ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA

Ionia, as monumentally attested, falls naturally into periods: (a) the rise of the city-States and their struggle for supremacy; (6) the supremacy of Babylon and the First Babylonian Empire; (c) the Kassite supremacy and the rise of Assyria; (d) the contemporaneous kingdoms of Assyria and Babylonia ; (c) the supremacy of Assyria to its fall ; (/) the New Babylonian Empire.

(a) The city-Staies. — The prehistoric remains of the earliest settlers in Babylonia are numerous, but they have received no systematic study. The existence of a non-Semitic race, the so-called Sumerians, is at least the most convenient assumption to account for the problems of the earUest history, but it is impossible to decide how early they were intermixed with Semitic folk. It is as yet difficult to decide whether these Semites entered from the S.W., or from the side of Elam, or from N. Mesopotamia. The earliest monuments we possess show a variety of towns, each of which served as a nucleus to a wide area of villages. As populations grew, the needs of pasture for an eminently pastoral people brought about disputes as to boundaries, and wars ensued. The States entered into keen rivalry in other directions, as commerce developed. As early as B.C. 5000 the condition of things may be aptly com-pared with that of England under the Heptarchy. Eridu, modern Abu Shahrein, lay on the Gulf and W. of the Euphrates mouth. As the seat of the worship of Ea, god of the waters, its business was rather on the sea than on the land, but it was always reverenced as the primitive home of civilization and religion. We have no evidence that it was ever the seat of a kingdom. Some 10 miles to the W. lay Ur, modern Mugheir, then also on the Gulf, the home of the worship of Sin, the moon-god. Across the Euphrates, 30 miles to N.E., lay Larsa, modern Senkereh, where Shamash, the sun-god, was chief god. Twelve miles to the N.W. was Uruk, modern Warka (Erech), with its Ishtar cult. To the N. was Mar, modern Tel Ede. From Mar, 35 miles to the E., on the Shatt-el-Hai canal from the Tigris to the Eu-phrates, was Shirpurla or Lagash, modern Telloh, with its god Ningirsu. These six cities form the group with whose fortunes most of the Telloh finds are concerned. Nippur, modern Niffer, lay halfway between the Tigris and Euphrates, 60 miles from the Gulf. Its god was the very ancient En-Ul, the old Bel, 'lord of mankind.'

In the N. more than 50 miles N.W. of Nippur was Cutha, modern Tel Ibrahim, with its god Nergal, lord of the world of the dead. Further N., on the E. bank of the Euphrates, was Sippar, modern Abu Habba, with its sun-god Shamash. Near by must have been Agade. The monuments place here: Kulunu (Calneh); Uhki, later Opis; and Kish. Later, Babylon (wh. see) and its sister city Borsippa came into importance. la Upper Mesopotamia, Haran was probably not much later in its rise as a commercial capital and centre of the moon-god cult.

The history of this period has many gaps, probably because systematic exploration has been carried out only at Telloh and Nippur. The evidence for other cities consists chiefly of references made by the rulers of these two cities, who either ruled over others or were ruled over by them. A king of Ur might leave offerings at Nippur, or order some building to be done there; or the rulers of Nippur might name the king of Ur as their over-lord. Out of such scattered references we must weave what history we can. About B.C. 4500 Enshagsagana, king of Kengi in S.W., offered to BSl of Nippur the spoils of Kish. Later, Mesilim, king of Kish, made Shirpurla a subject State. About B.C. 4200 Ur-Nina was able to call himself king of Shirpurla. Eannatum and Ente-mena of Shirpurla won several victories over other cities and imposed treaties upon them. Soon Lugalzaggisi, king of Uhki, about B.C. 4200, could call himself king of Erech, Ur, and Larsa. He was practically ruler of ,the First Babylonian Empire, from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean. About B.C. 3850, Alusharshid, king

ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA

of Kish, conquered Elam and Bara'se, to N.E. and E. of Babylonia.

