Larsa (Sumerian: đđđ , romanized: UD.UNUGKI,[1] read Larsamki[2]), also referred to as Larancha/Laranchon (Gk. ÎαÏαγÏÏÎœ) by Berossos and connected with the biblical Ellasar, was an important city-state of ancient Sumer, the center of the cult of the sun god Utu with his temple E-babbar. It lies some 25 km (16 mi) southeast of Uruk in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate, near the east bank of the Shatt-en-Nil canal at the site of the modern settlement Tell as-Senkereh or Sankarah.
Larsa is found (as UD.UNUG) on Proto-cuneiform lexical lists from the Uruk 4 period (late 4th millennium BC). A few Proto-cuneiform tablets were also found there.[4] Three Neolithic clay tokens, from a slightly early period, were also found at Larsa.[5] For most of its history Larsa was primarily a cult site for the god Utu. In the early part of the 2nd millennium BC the First Dynasty of Lagash made it a major power for perhaps two centuries. The last known occupation was in the Hellenistic period.
3rd Millennium BC
The historical "Larsa" was already in existence as early as the reign of Early Dynastic ruler Eannatum of Lagash (circa 2500â2400 BC), who annexed it to his empire. In a large victory stele found at Girsu he wrote:
"... E-anatum was very clever indeed and he made up the eyes of two doves with kohl, and adorned their heads with cedar (resin). For the god Utu, master of vegetation, in the E-babbar at Larsa, he had them offered as sacrificial bulls."[6]
A later ruler, Entemena, nephew of Eannatum, is recorded on a foundation cone found at nearby Bad-Tibira as cancelling the debts of the citizens of Larsa "He cancelled [oblig]ations for the citizens of Uruk, Larsa, and Pa-tibira ... He restored (the second) to the god Utuâs control in Larsa ...".[6] Larsa is attested in the Akkadian Empire in the Temple Hymns of Enheduanna, daughter of Sargon of Akkad.
"... Your lord is the soaring sunlight, the ruler ... righteous voice. He lights up the horizon, he lights up the zenith of heaven. Utu, lord of the Shining House,has built a home in your holy court, House of Larsa, and has taken his seat upon your throne."[7]
In the Ur III empire period that ended the millennium, its first ruler Ur-Nammu recorded, in a brick inscription found at Larse, rebuilding the E-babbar temple of Utu there.[8]
2nd Millennium BC
The city became a political force during the Isin-Larsa period. After the Third Dynasty of Ur collapsed c. 2004 BC, Ishbi-Erra, an official of the last king of the Third Dynasty of Ur, Ibbi-Sin, relocated to Isin and set up a government which purported to be the successor to the Third Dynasty of Ur. From there, Ishbi-Erra recaptured Ur as well as the cities of Uruk and Lagash, which Larsa was subject to. Subsequent rulers of Isin appointed governors to rule over Larsa; 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. In his year names he recorded the defeat of the distant Anshan in Elam as well as city-states closer to Larsa such as Malgium. As the region of Larsa was the main center of trade via the Persian Gulf, Isin lost an enormously profitable trade route, as well as a city with much cultic significance.
Gungunum's two successors, Abisare (c. 1905â1894 BC) and Sumuel (c. 1894â1865 BC), both took steps to cut Isin completely off from access to canals. Isin quickly lost political and economic influence.
Larsa grew powerful, but never accumulated a large territory. At its peak under king Rim-Sin I (c. 1822â1763 BC), Larsa controlled about 10â15 other city-states. In the latter half of this period the city of Mashkan-shapir acted as a second capital of the city-state.[9][10] Nevertheless, huge building projects and agricultural undertakings can be detected archaeologically. After the defeat of Rim-Sin I by Hammurabi of Babylon, Larsa became a minor site, though it has been suggested that it was the home of the First Sealand Dynasty of Babylon.[11]
1st Millennium BC
Larsa was known to be active during the Neo-Babylonian, Achaemenid, and Hellenistic periods based on building brick inscriptions as well as a number of cuneiform texts from the Larsa temple of Samash which were found in Uruk.[12][13][14][15] The E-babbar of Utu/Shamash was destroyed by fire in the 2nd century BC and the area re-used for poorly built private homes.[16] The entire site was abandoned by the 1st century BC.[17]
List of rulers
The following list should not be considered complete:
Archaeology
The remains of Larsa cover an area of about 200 hectares. The highest point is around 70Â ft (21Â m) in height.
