Larsa

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Larsa

Larsa (also Larag or Larak, modern Tell as-Senkereh and Tell Sankarah, Iraq

Iraq

Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, possibly the Biblical Ellasar), was an important city of ancient Sumer

Sumer

Sumer was a civilization and a historical region located in Southern Iraq , known as the Cradle of civilization. It lasted from the first settlement of Eridu in the Ubaid period through the Uruk period and the Dynastic periods until the rise of Babylon in the early 2nd millennium BC....
. It lies some 25 km southeast of the ruin mounds of Uruk

Uruk

Uruk , from the Akkadian rendering of the Sumerian toponym 'unug', is modern Warka , Iraq. Uruk was an ancient city of Sumer and later Babylonia, situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates river, on the ancient Nil canal, some 30 km east of As-Samawah, Al Muthanna Governorate, Iraq....
(biblical Erech

Erech

Erech was an ancient city in the land of Shinar, the second city built by king Nimrod after the destruction of the Tower of Babel. The Sefer haYashar 11:3 records that this city was built in the place where God deported people of various new language groups to different parts of the world, and Nimrod therefore named the city Erech....
), near the east bank of the Shatt-en-Nil canal (modern day southern Iraq

Iraq

Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
).

Larsa is mentioned in Sumerian inscriptions as early as the time of Ur-Nammu

Ur-Nammu

Ur-Nammu founded the Sumerian 3rd dynasty of Ur, in southern Mesopotamia, following several centuries of Akkadian Empire and Gutian period rule....
, 2700 or 2800 BC, who built or restored the ziggurat

Ziggurat

A ziggurat was a temple tower of the ancient Mesopotamian valley and Iran, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding stories or levels....
of E

É (temple)

? is the Sumerian language for "house" or "temple", written ideographically with the cuneiform sign Specific temples:*E-ab-lua temple to Suen in Urum ...
-babbara, the temple of Utu

Utu

Utu is the Sumerian language for "Sun". The Sumerian cuneiform character is encoded in Unicode at U+12313 .In Sumerian mythology, Utu is the son of the moon god Nanna and the goddess Ningal....
, the sun god.
History
According to the Sumerian king list

Sumerian king list

The Sumerian King List is an ancient text in the Sumerian language that lists monarch of Sumer from Sumerian and foreign dynasties. It records the location of "official" kingship, along with the rulers and the lengths of their rule....
, Larsa was one of the five cities to "exercise kingship" in pre-dynastic times (before ca.

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Larsa (also Larag or Larak, modern Tell as-Senkereh and Tell Sankarah, Iraq

Iraq

Sumer

Uruk

Erech

Iraq

Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
).

Larsa is mentioned in Sumerian inscriptions as early as the time of Ur-Nammu

Ur-Nammu

Ziggurat

A ziggurat was a temple tower of the ancient Mesopotamian valley and Iran, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding stories or levels....
of E

É (temple)

? is the Sumerian language for "house" or "temple", written ideographically with the cuneiform sign Specific temples:*E-ab-lua temple to Suen in Urum ...
-babbara, the temple of Utu

Utu

History

According to the Sumerian king list

Sumerian king list

ISIN

An International Securities Identification Number uniquely identifies a Security . Its structure is defined in ISO 6166. Securities for which ISINs are issued include Bond , commercial paper, equities and Warrant s....
-Larsa period. After the Third Dynasty of Ur

Third Dynasty of Ur

The Third Dynasty of Ur refers simultaneously to a 21st century BC to 20th century BC century BC Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of Ur and a short-lived territorial-political state that some historians regard as a nascent empire....
collapsed ca. 1940 BC, Ishbi-Erra, an official of Ibbi-Sin

Ibbi-Sin

Ibbi-Sin, son of Shu-Sin, was king of Sumer and Akkad and last king of the Ur III dynasty, and reigned circa 2028 BC-2004 BC. During his reign, the Sumerian empire was attacked repeatedly by Amorites....
, the last king of the Ur III Dynasty, relocated to Isin

ISIN

Ur is modern Tell el-Mukayyar, Iraq, and was a city in ancient Sumer. Once a coastal city near the mouth of the then Euphrates river on the Persian Gulf, Ur is now well inland....
as well as the cities of Uruk

Uruk

Lagash

Lagash is located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk, Lagash was one of the oldest cities of Sumer and later Babylonia....
, which Larsa was subject to. Subsequent Isin rulers appointed governors to rule over Lagash; one such governor was an Amorite

Amorite

Amorite refers to a Semitic language people who occupied the country west of the Euphrates from the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. The term Amurru refers to them, as well as to their principal deity....
named Gungunum

Gungunum

Gungunum ruled the ancient Near East city-stateof Larsa from 1868 BC to 1841 BC. He was an Amorite and the son ofSamium. He was a contemporary of Lipit-Ishtar of Isin and...
. He eventually broke with Isin and established an independent dynasty in Larsa. To legitimize his rule and deliver a blow to Isin, Gungunum captured the city of Ur

Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf, in the Southwest Asian region, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. Historically and commonly known as the Persian Gulf, this body of water is sometimes Persian Gulf naming dispute referred to as the Arabian Gulf by certain Arab countries or simply The Gulf, although nei...
, Isin lost an enormously important portal to a profitable trade route, not to mention a city with much cultic significance. Beyond these few details, the precise reason for Gungunum's break with Isin are largely unknown. One group of scholars theorizes that Isin's internal problems were to blame; it does seem that Isin's rulers allowed the once burgeoning irrigation and agricultural systems to wane. It is possible this was due to sheer neglect, but there is evidence that acquiring access to water in this arid region posed quite a problem for most of southern Mesopotamia in this period.

Gungunum's two successors, Abisare

Abisare

Abisare ruled the ancient Near East city-state of Larsa from 1841 BC to 1830 BC. He was an Amorite....
(ca. 1841 - 1830 BC) and Sumuel

Sumuel

Sumuel or Sumu-El ruled the ancient Near East city-stateof Larsa from 1830 BC to 1801 BC. He was an Amorite....
(ca. 1830 - 1801 BC), both took steps to cut Isin completely off from access to canals. After this period, Isin quickly lost political and economical force.

Larsa grew powerful, but it never accumulated a huge tract of land. At its peak under king Rim-Sin I

Rim-Sin I

Rim-Sin I ruled the ancient Near East city-stateof Larsa from 1758 BC to 1699 BC or 1822 BC to 1763 BC . His sister En-ane-du was high priestess of the moon god in Ur....
(ca. 1758 - 1699 BC), Larsa controlled only about 10-15 other city-states, nowhere near the territory controlled by other dynasties in Mesopotamian history. Nevertheless, huge building projects and agricultural undertakings can be validated by archaeological evidence.

Archaeology

William Loftus

William Kennett Loftus was a British geologist, naturalist, explorer and archaeological excavator. He discovered the ancient Sumerian city of Uruk in 1849....
conducted excavations at this site in 1854. He describes the ruins as consisting of a low, circular platform, about in circumference, rising gradually from the level of the plain to a central mound . high. This represents the ancient ziggurat of the temple of E-babbara, which was in part explored by Loftus. From the inscriptions found there it appears that, besides the kings already mentioned, Hammurabi

Hammurabi

Hammurabi Hammurabi is known for the set of laws called Code of Hammurabi, one of the first written Civil code in recorded history. These laws were written on a stone tablet standing over six feet tall that was found in 1901....
, Burna-buriash

Burna-Buriash

Burna-Buriash I and II were two kings in the Kassites dynasty of Babylon.The more well-known of these was Burna-Buriash II, ruling ca. 1359 ? 1333 BC according to the high chronology of the Kassite Dynasty....
and Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon restored or rebuilt the temple to Shamash. The excavations at Senkereh were peculiarly successful in the discovery of inscribed remains, consisting of clay tablets, chiefly contracts, but including also an important mathematical tablet and a number of tablets of a description almost peculiar to Senkereh, exhibiting in bas-relief scenes of everyday life. Loftus found also the remains of an ancient Babylonian cemetery. From the ruins it would appear that Senkereh ceased to be inhabited at or soon after the Persian conquest.

