To summarize the period as a whole, we may note that thus far no united kingdom had been evolved. To weld that together was the work of the next period. This was, on the other hand, an age of city-states, each one contesting for leadership. While the struggle began with the mere hope of annexing cities in the valley, it expanded to include outlying lands as well. The assimilation of the two races was, generally speaking, effected, and henceforth the Chaldeans disappear as a distinct element of the country, having been absorbed politically by the Semites. A PART OF A HYMN TO THE MOON-GOD.[3] (Composed in the city of Ur before the age of Abraham.) Father, long-suffering and full of forgiveness, Whose hands uphold the life of all mankind! First born, omnipotent, whose heart is immensity, There is none who may fathom it! In heaven, who is supreme? Thou alone, Thou art supreme. On earth, who is supreme? Thou alone, Thou art supreme. As for Thee, Thy will is made known in heaven, And the angels bow their faces. As for Thee, Thy will is made known upon earth, And the spirits kiss the ground. FOOTNOTES: [1] Hilprecht: Old Babylonian Inscriptions. [2] Trans. quoted by Goodspeed: Hist. of the Bab. and Assy., p. 62. [3] Translated by Sayce. CHAPTER V. DOMINANCE OF BABYLON, 2100-1100 B.C. In early times Babylon had not been a city of sufficient size to demand royal attention. No king had thought it of enough importance to include with his enumerated possessions, although in all probability, it was founded as early as 4000 B.C.--perhaps earlier still. Sumu-abi was its first king, but of him and his immediate successors, we know little. The sixth king was destined to bring greatness to his city and to the whole country--for it was he who united the many states of Babylonia into one strong kingdom and drove the usurping Elamites from the throne. Hammurabi, sixth king of Babylon, ruled in the twenty-first century B.C. His reign and the reigns of his family were regarded by the Babylonians as their "Golden Age." Down to the last days of Babylon, Babylonian kings emulated his example, modelling even their inscriptions after his. How Hammurabi freed the land from Elamite rule is not known, but his name was soon established as an able soldier. He assumed the titles: King of Sumer and Accad, King of the Four-Quarters of the World, King of Babylon. Having annexed all the little city-states to his original kingdom of Babylon, the capital city gave its name to the whole country. To make this union lasting, Hammurabi himself appointed officers of administration for each political division of the kingdom, and so made the entire system dependent upon the government at the capital. The pre-eminence now given the capital turned the tide of commerce and traffic from other places and made Babylon the great center, not only for matters of government, but for industrial and social life as well.