ANCIENT BABYLONIAN ASTROGONY. 391 



style of Babylonian literature, and the language in which 

 they were written remained the classical style in the country 

 down to the Persian conquest Thus it happens that texts 

 of Rim-agu, Sargon, and Hammurabi, who were 1000 years 

 before Nebuchadnezzar and Nabonidus, show the same 

 language as the texts of these later kings, there being no 

 sensible difference in style to match the long interval 

 between them," precisely as a certain devotional style ot 

 writing of our own day closely resembles the style of the 

 sixteenth century. 



We cannot, then, from the style, determine the age of the 

 original writings from which the Assyrian tablets were copied. 

 But there are certain facts which enable us to form an opinion 

 on this point. Babylonia was conquered about B.C. 1300, 

 by Tugultininip, king of Assyria, For 250 years before that 

 date a foreign race (called by Berosus, Arabs) had ruled in 

 Babylonia. There is no evidence of any of the original 

 Babylonian Genesis tablets being written after the date ot 

 Hammurabi, under whom it is supposed that this race 

 obtained dominion in Babylonia. Many scholars, indeed, 

 regard Hammurabi as much more ancient ; but none set 

 him later than 1550 B.C. 



Now, before the time of Hammurabi several races of 

 kings reigned, their reigns ranging over a penod of 500 

 years. They were called chiefly Kings of Sumir and Akkad 

 that is, Kings of Upper and Lower Babylonia. It is be- 

 lieved that before this period, ranging, say, from about 

 2000 B.C. to 1550 B.C. (at least not later, though possibly, and 

 according to many scholars, probably, far earlier), the two 

 divisions of Babylonia were separate monarchies. Thus, 

 evidence whether any literature was written before or after 

 B.C. 2000, may be found in the presence or absence of 

 mention, or traces, of this division of the Babylonian king- 

 dom. Mr. Smith considers, for example, that two works, 

 the great Chaldsean work on astrology, and a legend which 

 he calls " The Exploits of Lubara," certainly belong to the 

 period preceding B.C. 2000. In the former work, the sub- 



