Larsa Dynasties of Isin

DYNASTIES OF ISIN, LARSA, AND BABYLON From about 2300 B.c. men called "Amorites" that is "Western ers," were occupied in menial work in Babylonia. They bear names of various types, and may not all have been of western origin; but a new Semitic dialect appears in certain names, and this is a western tongue, more closely connected with Hebrew than with Akkadian. Then an invasion of Akkad from the district of Mari, west of the Euphrates and north of Babylonia, made an Amorite king of Isin ; an alliance of Isin with Elam brought about the fall of Ur. Thereaf ter came a long period of confusion during which various Amorite dynasties struggled with one an other; the principal cities involved were Isin, Larsa, Kazallu, Kish and Babylon. Finally the struggle was reduced to a clear issue between a family of Elamite origin, which ruled at Larsa, and the dynasty of Babylon, and in this Hammurabi was finally successful over his enemies, but the supremacy of Babylon did not last more than So years. The provinces continually rebelled, and the dynasty was ended by a Hittite raid.

The political history of the time is sufficient explanation of the poverty of archaeological evidence. The great cities were captured and recaptured, and little now remains of the small antiquities. The building operations were confined to restoration of old build ings. The earliest known true arch in Babylonia dates to this period, in a dwelling house at Ur; the fact is probably accidental. The style of fortifications is to be seen from an extant sally port, with the wide broad stairway known to the Assyrians as rnzuslalu. Larger truncated clay cones with more elaborate descriptions of the occasion of the building and the glory of the king, with the inscription repeated on a large circular base, were inserted in the walls. An example of the hollow barrel cylinder used as a founda tion deposit, with a long inscription, dates from the Larsa dynasty. The sculpture in the round, while retaining the characteristics of the style of the previous age, shows a decline in artistic ability; a typical instance, the statuette of the goddess Bau, who rides the celestial waters seated on two ducks (?) which symbolize certain stars, is clumsily cut and ill-proportioned. The best bas relief is that on Hammurabi's stele of laws, showing the king receiving commands from the sun-god, who holds the measuring rod and perhaps the measuring line that symbolize justice; the style is immediately derived from the Gudea reliefs, the faces of king and god exactly resemble Naram-Sin. An interesting stone vase, in the shape of a dog with a small vessel on his back, bear ing an inscription of Sumu-ilu, may be paralleled by a coloured terra-cotta vase of later date from Asia Minor. There was a notable change in the burial customs, perhaps due to the Amo rites; the dead were frequently buried beneath the floors of houses, either in clay coffins, or in brick corbel-vaulted tombs frequently re-used.

Seals.

A marked change may be found in the designs, and the source of this change is fortunately known. On tablet envelopes from a site near Caesarea (Mazaca), which date from about 2150 B.C. onwards, two styles of seal impressions are to be found, those which closely resemble the Ur seals, and those in which the field is crowded with symbols; the cutting is more linear and not so elegant, and a series of amuletic figures pre viously not placed on seals, such as apes, dwarfs, naked goddesses, are commonly introduced. This second type, commonly called "Syro-Hittite" by modern scholars, was introduced into Babylonia by the Amorite dynasties. A large proportion of these seals are of haematite, the cylinder remains the same length as the Ur seals but the diameter is much reduced. The god Amurru, a form of Adad the weather-god, is on many; he stands with one arm akimbo, holding a club, and is worshipped by his consort, who stands with both arms bent upwards. The inscriptions are of the same type as previously.

large output of literary work was a feature of the period. There is a presumption that some of the long poems, of which the earliest known copies are dated, were written then, and the evidence of language is in favour of the hypothesis. The Atrahasis version of the Flood story, the Gilgamesh epic, the Creation poem are the finest specimens of verse writing; they were intended for recitation, sometimes as part of a ritual at festivals, sometimes doubtless simply for pleasure. A consum mate mastery of prose is exhibited by the wording of Ham murabi's code of laws, which was itself in debt to Libit-Ishtar's previous code, derived from the Sumerian laws. Scientific study of geometry and mathematics resulted in elaborate calculations of areas and cubic contents beyond the needs of practical affairs. Large collections of omens, derived in part from earlier writings in the temples, were arranged, recording observations from the mixing of oil and water, from the inspection of sheep's entrails, and from the casual behaviour of birds and animals. It is diffi cult to estimate the total production of the time, but the creative literary effort involved was clearly very considerable and the work was by no means devoid of literary merit.