Larsa (possibly the Biblical Ellasar, Genesis 14:1), was an important city of ancient Mesopotamia. It was located in the south. It lay 15 miles southeast of the ruin mounds of Uruk (biblical Erech), near the east bank of the Shatt-en-Nil canal (modern day southern Iraq). Larsa is mentioned in Sumerian inscriptions as early as the time of Ur-Gur, 2700 or 2800 BC, who built or restored the ziggurat (stage-tower) of E-Babbar, the temple of Shamash. Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin), also called The First Book of Moses, is the first book of Torah (five books of Moses), and is the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Uruk (Sumerian Unug, Biblical Erech, Greek Orchoë and Arabic Warka), was an ancient city of Sumer and later Babylonia, situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates, on the line of the ancient Nil canal, in a region of marshes, about 140 miles SSE from Baghdad. ... For uses in the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkiens, see Uruk-hai, Erech (Middle-earth). ... Sumer (or Shumer, Egyptian Sangar, Bib. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

History

"The Worshipper or Larsa", a votive statuette dedicated to god Amurru for Hammurabi's life, early 2nd millennium BC, Louvre

Larsa first became a formidable force in Mesopotamia during the Old Babylonian period (c. 2000-1600 BCE). After the Third Dynasty of Ur collapsed, a power vacuum arose that many of the larger city-states hurried to fill. In southern Mesopotamia, an official of Ibbi-Sin, the last king of the Third Dynasty of Ur, relocated from Ur to Isin and set up a government there that purported to follow in the Third Dynasty's footsteps. This king, Ishbi-Erra (c. 2017-1985), helped recapture some of the Dynasty's previous land, including the culturally symbolic and commercially crucial towns of Ur and Uruk. Amorite (Hebrew ’emōrî, Egyptian Amar, Akkadian Amurrū (corresponding to Sumerian MAR.TU or Martu) refers to a Semitic people who occupied the middle Euphrates area from the second half of the third millennium BC and also appear in the Tanakh. ... This diorite head is believed to represent king ˤAmmurāpi Hammurabi (Akkadian, from Amorite ˤAmmurāpi, The Kinsman is a Healer (ˤAmmu paternal kinsman + Rāpi healer); also transliterated Ammurapi, Hammurapi or Khammurabi) was the sixth king of Babylon. ... (3rd millennium BC – 2nd millennium BC – 1st millennium BC – other millennia) // Events To grasp the spirit of the 2nd millennium BC, we must divide it in two parts, for there is a period of change around its middle so important that it creates two separate sub-millennia. First half (2000... I.M. Peis Louvre Pyramid: one of the entrances to the galleries lies below the glass pyramid. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The term Old Babylonian is a period in Mesopotamian history that refers, roughly, to the period between the end of the Third Dynasty of Ur (c. ... The third dynasty of Ur reinstalled Sumerian rule after several centuries of Akkadian and Gutian kings (Sumerian Renaissance). ... 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. ... , For other uses, see UR. Ur seen across the Royal tombs, with the Great Ziggurat in the background, January 17, 2004 Ur was an ancient city in southern Mesopotamia, located near the original mouth of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers on the Persian Gulf and close to Eridu. ... An International Securities Identifying Number (ISIN) uniquely identifies a fungible security, its structure is defined in ISO 6166. ... , For other uses, see UR. Ur seen across the Royal tombs, with the Great Ziggurat in the background, January 17, 2004 Ur was an ancient city in southern Mesopotamia, located near the original mouth of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers on the Persian Gulf and close to Eridu. ... Uruk (Sumerian Unug, Biblical Erech, Greek Orchoë and Arabic Warka), was an ancient city of Sumer and later Babylonia, situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates, on the line of the ancient Nil canal, in a region of marshes, about 140 miles SSE from Baghdad. ...

Ishbi-Erra also regained power over the province of Lagash, of which Larsa was a part. The subsequent Isin rulers appointed governors to rule over Lagash; one such governor was an Amorite named Gungunum. 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. As the main center of trade with the Arab-Persian gulf, Isin lost an enormously important portal to a profitable trade route, not to mention a city with much cultic significance. Lagash or Sirpurla was one of the oldest cities of Sumer and later Babylonia. ... Amorite (Hebrew ’emōrî, Egyptian Amar, Akkadian Tidnum or Amurrūm (corresponding to Sumerian MAR.TU or Martu) refers to a Semitic people who occupied the country west of the Euphrates from the second half of the third millennium BC, and also the god they worshipped (see Amurru). ... , For other uses, see UR. Ur seen across the Royal tombs, with the Great Ziggurat in the background, January 17, 2004 Ur was an ancient city in southern Mesopotamia, located near the original mouth of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers on the Persian Gulf and close to Eridu. ...

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 (c. 1905) and Sumu-el (c. 1894), 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 (c. 1822-1763), 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

List of the kings of Larsa, 39th year of Hammurabi's reign, Louvre

Loftus conducted excavations at this site in 1854. He describes the ruins as consisting of a low, circular platform, about 4.5 miles in circumference, rising gradually from the level of the plain to a central mound 70 ft. high. This represents the ancient ziggurat of the temple of Shamash, which was in part explored by Loftus. From the inscriptions found there it appears that, besides the kings already mentioned, Hammurabi, Burna-buriash and Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon restored or rebuilt the temple of 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 basrelief 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. This diorite head is believed to represent king ˤAmmurāpi Hammurabi (Akkadian, from Amorite ˤAmmurāpi, The Kinsman is a Healer (ˤAmmu paternal kinsman + Rāpi healer); also transliterated Ammurapi, Hammurapi or Khammurabi) was the sixth king of Babylon. ... I.M. Peis Louvre Pyramid: one of the entrances to the galleries lies below the glass pyramid. ... This diorite head is believed to represent king ˤAmmurāpi Hammurabi (Akkadian, from Amorite ˤAmmurāpi, The Kinsman is a Healer (ˤAmmu paternal kinsman + Rāpi healer); also transliterated Ammurapi, Hammurapi or Khammurabi) was the sixth king of Babylon. ... Nebuchadnezzar (or Nebudchadrezzar) II (ca. ...

Kings of Larsa (Middle chronology) The Chronology of the Ancient Orient deals with the notoriously difficult task of assigning years of the Common Era to various events, rulers and dynasties of the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC. The chronology of this region is based on five sets of primary materials. ...

Naplanum......................................2025-2004

Emisum........................................2004-1976

Samium........................................1976-1941

Zabaia........................................1941-1932

Gungunum......................................1932-1905

Abisare.......................................1905-1894

Sumuel........................................1894-1865

Nur-Adad......................................1865-1849

Sin-Iddinam...................................1849-1842

Sin-Eribam....................................1842-1840

Sin-Iqisham...................................1840-1835

Silli-Adad....................................1835-1834

Warad-Sin.....................................1834-1822

Rim-Sin I..................................... 1822-1763

conquered by Babylon 1763-1750

Rim-Sin II.........................................c. 1750

References

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Larsa

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.