AKSHAK
![](isin.jpg)
Isin
shown within Near East
![](640px-Papiermuseum_Basel_2008_(1).jpg)
Left
: Cuneiform clay tablet. Old Babylonian, 1900-1700 BCE.
Right : Sumerian cuneiform "foundation stone".
This clay cone was embedded in a wall, and contains the deed of
foundation of the city walls of Isin (Tell Bahriyat) by king Ishme-Dagan
of Isin
(1953-1935 BCE).
Isin
(Romanized: I3-si-inki, modern Arabic: Ishan al-Bahriyat) is an
archaeological site in Al-Qadisiyyah Governorate, Iraq. Excavations
have shown that it was an important city-state in the past.
Location
: Ishan al-Bahriyat, Al-Qadisiyyah Governorate, Iraq
Region
: Mesopotamia
Coordinates
:
31°53'06
N 45°16'07 E
Type
: Settlement
History
of archaeological research :
![](iraqi_looters_in_the_archaeolo.jpg)
Looters
at the site of Isin
Ishan
al-Bahriyat was visited by Stephen Herbert Langdon for a day to
conduct a sounding, while he was excavating at Kish in 1924. Most
of the major archaeological work at Isin was accomplished in 11
seasons between 1973 and 1989 by a team of German archaeologists
led by Barthel Hrouda. However, as was the case at many sites in
Iraq, research was interrupted by the Gulf War (1990-1) and the
Iraq War (2003 to 2011). Since the end of excavations, extensive
looting is reported to have occurred at the site. Even when the
German team began their work, the site had already been heavily
looted.
Isin
and its environment :
Isin is located approximately 20 miles (32 km) south of Nippur.
It is a tell, or settlement mound, about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi)
across and with a maximum height of 8 metres (26 ft).
History
of occupation :
![](512px-Hymn_Iddin-Dagan_Louvre_AO8864.jpg)
A
praise poem to Iddin-Dagan from the site, currently at Musée
du Louvre
The site of Isin was occupied at least as early as the Early Dynastic
period in the middle of the 3rd millennium BC, and possibly as far
back as the Ubaid period. While cuneiform tablets from that time
were found, the first epigraphic reference to Isin was not until
the Ur III period.
When
the deteriorating Third Dynasty of Ur (Ur III) finally collapsed
at the hands of the Elamites at the end of the third millennium
BC, a power vacuum was left that other city-states scrambled to
fill. The last king of the Ur Dynasty, Ibbi-Sin, had not the resources
nor the organized government needed to expel the Elamite invaders.
One of his governmental officials, Ishbi-Erra, relocated from Ur
to Isin, another city in the south of Mesopotamia, and established
himself as a ruler there. One of Ishbi-Erra's year names reports
his defeating Ibbi-Sin in battle.
Although
he is not considered part of the Third Dynasty of Ur, Ishbi-Erra
did make some attempts at continuing the trappings of that dynasty,
most likely to justify his rule. Ishbi-Erra had ill luck expanding
his kingdom, however, for other city-states in Mesopotamia rose
to power as well. Eshnunna and Ashur were developing into powerful
centers. However, he did succeed in repulsing the Elamites from
the Ur region. This gave the Isin dynasty control over the culturally
significant cities of Ur, Uruk, and the spiritual center of Nippur.
For
over 100 years, Isin flourished. Remains of large buildings projects,
such as temples, have been excavated. Many royal edicts and law-codes
from that period have been discovered. The centralized political
structure of Ur-III was largely continued, with Isin's rulers appointing
governors and other local officials to carry out their will in the
provinces. Lucrative trade routes to the Persian Gulf remained a
crucial source of income for Isin.
The
exact events surrounding Isin's disintegration as a kingdom are
mostly unknown, but some evidence can be pieced together. Documents
indicate that access to water sources presented a huge problem for
Isin. Isin also endured an internal coup of a sort when Gungunum
the royally appointed governor of Larsa and Lagash province, seized
the city of Ur. Ur had been the main center of the Gulf trade; thus
this move economically crippled Isin. Additionally, Gungunum's two
successors Abisare and Sumuel (c. 1905 BC and 1894 BC) both sought
to cut Isin off from its canals by rerouting them into Larsa. At
some point, Nippur was also lost. Isin would never recover. Around
1860 BC, an outsider named Enlil-bani seized the throne of Isin,
ending the hereditary dynasty established by Ishbi-Erra over 150
years earlier.
Although
politically and economically weak, Isin maintained its independence
from Larsa for at least another forty years, ultimately succumbing
to Larsa's ruler Rim-Sin I.
