But after the decline of Ur's ascendancy, and long before Babylon's
great monarch came to the throne, the centre of power in Sumeria was
shifted to Isin, where sixteen kings flourished for two and a quarter
centuries. Among the royal names, recognition was given to Ea and
Dagan, Sin, Enlil, and Ishtar, indicating that Sumerian religion in
its Semitized form was receiving general recognition. The sun god was
identical with Ninip and Nin-Girsu, a god of fertility, harvest, and
war, but now more fully developed and resembling Babbar, "the shining
one", the solar deity of Akkadian Sippar, whose Semitic name was
Shamash. As Shamash was ultimately developed as the god of justice and
righteousness, it would appear that his ascendancy occurred during the
period when well-governed communities systematized their religious
beliefs to reflect social conditions.
The first great monarch of the Isin dynasty was Ishbi-Urra, who
reigned for thirty-two years. Like his successors, he called himself
"King of Sumer and Akkad", and it appears that his sway extended to
the city of Sippar, where solar worship prevailed. Traces of him have
also been found at Eridu, Ur, Erech, and Nippur, so that he must have
given recognition to Ea, Sin, Anu, and Enlil. In this period the early
national pantheon may have taken shape, Bel Enlil being the chief
deity. Enlil was afterwards displaced by Merodach of Babylon.
Before 2200 B.C. there occurred a break in the supremacy of Isin.
Gungunu, King of Ur, combined with Larsa, whose sun temple he
restored, and declared himself ruler of Sumer and Akkad. But Isin
again gathered strength under Ur-Ninip, who was not related to his
predecessor. Perhaps he came from Nippur, where the god Ninip was
worshipped as the son of Bel Enlil.
According to a Babylonian document, a royal grandson of Ur-Ninip's,
having no direct heir, selected as his successor his gardener,
Enlil-bani. He placed the crown on the head of this obscure
individual, abdicated in his favour, and then died a mysterious death
within his palace.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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