xalted Merodach, whose statue he had taken back from "Khani", and
decorated E-sagila with gifts of gold, jewels, rare woods, frescoes,
and pictorial tiles; he also re-endowed the priesthood. During the
reign of his successor, Burnaburiash I, the Dynasty of Sealand came to
an end.

Little is known regarding the relations between Elam and Babylonia
during the Kassite period. If the Kassite invaders crossed the Tigris
soon after the raid of the Mitannian Hittites they must have
previously overrun a great part of Elam, but strongly situated Susa
may have for a time withstood their attacks. At first the Kassites
held northern Babylonia only, while the ancient Sumerian area was
dominated by the Sealand power, which had gradually regained strength
during the closing years of the Hammurabi Dynasty. No doubt many
northern Babylonian refugees reinforced its army.

The Elamites, or perhaps the Kassites of Elam, appear to have made
frequent attacks on southern Babylonia. At length Ea-gamil, king of
Sealand, invaded Elam with purpose, no doubt, to shatter the power of
his restless enemies. He was either met there, however, by an army
from Babylon, or his country was invaded during his absence. Prince
Ulamburiash, son of Burnaburiash I, defeated Ea-gamil and brought to
an end the Sealand Dynasty which had been founded by Ilu-ma-ilu, the
contemporary and enemy of Samsu-la-ilu, son of Hammurabi. Ulamburiash
is referred to on a mace-head which was discovered at Babylon as "king
of Sealand", and he probably succeeded his father at the capital. The
whole of Babylonia thus came under Kassite sway.

Agum III, a grandson of Ulamburiash, found it necessary, however, to
invade Sealand, which must therefore have revolted. It was probably a
centre of discontent during the whole period of Kassite ascendancy.

After a long obscure interval we reach the period when the Hyksos
power was broken in Egypt, that is, after 1580 B.C. The great Western
Asiatic kingdoms at the time were the Hittite, the Mitannian, the
Assyrian, and the Babylonian (Kassite). Between 1557 B.C. and 1501
B.C. Thothmes I of Egypt was asserting his sway over part of Syria.
Many years elapsed, however, before Thothmes III, who died in 1447
B.C., established firmly, after waging a long war of conquest, the
supremacy of Egypt between the Euphrates and the Mediterranean coast
as far north as the borders of Asia Minor.

"At this period", as Professor Flinders Petrie emphasizes, "