given in Akkadian sources to a city in the ancient Near East whose locations is unknown. Its god is Numushda.
History
Under its king Kashtubila, Kazalla warred against Sargon of Akkad in the 24th or 23rd century B ...
, Uruk
Uruk, also known as Warka or Warkah, was an ancient city of Sumer (and later of Babylonia) situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates River on the dried-up ancient channel of the Euphrates east of modern Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Harm ...
(which had seceded from Isin), Lugal-Sîn, Ka-ida, Sabum, Kiš, and village of Nanna-isa, relentlessly edging north and feverish activity digging canals or filling them in, possibly to counter the measures taken by Bur-Suen to contain him. Only nine of Bur-Suen's own year-names are known and the sequence is uncertain. He seized control of Kisurra
Kisurra (modern Tell Abu Hatab, Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq) was an ancient Sumerian '' tell'' (hill city) situated on the west bank of the Euphrates, north of Shuruppak and due east of Kish.
History
Kisurra was established ca. 2700 BC, ...
for a time as two year-names are found among tablets from this city, possibly following the departure of Sumu-abum the king of Babylon
''Bābili(m)''
* sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠
* arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel''
* syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel''
* grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn''
* he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel''
* peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru''
* elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
who “returned to his city.” The occupation was brief, however, as Sumu-El was to conquer it during his fourth year. Other year-names record Bur-Suen's construction of fortifications, walls on the bank of the Eurphrates and a canal. A year-name of Sumu-El records “Year after the year Sumu-El has opened the palace (?) of Nippur,” whose place in this king's sequence is unknown.[
A red-brown agate statuette was dedicated to goddess ]Inanna
Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, Divine law, divine justice, and political p ...
[Formerly in collection of Frau G. Strauss.] and an agate plate[LB 2120 in the Lagre Böhl collection.] was dedicated by the ''lukur'' priestess and his “traveling companion,” i.e. concubine, Nanāia Ibsa. A certain individual by the name of Enlil-ennam dedicated a dog figurine to the goddess Ninisina
Ninisina ( Sumerian: "Mistress of Isin") was a Mesopotamian goddess who served as the tutelary deity of the city of Isin. She was considered a healing deity. She was believed to be skilled in the medical arts, and could be described as a divine ph ...
for the life of the king. There are around five extant seals and seal impressions of his servants and scribes, three of which were excavated in Ur suggesting a fleeting late reoccupancy of this city at the end of his reign and the beginning of his successor's as coincidentally no texts from Ur bear Sumu-El's years 19 to 22 which correspond with this period.[
]
Reign of Lipit-Enlil
Lipit-Enlil, written d''li-pí-it'' d''en.líl'', where the ''SKL''[The ''Sumerian King List'' Ash. 1923.444, the ''Wend-Blundell'' prism.] and the ''Ur-Isin king list'' [MS 1686, the ''Ur-Isin king list''.] match on his name and reign, was the 8th king of the 1st dynasty of Isin
Isin (, modern Arabic: Ishan al-Bahriyat) is an archaeological site in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq. Excavations have shown that it was an important city-state in the past.
History of archaeological research
Ishan al-Bahriyat was visited b ...
and ruled for five years, ca. 1810 BCE – 1806 BCE (short chronology) or 1873–1869 BCE (middle chronology). He was the son of Būr-Sîn.
There are no inscriptions known for this king. His brief reign ended a period of relative stability and he was succeeded by Erra-Imittī whose filiation is unknown, as the ''SKL'' omits this information from this point on. Both he and his successor were conspicuous in the absence of royal hymns or dedicatory prayers and Hallo speculates this may have been due to the distractions afforded by the commencement of conflict with Larsa
Larsa ( Sumerian logogram: UD.UNUGKI, read ''Larsamki''), also referred to as Larancha/Laranchon (Gk. Λαραγχων) by Berossos and connected with the biblical Ellasar, was an important city-state of ancient Sumer, the center of the cul ...
.
The archives of the temple of Ninurta
, image= Cropped Image of Carving Showing the Mesopotamian God Ninurta.png
, caption= Assyrian stone relief from the temple of Ninurta at Kalhu, showing the god with his thunderbolts pursuing Anzû, who has stolen the Tablet of Destinies from En ...
, the ''é-šu
The cuneiform šu sign is a common, multi-use syllabic and alphabetic sign for ''šu'', ''š'', and ''u''; it has a subsidiary usage for syllabic ''qat''; it also has a majuscule-(capital letter) Sumerogram usage for ŠU, for Akkadian language ...
