IBIL-SIN
/ IL-IBILA / IBBI-SIN
![](523px-Ibbi-Sin_enthroned.jpg)
Ibbi-Sin
enthroned, with standing goddess
|
|
King
of the Neo-Sumerian Empire |
Reign |
: |
c. 2028–2004 BCE (Middle Chronology)
c.
1964–1940 BCE (Short Chronology) |
Predecessor |
: |
Sushen / Shu-Sin |
Successor |
: |
Kindattu (Elamite) |
Dynasty |
: |
3rd Dynasty of Ur |
Father |
: |
Shu-Sin |
Ibbi-Sin
(Sumerian: Di-bi-Dsuen), 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 reign, the Sumerian empire was attacked
repeatedly by Amorites. As faith in Ibbi-Sin's leadership failed,
Elam declared its independence and began to raid as well.
Ibbi-Sin
ordered fortifications built at the important cities of Ur and Nippur,
but these efforts were not enough to stop the raids or keep the
empire unified. Cities throughout Ibbi-Sin's empire fell away from
a king who could not protect them, notably Isin under the Amorite
ruler Ishbi-Erra. Ibbi-Sin was, by the end of his kingship, left
with only the city of Ur. In 1940 BCE, the Elamites, along with
"tribesmen from the region of Shimashki in the Zagros Mountains"
sacked Ur and took Ibbi-Sin captive; he was taken to the city of
Elam where he was imprisoned and, at an unknown date, died.
Amorite
invasion :
The Amorites were considered a backward people by Mesopotamian standards;
Ibbi-Sin's 17th year was officially named "Year the Amorites,
the powerful south wind who, from the remote past, have not known
cities, submitted to Ibbi-Sin the king of Ur." However, despite
his father Shu-Sin having built a "wall of Martu" across
Mesopotamia against Amorite incursions, these were penetrated early
in Ibbi-Sin's reign.
Scholars
have suggested that, by the reign of Ibbi-Sin, the empire was already
in decline due to long-term drought – in fact, the same drought
that helped to take down the Akkadian Empire c. 2193 BCE may have
been responsible for the fall of Ur III.
Studies
of Persian Gulf sediments indicate that the stream flow of the Tigris
and Euphrates was very low around 2100–2000 BCE. [...] Any
damage to the agricultural system by enemy raids, bureaucratic mismanagement,
or an inattentive ruler would result in food shortages.
In
years seven and eight of Ibbi-Sin's kingship, the price of grain
increased to 60 times the norm, which means that the success of
the Amorites in disrupting the Ur III empire is, at least in part,
a product of attacks on the agricultural and irrigation systems.
Invasion
by Elam :
These attacks brought famine and caused an economic collapse in
the empire, paving the way for the Elamites under Kindattu to strike
into Ur and capture the king. The Lament for Sumer and Ur describe
the fall of Ur and the fate of Ibbi-Sin :
An,
Enlil, Enki and Ninhursaja have decided its fate -- to overturn
the divine powers of Sumer, to lock up the favourable reign in its
home, to destroy the city, to destroy the house, to destroy the
cattle-pen, to level the sheepfold; (...) that Shimashki and Elam,
the enemy, should dwell in their place; that its shepherd, in his
own palace, should be captured by the enemy, that Ibbi-Sin should
be taken to the land Elam in fetters, that from Mount Zabu on the
edge of the sea to the borders of Ancan, like a swallow that has
flown from its house, he should never return to his city"
-
Lament for Sumer and Ur (extract).
Year names :
All the year names of Ibbi-Sin are known, documenting
the major events of his reign. The main year names are :
1. |
Year:
Ibbi-Suen is king |
2. |
Year:
(Ibbi-Suen) chose by means of the omens the en-priest of Inanna
in Uruk |
3. |
Year:
Ibbi-Suen, the king of Ur, destroyed Simurrum |
4. |
Year:
Enamgalanna was installed as en-priest of Inanna |
5. |
Year:
The governor of Zabšali married Tukin-hatti-migrisha,
the king's daughterYear: The governor of Zabšali married
Tukin-hatti-migrisha, the king's daughter |
6. |
Year:
Ibbi-Suen, the king of Ur, built for Nippur and Ur their great
walls |
9. |
Year:
Ibbi-Suen, the king of Ur, went with massive power to Huhnuri,
the bolt to the land of Anšan and like … |
14. |
Year:
"Ibbi-Suen, the king of Ur, overwhelmed Susa, Adamdun
and Awan like a storm, subdued them in a single day and seized
the lords of their people" |
17. |
Year:
"The Amorites, the powerful south wind who from the remote
past have not known cities, submitted to Ibbi-Suen, the king
of Ur" |
23. |
Year:
"The stupid monkey in the foreign land struck against
Ibbi-Suen, the king of Ur" |
24. |
Year:
"Ibbi-Suen, the king of Ur, … struck" |
- Main year names of the reign of Ibbi-Sin.
Inscriptions :
![](640px-Ibbi-Sin_cylinder_seal.jpg)
Ibbi-Sin
cylinder seal, with Ibbi-Sin enthroned. Inscription: "Ibbi-Sin
the strong king, king of Ur, King of the four quarters [of the world]
// Ilum-bani the overseer, son of Ili-ukin [is] your servant"
![](640px-Administrative_Tablet,_Third_Dynasty_of_Ur,_2026_BC.jpg)
Administrative
tablet of the reign of Ibbi-Sin, Third Dynasty of Ur, 2026 BC
![](768px-Bead_dedicated_to_the_Moon_god-AO_27622-IMG_0571-black-wb.jpg)
Votive
bead dedicated to the Moon god by Ibbi-Sin, god-king of Ur, in recognition
for saving his life: "To (the god) Nanna, his master, Ibbi-Sin,
god of his country, strong king, king or Ur, king of the four regions,
has, for his life, dedicated this bead"
![](Ibbi-Sin_(name).jpg)
Name
of Ibbi-Sin in inscription and standard cuneiform
![](501px-Receipt_for_garnments_sent_by_boat_to_Dilmun_BM_130462.jpg)
Receipt
for garments sent by boat to Dilmun in the 1st year of Ibbi-Sin's
rule. British Museum BM 130462
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Ibbi-Sin