DYNASTY OF UR AND THE KINGDOM OF SUMER AND AKKAD

DYNASTY OF UR AND THE KINGDOM OF SUMER AND AKKAD

 

Chaldean history and civilization between the age of Narâm-Sin and the rise of the city of Ur under Ur-Engur, the founder of the kingdom of Sumer and Akkad. What we now know of Lagash during this period may probably be regarded as typical of the condition of the other great Sumerian cities. The system of government, by means of which Shar-Gani-sharri and Narâm-Sin had exercised control over Sumer from their capital in the north, had doubtless been maintained for a time by their successors; but, from the absence of any trace of their influence at Tello, we cannot regard their organization as having been equally effective. They, or the Semitic kings of some other northern city, may have continued to exercise a general suzerainty over the whole of Babylonia, but the records of Lagash seem to show that the larger and more distant cities were left in the enjoyment of practical independence. The mere existence of a suzerain, however, who had inherited the throne or empire of Shar-Gani-sharri and Narâm-Sin, must have acted as a deterrent influence upon any ambitious prince or patesi, and would thus have tended to maintain a condition of equilibrium between the separate states of which that empire had been composed. We have seen that Lagash took advantage of this time of comparative inactivity to develop her resources along peaceful lines. She gladly returned to the condition of a compact city-state, without dropping the intercourse with distant countries[Pg 279] which had been established under the earlier Akkadian kings.

During this period we may suppose that the city of Ur enjoyed a similar measure of independence, which increased in proportion to the decline of Semitic authority in the north. Gudea's campaign against Anshan affords some indication of the capability of independent action, to which the southern cities gradually attained. It is not likely that such initiative on the part of Lagash was unaccompanied by a like activity within the neighbouring, and more powerful, state of Ur. In an earlier age the twin kingdoms of Ur and Erech had dominated southern Babylonia, and their rulers had established the kingdom of Sumer, which took an active part in opposing the advance of Semitic influence southwards. The subjection of Sumer by the Dynasty of Akkad put an end for a time to all thoughts of independence on the part of separate cities, although the expedition against Erech and Naksu, which occurred in the patesiate of Lugal-ushumgal, supports the tradition of a revolt of all the lands in the latter part of Sargon's reign. Ur would doubtless have been ready to lend assistance to such a movement, and we may imagine that she was not slow to take advantage of the gradual weakening of Akkad under her later rulers. At a time when Gudea was marching across the Elamite border, or sending unchecked for his supplies to the Mediterranean coast or the islands of the Persian Gulf, Ur was doubtless organizing her own forces, and may possibly have already made tentative efforts at forming a coalition of neighbouring states. She only needed an energetic leader, and this she found in Ur-Engur, who succeeded in uniting the scattered energies of Sumer and so paved the way for the more important victories of his son.

That Ur-Engur was the founder of his dynasty we know definitely from the dynastic chronicle, which was recovered during the American excavations at Nippur.[1] In this document he is given as the first king of the Dynasty of Ur, the text merely stating that he became king and ruled for eighteen years. Unfortunately the[Pg 280] preceding columns of the text are wanting, and we do not know what dynasty was set down in the list as preceding that of Ur, nor is any indication afforded of the circumstances which led to Ur-Engur's accession. From his building-inscriptions that have been recovered on different sites in Southern Babylonia[2] it is possible, however, to gather some idea of his achievements and the extent of his authority. After securing the throne he appears to have directed his attention to putting the affairs of Ur in order. In two of his brick-inscriptions from Mukayyar, Ur-Engur bears the single title "king of Ur," and these may therefore be assigned to the beginning of his reign, when his kingdom did not extend beyond the limits of his native city. These texts record the rebuilding of the temple of Nannar, the Moon-god, and the repair and extension of the city-wall of Ur.[3] His work on the temple of the city-god no doubt won for him the support of the priesthood, and so strengthened his hold upon the throne; while, by rebuilding and adding to the fortifications of Ur, he secured his city against attack before he embarked upon a policy of expansion.

first city over which he extended his authority was Erech. It would necessarily have been his first objective, for by its position it would have blocked any northward advance. The importance attached by Ur-Engur to the occupation of this city is reflected in the title "Lord of Erech," which precedes his usual titles upon bricks from the temple of the Moon-god at Ur, dating from a later period of his reign; his assumption of the title indicates that Erech was closely associated with Ur, though not on a footing of equality. That he should have rebuilt E-anna, the great temple of Ninni in Erech, as we learn from bricks found at Warka, was a natural consequence of its acquisition, for by so doing he exercised his privilege as suzerain. But he honoured the city above others which he acquired, by installing his own son there as high priest of the goddess Ninni,[Pg 281] an event which gave its official title to one of the years of his reign. We have definite evidence that he also held the neighbouring city of Larsa, for bricks have been found at Senkera, which record his rebuilding of the temple of Babbar, the Sun-god. With the acquisition of Lagash, he was doubtless strong enough to obtain the recognition of his authority throughout the whole of Sumer.