-me-ša''4, in Nippur
Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian language, Akkadian: '' ...
, extended over more than seventy-five years, from year 1 of Lipit-Enlil of Isin (1810) to year 28 of Rim-Sin I (1730) and were inadvertently preserved when they were used as infill for the temple of Inanna
Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, Divine law, divine justice, and political p ...
in the Parthian period. The 420 fragments show a thriving temple economy absorbing much of the available wealth. The year-names following his accession year all somewhat monotonously commemorate generous gifts to the temple of Enlil
Enlil, , "Lord f theWind" later known as Elil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Bab ...
.
Reign of Erra-imitti
Erra-imitti (''fl.'' ''c.'' 1794—1786 BCE) was king of Isin
Isin (, modern Arabic: Ishan al-Bahriyat) is an archaeological site in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq. Excavations have shown that it was an important city-state in the past.
History of archaeological research
Ishan al-Bahriyat was visited b ...
, modern Ishan al-Bahriyat, and according to the ''SKL'' ruled for eight years. He succeeded Lipit-Enlil
Lipit-Enlil, written d''li-pí-it'' d''en.líl'', where the ''Sumerian King List''The ''Sumerian King List'' Ash. 1923.444, the ''Wend-Blundell'' prism. and the ''Ur-Isin king list'' MS 1686, the ''Ur-Isin king list''. match on his name and reign, ...
, with whom his relationship is uncertain and was a contemporary and rival of Sūmû-El and Nūr-Adad of the parallel dynasty of Larsa
Larsa ( Sumerian logogram: UD.UNUGKI, read ''Larsamki''), also referred to as Larancha/Laranchon (Gk. Λαραγχων) by Berossos and connected with the biblical Ellasar, was an important city-state of ancient Sumer, the center of the cul ...
. He is best known for the legendary tale of his demise, Shaffer's “gastronomic mishap”.
He seems to have recovered control of Nippur
Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian language, Akkadian: '' ...
from Larsa early in his reign but perhaps lost it again, as its recovery is celebrated again by his successor. The later regnal year-names offer some glimmer of events, for example “the year following the year Erra-imitti seized Kisurra
Kisurra (modern Tell Abu Hatab, Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq) was an ancient Sumerian '' tell'' (hill city) situated on the west bank of the Euphrates, north of Shuruppak and due east of Kish.
History
Kisurra was established ca. 2700 BC, ...
"[BM 85348: mu ús-sa ki-sur-raki dÌr-ra-i-mi-ti ba-an-dib.] (the modern site of Abū-Ḥaṭab) for the date of a receipt for a bridal gift and “the year Erra-imitti destroyed the city wall of Kazallu,”[YOS 14 319: mu dÌr-ra-i-mi-ti bàd ka-zal-luki ba-gal.] a city allied with Larsa and antagonistic to Isin and its ally, Babylon
''Bābili(m)''
* sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠
* arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel''
* syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel''
* grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn''
* he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel''
* peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru''
* elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
. His conquest of Kisurra would have been a significant escalation of hostilities against Isin's rival Larsa. A haematite cylinder seal
A cylinder seal is a small round cylinder, typically about one inch (2 to 3 cm) in length, engraved with written characters or figurative scenes or both, used in ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-dimensional surface, generally ...
[Cylinder seal BM 130695.] of his servant and scribe Iliška-uṭul, son of Sîn-ennam, has come to light from this city, suggesting prolonged occupation. The latest attested year-name gives the year he built the city wall of ''gan-x-Erra-Imittī'', perhaps an eponymous new town.
When the omens predicted impending doom for a monarch, it was customary to appoint a substitute as a "statue though animate",[NU-NÍG-SAG-ÍL-e.] a scape-goat who stood in the place of the king but did not exercise power for a hundred days to deflect the disaster, at the end of which the proxy and his spouse would be ritually slaughtered and the king would resume his throne.
Reign of Enlil-bani
Enlil-bani (''fl.'' ''c.'' 1786—1762 BCE by the short chronology) was the 10th king of the Dynasty of Isin
Isin (, modern Arabic: Ishan al-Bahriyat) is an archaeological site in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq. Excavations have shown that it was an important city-state in the past.