Shargani-shar-all (Sargon i.), king of Agade, B.C. 3800, and his son Naram-Sin, b.c. 3750 according to Naboni-dus, were lords of Nippur, Shirpurla, Kish, Babylon, and Erech, and ruled, or at least levied tribute, from the Mediterranean N. into Armenia, over part of Elam, and S. into Arabia and the islands of the Persian Gulf. About B.C. 3500 Ur-Bau of Shirpurla ruled in peace, as a subject prince, or patesi. Gudea, about b.c. 3100, erected wonderful buildings, evidentlyhad great resources, and even conquered Anshan, in Elam, but was not a king. About B.C. 3000, Ur-GQr and his son Dungi, kings of Ur, built temples not only in Ur but in Kutha, Shirpurla, Nippur, and Erech. A dynasty of Erech and a dynasty of Isin later claimed authority over Nippur, Ur, Eridu, and other less noted cities. The next dynasty of Ur, founded by Gungunu, included Ine-Sin, Bur-Sin ii., Gamil-Sin, Dungi ii. and others, b.c. 2800-2500. They warred in Syria, Arabia, and Elam.

(6) Supremacy of Babylon. — The First Dynasty of Babylon (b.c. 2396) was founded by Sumu-abi. But Larsa was under its own king Nur-Adad, who was followed by his son Sin-iddinam. The Eiamites invaded the land, and under Kudur-nanhundi carried off the goddess Nans from Erech about b.c. 2290. Larsa became the seat of an Elamite king, Rim-Sin, son of Kudur-mabuk, ruler of lamutbal in W. Elam. He ruled over Ur, Eridu, Nippur, Shirpurla, and Erech, and conquered Isin. He is thought by some to be Arioch of EUasar who with Chedorlaomer of Elam, Amraphel of Shinar, (Hammurabi?), Tidal of Goiim overthrew the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gn 14). At any rate he was expelled from Larsa by Hammurabi in the 31st year of his reign. Hammurabi ruled all Mesopotamia, from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf. His reign was the climax of Babylonian civilization and culture. His successors maintained his Empire for a while, but then Babylonia had to submit to foreign conquest. His period is known to us by an enormous number of inscriptions and monuments, and deserves attention as characteristic of Old Babylonia at its best.

The second dynasty has left remarkably few monu-ments in the districts hitherto explored, and beyond its existence we know little of it.

(c, d, e) Kassite supremacy, and rise of Assyria, etc. — The third dynasty rose on the conquest of Babylonia by the Kassites, a mountaineer people from the N.E., of non-Semitic race, thought by many to be Cush in Gn 10*. The Kassites attempted an invasion as early as the 9th year of Samsu-iluna, but were driven back. They first established themselves in the South, giving the name of Karduniash to it. They adopted the royal titles, worshipped the ancient gods, and wrote in the Babylonian language. The first king of whom we have important inscriptions was Agum-kakrime (Agum ii.). He claims to rule over the Kashshu, the Akkadians, Babylonia, Ashnunak, Padan, Alman, and Gutium. He restored the images of Marduk and Zarpanit his consort, which had been carried away to Hani in N. Mesopotamia. Later we learn from the Tell el-Amarna letters that as early as the time of Araenophis in., king of Egypt, Kurigalzu of Babylon was in friendly relations with Egypt, and refused to support a Canaanite conspiracy against its rule. The relations with Assyria have been already dealt with. Kadashman-harbe co-operated with his grandfather in driving out the SQti, who robbed the caravans from the West and Egypt. Kurigalzu ii. waged successful war with Elam, captured the king Hurbatila with his own hands, and sacked Susa. With Melishihu and Marduk-apliddina i. Babylonian power revived, but fell again under their successors. The Kassites first gave Babylonia a national name and exalted the worship of BSl of Nippur. In their time. Babylonia had trade relations not only with Mesopotamia Syria, and Egypt, but with Bactria,

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