The site of Tell es-Senkereh was first excavated, under the rudimentary archaeological standards of his day, by William Loftus in 1850 for less than a month.[20] Loftus recovered building bricks of Nebuchadnezzar II of the Neo-Babylonian Empire which enabled the site's identification as the ancient city of Larsa. Much of the effort by Loftus was on the temple of Shamash, rebuilt by Nebuchadnezzar II. Inscriptions of Burna-Buriash II of the Kassite dynasty of Babylon and Hammurabi of the First Babylonian dynasty were also found. Larsa was also briefly worked by Walter Andrae in 1903. The site was inspected by Edgar James Banks in 1905. He found that widespread looting by the local population was occurring there.[21]
In 2019 excavations were resumed. The first season began with a topographic survey, by drone and surface survey, to refine and correct the mapping from early excavations. Excavaton was focused on a large construction of the Hellenistic period built north of the E-Babbar temple.[35][36] The first season included a magnetometer survey.[37] Excavations continued with one month seasons in 2021 and 2022. They have been able to trace a very large system of internal canals and a port area, all linked to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Old Babylonian times. In a destroyed level of the Grand Viziers residence 59 cuneiform tablets, fragments and envelopes dated to the time of Gungunum and Abisare were found. Geophysical work continued including on the 10-20 meter wide rampart wall that enclosed Larsa, with six main gates.[38]
^ETCSL. The Lament for Nibru. Accessed 19 Dec 2010.
^ETCSL. The Temple Hymns. Accessed 19 Dec 2010.
^[1] Robson, Eleanor, "Words and Pictures: New Light on Plimpton 322", The American Mathematical Monthly, vol. 109, no. 2, pp. 105â20, 2002
^CharvĂĄt, Petr, "From King to God: The NAMEĆ DA Title in Archaic Ur", in Organization, Representation, and Symbols of Power in the Ancient Near East: Proceedings of the 54th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale at WĂŒrzburg 20â25 Jul, edited by Gernot Wilhelm, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 265-274, 2012
^Overmann, Karenleigh A., "The Neolithic Clay Tokens", The Material Origin of Numbers: Insights from the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Piscataway, NJ, USA: Gorgias Press, pp. 157-178, 2019
^ a bDouglas Frayne, "Lagas", in Presargonic Period: Early Periods, Volume 1 (2700-2350 BC), RIM The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia Volume 1, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 77-293, 2008 ISBN 9780802035868
^Helle, Sophus, "The Temple Hymns", in Enheduana: The Complete Poems of the World's First Author, New Haven: Yale University Press, pp. 53-94, 2023
^Frayne, Douglas, "Ur-Nammu E3/2.1.1". Ur III Period (2112-2004 BC), Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 5-90, 1997
^Steinkeller, P., "A History of Mashkan-shapir and Its Role in the Kingdom of Larsa", In E. C. Stone & P. Zimansky (eds.), The Anatomy of a Mesopotamian City. Survey and Soundings at Mashkan-shapir, Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, pp. 26-42, 2004
^Ali Ahmed Gadalla, Azza, "The City of Mashkan-Shabir and The Kingdom of Larsa", Annals of the Faculty of Arts, Ain Shams University 50.13, pp. 294-321, 2022
^Beaulieu, Paul-Alain, "Neo-Babylonian Larsa: A Preliminary Study", Orientalia, vol. 60, no. 2, pp. 58â81, 1991
^Boivin, O., "The ilku and Related Fiscal Obligations in Sixth Century Larsa", in: K. Kleber (ed.), Taxation in the Achaemenid Empire (Classica et Orientalia 26), Wiesbaden, pp. 153â176, 2021
^Beaulieu, P.-A., "A Finger in Every Pie: The Institutional Connections of a Family of Entrepreneurs in Neo-Babylonian Larsa", in: A.C.V.M. Bongenaar (ed.), Interdependency of Institutions and Private Entrepreneurs: Proceedings of the Second MOS Symposium, Leiden 1998 (PIHANS 87), Leiden, pp. 43â72, 2000
^Lecomte, O., "Stratigraphical analysis and ceramic assemblages of the 4thâ1st centuries B. C. E.Babbar of Larsa", in: U. Finkbeiner (ed.), Materialien zur ArchĂ€ologie der Seleukiden- und Partherzeit im sĂŒdlichen Babylonien und im Golfgebiet, TĂŒbingen, pp. 17â39, 1993