History of archaeological research
Ishan al-Bahriyat was visited b ...
and reigned 24 years according to the ''Ur-Isin kinglist''.[''Ur-Isin kinglist'' line 15.] He is best known for the legendary and perhaps apocryphal manner of his ascendancy.
A certain Ikūn-pî-Ištar[''I-k -unpi-Iš''8''-tár''.] is recorded as having ruled for 6 months or a year, between the reigns of Erra-imittī and Enlil-bani according to two variant copies of a chronicle.[ Glassner's manuscript’s C and D.] Another chronicle[The Babylonian chronicle fragment 1 B ii 1-8.] which might have shed further light on his origins is too broken to translate.
Hegemony over Nippur was fleeting, with control of the city passing back and forth between Isin and Larsa
Larsa ( Sumerian logogram: UD.UNUGKI, read ''Larsamki''), also referred to as Larancha/Laranchon (Gk. Λαραγχων) by Berossos and connected with the biblical Ellasar, was an important city-state of ancient Sumer, the center of the cul ...
several times. Uruk
Uruk, also known as Warka or Warkah, was an ancient city of Sumer (and later of Babylonia) situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates River on the dried-up ancient channel of the Euphrates east of modern Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Harm ...
, too, seceded during his reign and, as his power crumbled, he may have had the ''Chronicle of Early Kings
The Chronicle of Early Kings, Chronicle 20 in Grayson’s ''Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles'' and Mesopotamian Chronicle 40 in Glassner’s ''Chroniques mésopotamiennes'' is preserved on two tablets, tablet ABM 26472 (98-5-14, 290) tablet A. ...
''[''Chronicle of early kings'' A 31-36, B 1-7.] redacted to provide a more legendary tale of his accession than the rather mundane act of usurpation that it may well have been.[ It relates that Erra-Imittī selected his gardener, Enlil-bâni, enthroned him, and placed the royal tiara on his head. Erra-Imittī then died while eating hot porridge, and Enlil-bâni by virtue of his refusal to quit the throne, became king.
The colophon of a medical text,][Tablet K.4023 column iv lines 21 to 25.] “when a man's brain contains fire,”[Enuma amelu muḫḫu-šu išata u-kal.] from the Library of Ashurbanipal
The Royal Library of Ashurbanipal, named after Ashurbanipal, the last great king of the Assyrian Empire, is a collection of more than 30,000 clay tablets and fragments containing texts of all kinds from the 7th century BC, including texts in vari ...
reads: “Proven and tested salves and poultices, fit for use, according to the old sages from before the flood[(21) '' a-šá-la-tú tak-ṣi-ra- nu lat-ku-tu''4 ''ba-ru-ti šá ana ]šu
The cuneiform šu sign is a common, multi-use syllabic and alphabetic sign for ''šu'', ''š'', and ''u''; it has a subsidiary usage for syllabic ''qat''; it also has a majuscule-(capital letter) Sumerogram usage for ŠU, for Akkadian language ...
-ṣú-ú'' (22) ''šá'' KA NUN.ME.MEŠ-''e la-bi-ru- ti šá la-am'' A.MÁ.URU
Uru or URU may refer to:
Language
* Uru dialect of Central Kilimanjaro, a Bantu language of Tanzania
* Uru language, the extinct language of the Uros, an Amerindian people
* Uru of Ch'imu, an extinct language of the Uros, an Amerindian people
...
5''(abūbi)'' (23) ''šá ana ''LAMXKURki''(šuruppak)'' MU.2.KÁM IdEN.LĺL-''ba-ni'' LUGAL uru
Uru or URU may refer to:
Language
* Uru dialect of Central Kilimanjaro, a Bantu language of Tanzania
* Uru language, the extinct language of the Uros, an Amerindian people
* Uru of Ch'imu, an extinct language of the Uros, an Amerindian people
...
Ì.ŠI.INki (24) IdEN.LĺL-''mu-bal-liṭ'' NUN.ME NIBRUki '' zbu''. from Šuruppak, which Enlil-muballiṭ, sage (apkallu) of Nippur, left (to posterity) in the second year of Enlil-bāni.”