After
the First Dynasty of Babylon rose to power in the early 2nd millennium
and captured Larsa, much significant construction occurred at Isin.
This ended with a destruction dated to around the 27th year of the
reign of Samsu-iluna, son of Hammurabi, based on tablets found there.
Later,
the Kassites who took over in Babylon after its sack in 1531 BC,
resumed building at Isin. The final significant stage of activity
occurred during the Second Dynasty of Isin at the end of the 2nd
millennium, most notably by king Adad-apla-iddina.
Kings
of Isin :
First Dynasty of Isin (short chronology) :
Ruler |
Particulars |
Ishbi-Erra |
Reigined
: ca. 1953 BC – 1921 BC
Notes
:
Contemporary
of Ibbi-Suen of Ur III
|
Shu-Ilishu |
Reigined
: ca. 1920 BC – 1911 BC
Notes
:
Son
of Ishbi-Erra |
Iddin-Dagan |
Reigined
: ca. 1910 BC – 1890 BC
Notes
:
Son
of Shu-ilishu |
Ishme-Dagan |
Reigined
: ca. 1889 BC – 1871 BC
Notes
:
Son
of Iddin-Dagan
|
Lipit-Eshtar |
Reigined
: ca. 1870 BC – 1860 BC
Notes
:
Contemporary
of Gungunum of Larsa
|
Ur-Ninurta |
Reigined
: ca. 1859 BC – 1832 BC
Notes
:
Contemporary
of Abisare of Larsa
|
Bur-Suen |
Reigined
: ca. 1831 BC – 1811 BC
Notes
:
Son
of Ur-Ninurta
|
Lipit-Enlil |
Reigined
: ca. 1810 BC – 1806 BC
Notes
:
Son
of Bur-Suen
|
Erra-imitti
or Ura-imitti |
Reigined
: ca. 1805 BC – 1799 BC
Notes
: ---
|
Enlil-bani |
Reigined
: ca. 1798 BC – 1775 BC
Notes
:
Contemporary
of Sumu-la-El of Babylon
|
Zambiya |
Reigined
: ca. 1774 BC – 1772 BC
Notes
:
Contemporary
of Sin-Iqisham of Larsa |
Iter-pisha |
Reigined
: ca. 1771 BC – 1768 BC
Notes
: --- |
Ur-du-kuga |
Reigined
: ca. 1767 BC – 1764 BC
Notes
: ---
|
Suen-magir |
Reigined
: ca. 1763 BC – 1753 BC
Notes
: --- |
Damiq-ilishu |
Reigined
: ca. 1752 BC – 1730 BC
Notes
:
Son
of Suen-magir |
|
![](413px-Image_from_page_25_of__Ancient_seals_of_the_Near_East__(1940).jpg)
Seal
of Dakiya, son of Isin king Damiq-ilishu, as a high official of
Samsu-iluna, after the loss of his father's kingdom
Culture
and literature :
![](640px-Cylinder_seal_of_Bur-Sin.jpg)
Cylinder
seal of Bur-Suen
The city lay on the Isinnitum Canal, part of a set of waterways
that connected the cities of Mesopotamia. The patron deity of Isin
was Nintinuga (Gula) goddess of healing, and a temple to her was
built there. The Isin king Enlil-bani reported building a temple
to Gula named E-ni-dub-bi, a temple for Sud named E-dim-gal-an-na,
a temple E-ur-gi-ra to Ninisina, as well as a temple for the god
Ninbgal.
Ishbi-Erra
continued many of the cultic practices that had flourished in the
preceding Ur III period. He continued acting out the sacred marriage
ritual each year. During this ritual, the king played the part of
the mortal Dumuzi, and he had sex with a priestess who represented
the goddess of love and war, Inanna (also known as Ishtar). This
was thought to strengthen the king's relationship to the gods, which
would then bring stability and prosperity on the entire country.
The
Isin kings continued also the practice of appointing their daughters
official priestesses of the moon god of Ur.
The
literature of the period also continued in the line of the Ur III
traditions when the Isin dynasty was first begun. For example, the
royal hymn, a genre started in the preceding millennium, was continued.
Many royal hymns written for the Isin rulers mirrored the themes,
structure, and language of the Ur ones. Sometimes the hymns were
written in the first person of a king's voice; other times, they
were pleas of ordinary citizens meant for the ears of a king (sometimes
an already dead one).
It
was during this period that the Sumerian King List attained its
final form, though it used many much earlier sources. The very compilation
of the List seems to lead up to the Isin Dynasty itself, which would
give it much legitimacy in the minds of the people because the dynasty
would then be linked to earlier (albeit sometimes legendary) kings.
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Isin