268 OLD BABTLOKIATST INSCRIPTIONS 



to find with this new and powerful regime. The Sumerian civilization was directed 

 into new channels and prevented from stagnation ; the ancient cults between the lower 

 Tigris and Euphrates began to revive and its temples to shine in new splendor. Erech, 

 Ur, 1 Larsa 2 and Nippur 3 received equal attention from their devoted patesi. But first 

 of all, '"''BAX 1 ' 1 itself, the native city of the great conqueror, was raised by his energy 

 and glory to a position of unheard-of influence and political power. Lugalzaggisi 

 stands out from the dawn of Babylonian history as a giant who deserves our full 

 admiration for the work he accomplished. He did not appear unexpectedly on the 

 scene of his activity. We had been prepared for the collapse of the ancient monarchy 

 on the Persian Gulf, with its long but unknown history, by the preceding invasions 

 and victories of the Northern hordes to which he belonged. And yet when suddenly 

 this great empire of Lugalzaggisi stands before our eyes as a fait accompli, we can 

 scarcely conceive, whence it came and how it arose. 



There is no doubt in my mind that Lugalzaggisi's achievements in Babylonia 

 represent the first signal success of the invading Semites from the North. On the 

 previous pages we have seen how these hordes were pushing gradually southward. 

 After for a number of years they had concentrated their attacks upon the border forti- 

 fications of Northern Babylonia and had established a military station and kingdom in 

 Kish, it was but a question of time when the whole country in the South had to suc- 

 cumb to their power. The oldest written monuments of Babylonia do not designate 

 these enemies by any single definite name: they are the hordes of the city of ff ' s/ 'B AN** 

 and Bash combined, apparently but two centres of the same powerful people which 

 was roaming over the fertile steppes of Mesopotamia, and whose chief stronghold 

 doubtless was gW 'B AN*'. What ancient city, then, is this """BAN* 1 '? That we have 

 not to place it "in Susian territory," as Maspero 1 is tempted to do, is beyond question. 

 The ideogram for lugal on an inscribed object of Tello and presented by a king of 

 ff '' s *BAN* ; (De Sarzec, I. c, PL 5, No. 3), points with necessity to the north for the 

 location of our city. As this peculiar form of the character for lugal so far has only 

 been found in such cuneiform inscriptions as contain Semitic words written phoneti- 

 cally, or in other texts which are written ideographically, but, on the basis of strong 

 arguments 5 must be read as Semitic, we are forced to the conclusion that this charac- 



1 Col. II, 30-32. Urumki -ma guda-gim sag ana-sliu mu-um-gur, "Ur like a steer he raised to the top of heaven." 

 2 Col. II, 33-37. Larsam)d ur ki-ag dingirjjt u .g e a-ne-gul-la mu-daga. Forff«*BAN>" cf. ibidem, 38-42. 



3 As becomes evident from his titles and from the extraordinary number of vases presented to Inlil. 



4 The Dawn of Civilization, p. 608. Cf. also Heuzey in De Sarzec, I. c, p. 182. 



5 Cf. for the present above, p. 263, note 1. More on this subject and on "the Semitic influence in early cuneiform" 

 writing in general in another place. My above statement is the result of a complete and exhaustive examination of 

 all the published cuneiform material in which the peculiar form of lugal occurs. 