Enlil-bani found it necessary to "build anew the wall of Isin which had become dilapidated,"[Cones IM 77922, CBS 16200, and 8 others.] which he recorded on commemorative cones. He named the wall ''Enlil-bāni-išdam-kīn'',[Two cones, IM 10789 and UCLM 94791.] “Enlil-bāni is firm as to foundation.” In practice, the walls of major cities were probably under continuous repair. He was a prodigious builder, responsible for the construction of the ''é-ur-gi7-ra'', “the dog house,”[Cone 74.4.9.249 and another in a private collection in Wiesbaden.] temple of Ninisina, a palace,[Clay impression, IM 25874.] also the ''é-ní-dúb-bu'', “house of relaxation,” for the goddess Nintinugga
Nintinugga (also transcribed Nintinuga) was a Mesopotamian goddess associated with medicine and cleansing. She belonged to the local pantheon of Nippur. While she has been compared to other similar goddesses, such as Ninisina and Gula, and in a n ...
, “lady who revives the dead,”[Cone in Chicago A 7555.] the ''é-dim-gal-an-na'', “house - great mast of heaven,”[IM 79940.] for the tutelary deity of Šuruppak, the goddess Sud, and finally, the ''é-ki-ág-gá-ni'' for Ninibgal, the “lady with patient mercy who loves ex-votos, who heeds prayers and entreaties, his shining mother.”[NBC 8955 and A 7461 inscription on two cones.] Two large copper statues were taken to Nippur for dedication to Ningal, which Iddin-Dagān had fashioned 117 years earlier but had been unable to deliver, “on account of this, the goddess Ninlil had the god Enlil
Enlil, , "Lord f theWind" later known as Elil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Bab ...
lengthen the life span of Enlil-Bāni.”[Tablet UM L-29-578.]
There are perhaps two hymns addressed to this monarch.
Reign of Zambiya
Zambiya (''fl.'' ''c.'' 1762—1759 BCE by the short chronology) was the 11th king of the Dynasty of Isin. He is best known for his defeat at the hands of Sin-iqišam, king of Larsa
Larsa ( Sumerian logogram: UD.UNUGKI, read ''Larsamki''), also referred to as Larancha/Laranchon (Gk. Λαραγχων) by Berossos and connected with the biblical Ellasar, was an important city-state of ancient Sumer, the center of the cul ...
.
According to the ''SKL'',[The ''Sumerian King List'', WB 444, Ash. 1923.444, the Weld-Blundell prism.] Zambiya reigned for 3 years. He was a contemporary of Sin-iqišam king of Larsa, whose fifth and final year-name celebrates his victory over Zambiya: “year the army of (the land of) Elam
Elam (; Linear Elamite: ''hatamti''; Cuneiform Elamite: ; Sumerian: ; Akkadian: ; he, עֵילָם ''ʿēlām''; peo, 𐎢𐎺𐎩 ''hūja'') was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretc ...
(and Zambiya, (the king of Isin,)) was/were defeated by arms,” suggesting a confederation between Isin and Elam against Larsa. The city of Nippur was hotly contested between the city-states. If Zambiya survived this battle, he may have possibly gone on to be contemporary with Sin-iqišam's successors, Ṣilli-Adad and Warad-Sin
Warad-Sin (, ARAD- Dsuen) ruled the ancient Near East city-state of Larsa from 1770 BC to 1758 BC ( short chronology). There are indications that his father Kudur-Mabuk was co-regent or at very least the power behind the throne
The phrase "power ...
.
Reign of Iter-pisha
Iter-pisha (''fl.'' ''c.'' 1759—1755 BCE by the short chronology) was the 12th king of the Dynasty of Isin. The ''SKL''[''Sumerian King List'', Ash. 1923.444, the "Weld-Blundell Prism."] tells us that "the divine Iter-pisha ruled for 4 years."[d''i.te.er.pi4.ša mu 4 i.ak''.] The ''Ur-Isin King List''[''Ur-Isin King List'' tablet MS 1686.] which was written in the 4th year of the reign of Damiq-ilišu gives a reign of just 3 years. His relationships with his predecessor and successor are uncertain and his reign falls during a period of general decline in the fortunes of the dynasty.
He was a contemporary of Warad-Sin
Warad-Sin (, ARAD- Dsuen) ruled the ancient Near East city-state of Larsa from 1770 BC to 1758 BC ( short chronology). There are indications that his father Kudur-Mabuk was co-regent or at very least the power behind the throne
The phrase "power ...
(ca. 1770 BCE to 1758 BCE) the king of Larsa
Larsa ( Sumerian logogram: UD.UNUGKI, read ''Larsamki''), also referred to as Larancha/Laranchon (Gk. Λαραγχων) by Berossos and connected with the biblical Ellasar, was an important city-state of ancient Sumer, the center of the cul ...
