CHAPTER XI

THE EARLIER RULERS OF ELAM, THE DYNASTY OF ISIN, AND THE RISE OF BABYLON

Continuity of the kingdom of Sumer and Akkad and the racial character of the kings of Isin--The Elamite invasion which put an end to the Dynasty of Ur--Native rulers of Elam represented by the dynasties of Khutran-tepti and Ebarti--Evidence that a change in titles did not reflect a revolution in the political condition of Elam--No period of Elamite control in Babylonia followed the fall of Ur--Sources for the history of the Dynasty of Isin--The family of Ishbi-Ura and the cause of a break in the succession--Rise of an independent kingdom in Larsa and Ur, and the possibility of a second Elamite invasion--The family of Ur-Ninib followed by a period of unrest in Isin--Relation of the Dynasty of Isin to that of Babylon--The suggested Amorite invasion in the time of Libit-Ishtar disproved--The capture of Isin in Sin-muballit's reign an episode in the war of Babylon with Larsa--The last kings of Isin and the foundation of the Babylonian Monarchy--Position of Babylon in the later historical periods, and the close of the independent political career of the Sumerians as a race--The survival of their cultural influence