^Westenholz, Aage, "The Graeco-Babyloniaca Once Again", Zeitschrift fĂŒr Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische ArchĂ€ologie , vol. 97, no. 2, pp. 262-313, 2007
^Weisberg, David B., "Zabaya, an Early King of the Larsa Dynasty", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 194â98, 1989
^Fiette, Baptiste, "âKingâ Kudur-Mabuk. A Study on the Identity of a Mesopotamian Ruler Without a Crown", Die Welt des Orients, vol. 50, no. 2, pp. 275-294, 2020
^[2] William Loftus, "Travels and researches in ChaldĂŠa and Susiana; with an account of excavations at Warka, the Erech of Nimrod, and ShĂșsh, Shushan the Palace of Esther, in 1849â52", J. Nisbet and Co., 1857
^[3] Edgar James Banks, "Senkereh, the Ruins of Ancient Larsa", The Biblical World, 25, no. 5, pp. 389â392, 1905
^Jean-Claude Margueron, "Larsa, rapport preliminaire sur la quatrieme campagne", Syria, 47, pp. 261-277, 1970
^Jean-Claude Margueron, "Larsa, rapport preliminaire sur la cinquieme campagne", Syria, 48, pp. 271â287, 1971
^J. L. Huot et al., "Larsa, Preliminary Report on the Sixth Campaign", Sumer, 34, pp. 140â164, 1978
^J-L. Huot, "Larsa, rapport preliminaire sur la septieme campagne Larsa et la premiere campagne Tell el 'Oueili (1976)", Syria, 55, pp. 183â223, 1978
^J-L. Huot, "Larsa et 'Oueili, travaux de 1978â1981", vol. 26, Memoire, Editions Recherche sur les civilisations, 1983 ISBNÂ 2-86538-066-1
^J-L. Huot, "Larsa, Travaux de 1985", Editions Recherche sur les civilisations, 1989 ISBNÂ 2-86538-198-6
^J.-L. Huot, "Larsa (10e campagne, 1983) et Oueili: Rapport preliminaire", Editions Recherche sur les civilisations, 1987 ISBNÂ 2-86538-174-9
^D. Arnaud, "French Archaeological Mission in Iraq. A Catalogue of the Cuneiform Tablets and Inscribed Objects Found during the 6th Season in Tell Senkereh/Larsa", Sumer, 34, pp. 165â176, 1978
^[7] Regis Vallet, "Larsa-'Uwaili Annual Report 2021-2022: Preliminary Report on the Results of the XVIth & XVIIth Campaigns at Larsa and the Xth Campaign at Tell el âUwaili", State Board of Antiquities and Heritage of Iraq. 2022
Further reading
[8] Abid, Basima Jalil, and Ahmed Naji Sabee, "The fattening barn in Larsa and its role in providing the cities with offerings (Naptanu) from the reign of the King Rim Sin", ISIN Journal 1, 2021
Feuerherm, KarljĂŒrgen G., "Architectural Features of Larsaâs Urban Dwelling B 27", Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 66, no. 3, pp. 193â204, 2007
[9] Madeleine Fitzgerald, "The Rulers of Larsa", Yale University Dissertation, 2002
Fitzgerald, M. A., "The ethnic and political identity of the Kudur-mabuk dynasty", CRRAI 48, Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, pp. 101â110, 2005
Földi, Zsombor J., "Prosopography of Old Babylonian Documents from Larsa: On Seal Inscriptions, the Kingâs Name and the So-Called âDouble Filiationâ", pp. 517-538, 2023
Goetze, Albrecht, "Sin-Iddinam of Larsa. New Tablets from His Reign", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 83â118, 1950
[10] Ettalene M. Grice, "Records from Ur and Larsa dated in the Larsa Dynasty", Yale University Press, 1919
[11] Ettalene M. Grice, Clarence E. Keiser, Morris Jastrow, "Chronology of the Larsa Dynasty", AMS Press, 1979 ISBNÂ 0-404-60274-6
Huot, J.-L., Rougeulle, A., Suire, J., "La structure urbaine de Larsa, une approche provisoire", in J.-L. Huot (ed.), Larsa, Travaux de 1985, ERC, Paris, pp. 19â52, 1989
Kaerki, Ilmari, Die sumerischen und akkadischen Königsinschriften der altbabylonischen Zeit 1. - Isin, Larsa, Uruk, Studia orientalia 49, Helsinki, 1980, ISBN 951-95075-6-6.
W.F. Leemans, "Legal and economic records from the Kingdom of Larsa", Brill, 1954 ISBNÂ 90-6258-120-X
[12] Lutz, Henry Frederick, "Early Babylonian Letters from Larsa", Yale University Press, 1917
Marcel Segrist, "Larsa Year Names", Andrews University Press, 1990 ISBNÂ 0-943872-54-5
Tyborowski, Witold, "Ć Äp-SĂźn, a Private Businessman of the Old Babylonian Larsa", Die Welt Des Orients, vol. 33, pp. 68â88, 2003
External links
- European archaeologists back in Iraq after years of war - Guillaume Decamme - Phys.org - January 12, 2022
The Exceptional Career of a Mesopotamian Ruler without a Crown: Kudur-Mabuk and the Kingship of Larsa - Baptiste Fiette - ASOR