, whose brother and successor, Rim-Sin I would eventually come to overthrow the dynasty, ending the cities' bitter rivalry around 40 years later. He is only known from Kings lists and year-name date formulae in several contemporary legal and administrative texts. Two of his year-names refer to his provision of a copper Lilis for Utu
Utu (dUD "Sun"), also known under the Akkadian name Shamash, ''šmš'', syc, ܫܡܫܐ ''šemša'', he, שֶׁמֶשׁ ''šemeš'', ar, شمس ''šams'', Ashurian Aramaic: 𐣴𐣬𐣴 ''š'meš(ā)'' was the ancient Mesopotamian sun god. ...
and Inanna
Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, Divine law, divine justice, and political p ...
respectively, where Lilissu is a kettledrum used in temple rituals.
He is perhaps best known for the literary work generally known as the ''letter from Nabi-Enlil to Iter-pisha'' formerly designated ''letter from Iter-pisha to a deity'', when its contents were less well understood. It is extant in seven fragmentary manuscripts[Tablets UM 55-21-329 +, 3N-T0901,048, 3N-T 919,455, CBS 7857, UM 55-21-323, and CBS 14041 + in the University of Pennsylvania Museum, and MS 2287 in the Schøyen Collection.] and seems to be a petition to the king from a subject who has fallen on hard times. It is a 24-line composition that had become a belle letter used in scribal education during the subsequent Old Babylonian period.
Reign of Ur-du-kuga
Ur-du-kuga (''fl.'' ''c.'' 1755—1751 BCE by the short chronology) was the 13th king of the Dynasty of Isin and reigned for 4 years according to the ''SKL'',[''Sumerian King List'', Ashm. 1923.344 the ''Blund-Wendell'' prism.] 3 years according to the ''Ur-Isin kinglist''.[''Ur-Isin kinglist'', tablet MS 1686 line 18.] He was the third in a sequence of short reigning monarchs whose filiation was unknown and whose power extended over a small region encompassing little more than the city of Isin and its neighbor Nippur
Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian language, Akkadian: '' ...
. He was probably a contemporary of Warad-Sîn of Larsa
Larsa ( Sumerian logogram: UD.UNUGKI, read ''Larsamki''), also referred to as Larancha/Laranchon (Gk. Λαραγχων) by Berossos and connected with the biblical Ellasar, was an important city-state of ancient Sumer, the center of the cul ...
and Apil-Sîn of Babylon
''Bābili(m)''
* sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠
* arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel''
* syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel''
* grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn''
* he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel''
* peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru''
* elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
.
He credited Dāgan, a god from the middle Euphrates region who had possibly been introduced by the dynasty's founder, Išbi-Erra, with his creation, in cones[Cones LB 990, NBC 6110, 6111, 6112.] commemorating the construction of the deity's temple, the Etuškigara, or the house “well founded residence,” an event also celebrated in a year-name. The inscription describes him as the “shepherd who brings everything for Nippur, the supreme farmer of the gods An and Enlil
Enlil, , "Lord f theWind" later known as Elil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Bab ...
, provider of the Ekur…” This heaps profuse declarations of his care for Nippur's sanctuaries, the Ekur for Enlil, the Ešumeša for Ninurta
, image= Cropped Image of Carving Showing the Mesopotamian God Ninurta.png
, caption= Assyrian stone relief from the temple of Ninurta at Kalhu, showing the god with his thunderbolts pursuing Anzû, who has stolen the Tablet of Destinies from En ...
and the Egalmaḫ for Gula, Ninurta's divine wife.
A piece of brick from Isin,[Brick IB 1337.] bears his titulary but the event it marked has not been preserved. A cone shaft[Cone IM 95461, found in Isin.] memorializes the building of a temple of Lulal
Lulal, inscribed dlú.làl in cuneiform(𒀭𒇽𒋭), was a Mesopotamian god associated with Inanna, usually as a servant deity or bodyguard but in a single text as a son. His name has Sumerian origin and can be translated as "syrup man."
In the ...
of the cultic city of Dul-edena, northeast of Nippur on the Iturungal canal. The digging of the Imgur-Ninisin canal was celebrated in another year-name.