Kings of Larsa

Ruler	Reigned	Comments
Naplanum Naplanum Naplanum ruled the ancient Near East city-state of Larsa ca. 1961 BC to 1940 BC. An Amorite, he was a contemporaryof Ibbi-Sin of Ur III....	ca. 1961—1940 BC (short)	Contemporary of Ibbi-Suen of Ur III
Emisum Emisum Emisum or Iemsium ruled the ancient Near East city-stateof Larsa from 1940 BC to 1912 BC. He was an Amorite....	ca. 1940—1912 BC (short)
Samium Samium Samium ruled the ancient Near Eastern city-state of Larsa from 1912 BC to 1877 BC. He was an Amorite. ...	ca. 1912—1877 BC (short)
Zabaia Zabaia Zabaia ruled the ancient Near East city-stateof Larsa from 1877 BC to 1868 BC. He was an Amorite and the son ofSamium....	ca. 1877—1868 BC (short)	Son of Samium, First royal inscription
Gungunum Gungunum Gungunum ruled the ancient Near East city-stateof Larsa from 1868 BC to 1841 BC. He was an Amorite and the son ofSamium. He was a contemporary of Lipit-Ishtar of Isin and...	ca. 1868—1841 BC (short)	Gained independence from Lipit-Eshtar of Isin ISIN An International Securities Identification Number uniquely identifies a Security . Its structure is defined in ISO 6166. Securities for which ISINs are issued include Bond , commercial paper, equities and Warrant s....
Abisare Abisare Abisare ruled the ancient Near East city-state of Larsa from 1841 BC to 1830 BC. He was an Amorite....	ca. 1841—1830 BC (short)
Sumuel Sumuel Sumuel or Sumu-El ruled the ancient Near East city-stateof Larsa from 1830 BC to 1801 BC. He was an Amorite....	ca. 1830—1801 BC (short)
Nur-Adad Nur-Adad Nur-Adad ruled the ancient Near East city-stateof Larsa from 1801 BC to 1785 BC. He was a contemporary of Sumu-la-El of Babylon....	ca. 1801—1785 BC (short)	Contemporary of Sumu-la-El Sumu-la-El Sumu-la-El was a King in the First Dynasty of Babylon. He reigned ca.1817 BC - 1781 BC. See alsoBabyloniaReferences... of Babylon Babylon Babylon* was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, sometimes considered an empire, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad....
Sin-Iddinam Sin-Iddinam Sin-Iddinam ruled the ancient Near East city-stateof Larsa from 1785 BC to 1778 BC. He was the son of Nur-Adad, withwhom there may have been a short co-regency overlap....	ca. 1785—1778 BC (short)	Son of Nur-Adad
Sin-Eribam Sin-Eribam Sin-Eribam ruled the ancient Near East city-stateof Larsa from 1778 BC to 1776 BC....	ca. 1778—1776 BC (short)
Sin-Iqisham Sin-Iqisham Sin-Iqisham ruled the ancient Near East city-stateof Larsa from 1776 BC to 1771 BC. He was the son of Sin-Eribam anda contemporary of Zambiya of Isin....	ca. 1776—1771 BC (short)	Contemporary of Zambiya of Isin ISIN An International Securities Identification Number uniquely identifies a Security . Its structure is defined in ISO 6166. Securities for which ISINs are issued include Bond , commercial paper, equities and Warrant s.... , Son of Sin-Eribam
Silli-Adad Silli-Adad Silli-Adad ruled the ancient Near East city-stateof Larsa from 1771 BC to 1770 BC. His reign was less than a full year....	ca. 1771—1770 BC (short)
Warad-Sin Warad-Sin File:Foundation tablet Ninisina Louvre AO3003bis-AO3005.jpgWarad-Sin ruled the ancient Near East city-stateof Larsa from 1770 BC to 1758 BC. There are indications that his...	ca. 1770—1758 BC (short)	Possible co-regency with Kudur-Mabuk Kudur-Mabuk Kudur-Mabuk was a ruler in the ancient Near East city-stateof Larsa from 1770 BC to 1754 BC. His sons Warad-Sin andRim-Sin I were kings of Larsa.... his father
Rim-Sin I Rim-Sin I Rim-Sin I ruled the ancient Near East city-stateof Larsa from 1758 BC to 1699 BC or 1822 BC to 1763 BC . His sister En-ane-du was high priestess of the moon god in Ur....	ca. 1758—1699 BC (short)	Contemporary of Irdanene of Uruk Uruk Uruk , from the Akkadian rendering of the Sumerian toponym 'unug', is modern Warka , Iraq. Uruk was an ancient city of Sumer and later Babylonia, situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates river, on the ancient Nil canal, some 30 km east of As-Samawah, Al Muthanna Governorate, Iraq.... , Defeated by Hammurabi Hammurabi Hammurabi Hammurabi is known for the set of laws called Code of Hammurabi, one of the first written Civil code in recorded history. These laws were written on a stone tablet standing over six feet tall that was found in 1901.... of Babylon Babylon Babylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, sometimes considered an empire, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad.... , Brother of Warad-Sin
Hammurabi Hammurabi Hammurabi Hammurabi is known for the set of laws called Code of Hammurabi, one of the first written Civil code in recorded history. These laws were written on a stone tablet standing over six feet tall that was found in 1901.... of Babylon Babylon Babylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, sometimes considered an empire, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad....	ca. 1699—1686 BC (short)	Official Babylonian rule
Samsu-iluna Samsu-Iluna Samsu-Iluna , was the King of Babylon, who reigned from 1749 BC to 1712 BC.He was a son of Hammurabi. During the reign of Samsu-Iluna the Babylonian Empire lost a lot of provinces.... of Babylon Babylon Babylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, sometimes considered an empire, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad....	ca. 1686—1678 BC (short)	Official Babylonian rule
Rim-Sin II Rim-Sin II Rim-Sin II ruled the ancient Near East city-stateof Larsa from 1678 BC to 1674 BC. Rim-Sin II was a contemporary of Samsu-iluna of Babylon....	ca. 1678—1674 BC (short)	Killed in revolt against Babylon Babylon Babylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, sometimes considered an empire, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad....

Larsa

History

Archaeology

Kings of Larsa

See also