The only other city, in which direct evidence has been found of Ur-Engur's building activity, is Nippur.  he rebuilt E-kur, Enlil's great temple, and also that of Ninlil, his spouse. It was doubtless on the strength of his holding Nippur that he assumed the title of King of Sumer and Akkad. How far his authority was recognized in Akkad it is impossible to say, but the necessity for the conquest of Babylon in Dungi's reign would seem to imply that Ur-Engur's suzerainty over at least a part of the country was more or less nominal. Khashkhamer, patesi of Ishkun-Sin, whose seal is now preserved in the British Museum,[4] was his subject, and the Semitic character of the name of his city suggests that it lay in Northern Babylonia. Moreover, certain tablets drawn up in his reign are dated in "the year in which King Ur-Engur took his way from the lower to the upper country," a phrase that may possibly imply a military expedition in the north. Thus some portions of Akkad may have been effectively held by Ur-Engur, but it is certain that the complete subjugation of the country was only effected during Dungi's reign.

n the reign of Dungi, who succeeded his father upon the throne and inherited from him the kingdom of Sumer and Akkad, the whole of Northern Babylonia was brought to acknowledge the suzerainty of Ur. Considerable light has been thrown upon Dungi's policy, and indirectly upon that of the whole of Ur-Engur's dynasty, by the recently published chronicle concerning early Babylonian kings, to which reference has already been made. The earlier sections of this document, dealing with the reigns of Sargon and Narâm-Sin, are followed by a short account of Dungi's reign, from which we learn two facts of considerable significance.[5] The first of these is that Dungi "cared greatly for the city of Eridu, which was on the shore of the sea," and the second is that "he sought after evil, and the treasure of E-sagila and of Babylon he brought out as spoil." It will be noted that the writer of the chronicle, who was probably a priest in the temple of E-sagila, disapproved of his treatment of Babylon, in consequence of which he states that Bêl (i.e. Marduk) made an end of him. In view of the fact that Dungi reigned for no less than fifty-eight years and consolidated an extensive empire, it is not improbable that the evil fate ascribed to him in the chronicle was suggested by Babylonian prejudice. But the Babylonian colouring of the narrative does not affect the historical value of the other traditions, but rather enhances them. For it is obvious that the disaster to the city and to E-sagila was not an invention, and must, on the contrary, have been of some magnitude for its record to have been preserved in Babylon itself through later generations.

In Dungi's treatment of Babylon, and in his profanation of the temple of its city-god, we have striking proof that the rise of the Dynasty of Ur was accompanied by a religious as well as a political revolution. Late tradition retained the memory of Sargon's building activity in Babylon, and under his successors upon the throne of Akkad the great temple of E-sagila may well have become the most important shrine in Northern Babylonia and the centre of Semitic worship. Eridu, on the other hand, was situated in the extreme south of Sumer and contained the oldest and most venerated temple of the Sumerians. Dungi's care for the latter city to the detriment of Babylon, emphasized by contrast in the late records of his reign, suggests that he aimed at a complete reversal of the conditions which had prevailed during the preceding age. The time was ripe for a Sumerian reaction, and Ur-Engur's initial success in welding the southern cities into a confederation of states under his own suzerainty may be traced to the beginning of this racial movement. Dungi continued and extended his father's policy, and his sack of Babylon may probably be regarded as the decisive blow in the struggle, which had been taking place against the last centres of Semitic influence in the north.

 Elam under Dungi's administration formed a rich source of supply for those material products, in the lavish display of which the later rulers of Sumer loved to indulge. Her quarries, mines, and forests were laid under contribution, and her cities were despoiled of their accumulated wealth in the course of the numerous military expeditions by which her provinces were overrun. From the spoil of his campaigns Dungi was enabled to enrich the temples of his own land, and by appropriating the products of the country he obtained an abundance of metal, stone and wood for the construction and adornment of his buildings. Large bodies of public slaves supplied the necessary labour, and their ranks were constantly recruited from among the captives taken in battle, and from towns and villages which were suspected of participation in revolts. He was thus enabled to continue, on an even more elaborate scale, the rebuilding of the [Pg 293]ancient temples of his country, which had been inaugurated by his father, Ur-Engur