Reign of Sîn-māgir
Suen-magir (''fl.'' ''c.'' 1751—1740 BCE by the short chronology) was the 14th king of the Dynasty of Isin and he reigned for 11 years.[''Sumerian King Lists'' Ash. 1923.444 and CBS 19797 and ''Ur-Isin king list'' MS 1686.]
His reign falls over the last six years of Warad-Sin
Warad-Sin (, ARAD- Dsuen) ruled the ancient Near East city-state of Larsa from 1770 BC to 1758 BC ( short chronology). There are indications that his father Kudur-Mabuk was co-regent or at very least the power behind the throne
The phrase "power ...
and the first five of Rim-Sin I, the sons of Kudur-Mabuk
Kudur-Mabuk was a ruler in the ancient Near East city-state
of Larsa from 1770 BC to 1754 BC. His sons Warad-Sin and
Rim-Sin I were kings of Larsa. His daughter En-ane-du was high
priestess of the moon god in Ur.
Chronology of the Larsa Dynas ...
and successive kings of Larsa
Larsa ( Sumerian logogram: UD.UNUGKI, read ''Larsamki''), also referred to as Larancha/Laranchon (Gk. Λαραγχων) by Berossos and connected with the biblical Ellasar, was an important city-state of ancient Sumer, the center of the cul ...
, and wholly within the reign of the Babylon
''Bābili(m)''
* sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠
* arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel''
* syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel''
* grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn''
* he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel''
* peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru''
* elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
ian monarch Apil-Sin
Apil-Sin was an Amorite King of the First Dynasty of Babylon (the ''Amorite Dynasty''). He possibly(see Chronology of the ancient Near East) reigned c. 1767–1749 BC.
Apil-Sin was the grandfather of Hammurabi, who significantly expanded the Bab ...
. There are currently six extant royal inscriptions, including brick palace inscriptions,[Brick, IM 78635.] seals for his devoted servants, such as Iddin-damu, his “chief builder,” and Imgur-Sîn, his administrator, and a cone[Cone A 16750.] which records the construction of a storehouse for the goddess Aktuppītum of Kiritab in his honor commissioned by Nupṭuptum, the ''lukur'' priestess or concubine, “his beloved traveling escort, mother of his first-born.”
An inscription[IB 1610, from Isin, a complete cone and VA Bab 628, 609, from Babylon, parts of a single cone.] marks the construction of a defensive wall, called ''Dūr-Suen-magir'', “Suen-magir makes the foundation of his land firm,” at Dunnum, a city northeast of Nippur
Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian language, Akkadian: '' ...
. Control of Nippur itself however may have shifted to Larsa, under the rule of Warad-Sîn and his father, Kudur-Mabuk, the power behind the throne, as his sixth year-name celebrates that he “had (14 copper statues brought into Nippur and) 3 thrones adorned with gold brought into the temples of Nanna
Nanna may refer to:
*Grandmother
Mythology
* Sin (mythology), god of the moon in Sumerian mythology, also called Suen
* Nanna (Norse deity), goddess associated with the god Baldr in Norse mythology
* Nana Buluku, Fon/Dahomey androgynous deity cre ...
, Ningal
Ningal ( Sumerian: "Great Queen"), also known as Nikkal in Akkadian, was a Mesopotamian goddess of Sumerian origin regarded as the wife of the moon god, Nanna/Sin. She was particularly closely associated with his main cult centers, Ur and Harran, ...
and Utu
Utu (dUD "Sun"), also known under the Akkadian name Shamash, ''šmš'', syc, ܫܡܫܐ ''šemša'', he, שֶׁמֶשׁ ''šemeš'', ar, شمس ''šams'', Ashurian Aramaic: 𐣴𐣬𐣴 ''š'meš(ā)'' was the ancient Mesopotamian sun god. ...
.” Larsa was to retain Nippur until year nine of Rīm-Sîn when it was lost to Damiq-ilišu. One of the cones bearing this inscription was found in the ruins of the temple of Ninurta
, image= Cropped Image of Carving Showing the Mesopotamian God Ninurta.png
, caption= Assyrian stone relief from the temple of Ninurta at Kalhu, showing the god with his thunderbolts pursuing Anzû, who has stolen the Tablet of Destinies from En ...
