ailed. 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.

It is highly probable that Enlil-bani, whose name signifies "Enlil is
my creator", was a usurper like Sargon of Akkad, and he may have
similarly circulated a myth regarding his miraculous origin to justify
his sudden rise to power. The truth appears to be that he came to the
throne as the leader of a palace revolution at a time of great unrest.
But he was not allowed to remain in undisputed possession. A rival
named Sin-ikisha, evidently a moon worshipper and perhaps connected
with Ur, displaced the usurper, and proclaimed himself king. After a
brief reign of six months he was overthrown, however, by Enlil-bani,
who piously credited his triumph over his enemy to the chief god of
Nippur, whose name he bore. Although he took steps to secure his
position by strengthening the fortifications of Isin, and reigned for
about a quarter of a century, he was not succeeded by his heir, if he
had one. King Zambia, who was no relation, followed him, but his reign
lasted for only three years. The names of the next two kings are
unknown. Then came Sin-magir, who was succeeded by Damik-ilishu, the
last King of Isin.

Towards the close of Damik-ilishu's reign of twenty-four years he came
under the suzerainty of Larsa, whose ruler was Rim Sin. Then Isin was
captured by Sin-muballit, King of Babylon, the father of the great
Hammurabi. Rim Sin was an Elamite.

Afterwards the old order of things passed away. Babylon became the
metropolis, the names of Sumer and Akkad dropped out of use, and the
whole country bet