, the ''é-ḫur-sag-tí-la'', in Babylon, and is thought likely to have been an ancient museum piece. The city of Dunnum, the celebration of whose original foundation may have been the purpose of the Dynasty of Dunnum
The Dynasty of Dunnum, sometimes called the ''Theogony of Dunnum'' or ''Dunnu'' or the ''Harab Myth'', is an ancient Mesopotamian mythical tale of successive generations of gods who take power through parricide and live incestuously with their mot ...
myth, was taken by Rim-Sin the year before he conquered Isin and so it is conjectured that the cone was taken from Larsa as booty by Ḫammu-rapī.
Two legal tablets offered for private sale, recording sales of a storehouse and palm grove, give a year-name elsewhere unattested, “year Suen-magir the king dug the Ninkarrak canal.”[Tablets with dealer references LO.1250 and LO.1253.] Another year-name marks
"(Suen-magir) built on the bank of the Iturungal canal (the old wadi) a great fortification (called) ''Suen-magir-madana-dagal-dagal'' (Suen-magir broadens his country)." A province in the south and a town in eastern Babylonia near Tuplias are both called ''Bīt-Suen-magir'' and some historians have speculated one or other were named in his honor.
Reign of Damiq-ilishu
Damiq-ilishu (''fl.'' ''c.'' 1740—1717 BCE by the short chronology) was the 15th and final king of the Dynasty of Isin. He succeeded his father Sîn-māgir and reigned for 23 years.[CBS 19797, published as Hilprecht’s BE 20 no. 47 (1906).] Some variant king lists provide a shorter reign,[The ‘’Ur-Isin king list’’, MS 1686 gives 4 years.] but it is thought that these were under preparation during his rule.[Ash. 1923.444 does not list him.] He was defeated first by Sîn-muballiṭ of Babylon
''Bābili(m)''
* sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠
* arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel''
* syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel''
* grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn''
* he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel''
* peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru''
* elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
(c. 1748 – 1729 BCE ) and then later by Rīm-Sîn I of Larsa
Larsa ( Sumerian logogram: UD.UNUGKI, read ''Larsamki''), also referred to as Larancha/Laranchon (Gk. Λαραγχων) by Berossos and connected with the biblical Ellasar, was an important city-state of ancient Sumer, the center of the cul ...
, (c. 1758 – 1699 BCE).
His standard inscription characterizes him as the "farmer who piles up the produce (of the land) in granaries." Four royal inscriptions are extant including cones celebrating the building of the wall of Isin, naming him as “Damiq-ilišu is the favorite of the god Ninurta
, image= Cropped Image of Carving Showing the Mesopotamian God Ninurta.png
, caption= Assyrian stone relief from the temple of Ninurta at Kalhu, showing the god with his thunderbolts pursuing Anzû, who has stolen the Tablet of Destinies from En ...
” also recollected in a year-name and “suitable for the office of ''en'' priest befitting the goddess Inanna
Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, Divine law, divine justice, and political p ...
.”[HS 2008 & CBS 9999 (Nippur), IB 1090 (Isin).] Construction of a storehouse ''e-me-sikil'', “house with pure ''mes'' (rites?)”, for the god Mardu,[Cone A7556.] son of the god An. A cone records the construction of a temple, the ''é-ki-tuš-bi-du''10, “House – its residence is good,” possibly for the deity Nergal
Nergal ( Sumerian: d''KIŠ.UNU'' or ; ; Aramaic: ܢܸܪܓܲܠ; la, Nirgal) was a Mesopotamian god worshiped through all periods of Mesopotamian history, from Early Dynastic to Neo-Babylonian times, with a few attestations under indicating hi ...
of Uṣarpara. There is also a palace inscription and a copy of a dedication to Nergal of Apiak on a votive lion sculpture.
An outline of the political events can be gleaned from an examination of the year names of the rival kingdoms. Rīm-Sîn's year 14 (c. 1744 BCE ) records "Year the armies of Uruk
Uruk, also known as Warka or Warkah, was an ancient city of Sumer (and later of Babylonia) situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates River on the dried-up ancient channel of the Euphrates east of modern Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Harm ...
, Isin, Babylon, Sutum, Rapiqum, and of Irdanene,[Alternative reading of the name: Irnene.] the king of Uruk, were smitten with weapons". This victory over a grand coalition seems to have awakened in Rīm-Sîn imperial ambitions. Damiq-ilišu's year 13 (c. 1739 BCE ) records the “Year in which (Damiq-ilišu) built the great city wall of Isin (called) 'Damiq-ilišu-hegal’ (Damiq-ilišu is abundance)". The holy city of Nippur
Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian language, Akkadian: '' ...
seems to have been wrestled from the control of Larsa around 1749 BCE by Damiq-ilishu who held it until Rīm-Sîn reclaimed it around 1737 BCE, the year he "destroyed Uruk", based upon the dating of documents found there. Sin-muballit's year 13 (c. 1735 BCE) is called “Year the troops and the army of Larsa were smitten by weapons.” Rīm-Sîn's year 25 (c. 1733 BCE) is named “Year the righteous shepherd Rim-Sin with the powerful help of An, Enlil
Enlil, , "Lord f theWind" later known as Elil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Bab ...
, and Enki
, image = Enki(Ea).jpg
, caption = Detail of Enki from the Adda Seal, an ancient Akkadian cylinder seal dating to circa 2300 BC
, deity_of = God of creation, intelligence, crafts, water, seawater, lakewater, fertility, semen, magic, mischief
...
seized the ''city of Damiq-ilišu'', brought its inhabitants who had helped Isin as prisoners to Larsa, and established his triumph greater than before.” This setback seems to have crippled the tottering Isin state enabling Sîn-muballiṭ of Babylon to pillage the city in 1732 BCE, during his year 16.[Year 16 of Sîn-muballiṭ as recorded at CDLI, Fitzgerald says year 17.]
Rīm-Sîn's year 29 (1729) recalls "Year in which Rīm-Sîn the righteous shepherd with the help of the mighty strength of An, Enlil, and Enki seized in one day Dunnum the largest city of Isin and submitted to his orders all the drafted soldiers but he did not remove the population from its dwelling place". His year 30 (c. 1728 BCE) reads “Year Rīm-Sîn the true shepherd with the strong weapon of An, Enlil, and Enki seized Isin, the royal capital and the various villages, but spared the life of its inhabitants, and made great for ever the fame of his kingship.” The event was considered so significant that from then on every year-name of Rīm-Sîn was named after it: the first year after the sack of Isin until “Year 31 after he seized Isin.”[
The ''Weidner Chronicle'',][''Weidner Chronicle'' (ABC 19).] also called the ''Esagila Chronicle'', is an apocryphal historiographical or supposititious letter composed in the name of Damiq-ilišu who addresses Apil-Sîn of Babylon (c. 1767 - 1749 BCE) discussing the merits of offerings made to Marduk
Marduk (Cuneiform: dAMAR.UTU; Sumerian: ''amar utu.k'' "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) was a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon. When Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of ...
on their donors. There is also a belle letter from Damiq-ilishu to the god Nuska. He seems to have become something of a folk-hero, because later kings hark back to him and describe themselves as his successor. The Sealand Dynasty
The First Sealand dynasty, (URU.KÙKIWhere ŠEŠ-ḪA of King List A and ŠEŠ-KÙ-KI of King List B are read as URU.KÙ.KI) or the 2nd Dynasty of Babylon (although it was independent of Amorite-ruled Babylon), very speculatively c. 1732–1460 B ...
seems to have considered itself the inheritor of the neo-Sumerian beacon and the 3rd king, Damqi-ilišu, even took his name. The founder of the 2nd Sealand Dynasty, Simbar-Šipak (c. 1025-1008 BCE), was described as “soldier of the dynasty of Damiq-ilišu,” in a historical chronicle.['']Dynastic Chronicle
The Dynastic Chronicle, ''"Chronicle 18"'' in Grayson's ''Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles'' or the ''"Babylonian Royal Chronicle"'' in Glassner’s ''Mesopotamian Chronicles'', is a fragmentary ancient Mesopotamian text extant in at least four k ...
'' (ABC 18) v 3.
Timeline of rulers
* These epithets or names are not included in all versions of the ''SKL''.
See also
*History of Sumer
The history of Sumer spans the 5th to 3rd millennia BCE in southern Mesopotamia, and is taken to include the prehistoric Ubaid and Uruk periods. Sumer was the region's earliest known civilization and ended with the downfall of the Third Dynasty o ...
* History of Mesopotamia
*List of Mesopotamian dynasties
The history of Mesopotamia extends from the Lower Paleolithic period until the establishment of the Caliphate in the late 7th century AD, after which the region came to be known as Iraq. This list covers dynasties and monarchs of Mesopotamia up u ...
References
Notes
{{Ancient Mesopotamia
States and territories established in the 20th century BC
States and territories disestablished in the 18th century BC
Sumer
Isin-Larsa period