The Fall of

Languages

Worldwide

The     Fall     Of     Sumerian,     Akkadian, Hebrew,   Aramaic   And   With   the   fall   of the   Third   Ur   Dynasty,   the   immigrating Amorites      emerged      as      the      great conquerors;    they    occupied    one    by one,   all   the   areas   of   Sumer   and   Akkad and    ultimately    established    the    first Babylonian        Empire        under        the leadership    of    Hammurabi    (r.    about 1823-1763     BC)     with     a     capital     in Babylon,    situated    on    the    Euphrates River   about   50   miles   south   of   modern Baghdad. A   few   years   after   the   fall   of   Third   Ur dynasty,   Ishbi-Erra   -   known   as   'the man    of    Mari,    governor    of    northern Sumer,    succeeded    in    expelling    the Elamites     from     Ur,     and     gradually extended   his   sway   over   most   of   the areas    of    the    Sumer    and    Akkad.    He established    his    own    'Isin    dynasty' and    shifted    his    capital    from    Ur    to Isin,   about   20   miles   south   of   Nippur. According   to   the   Sumerian   King   List, Ishbi-Erra   ruled   for   33   years   (1953   BC - 1921 BC). The     Isin     dynasty     lasted     for     two hundred   fifty   four   years   -   from   2017 to   1763.   During   this   period,   the   Isin kings     continued     the     cultural     and religious     policies     of     the     Third     Ur dynasty    and    kept    the    Sumerian,    as the   official   language   of   their   dynasty. They   also   maintained   the   practice   of appointing   their   daughters   as   official priestesses    of    the    moon    god    of    Ur. Even    the    Isin    kings    claimed    divine origin,   and   became   gods;   as   did   by the kings of the Third Ur dynasty. The   fifth   of   the   rulers   of   Isin,   Lipit- Ishtar         (reigned         1934-24         BC), promulgated    the    most    early    Code, which   is   much   closer   to   the   Code   of Ur-Nammu;    the    Code    of    Lipit-Ishtar does   not   allow   ‘an   eye   for   an   eye   and a tooth for a tooth.’ In       the       meantime,       Gungunum, governor   of   Lagash,   breaks   with   his masters   -   rulers   of   Isin   and   sets   up his   own   dynasty   in   Larsa   -   seat   of   the Sun   god   Utu.   Gungunum   (1868   BC   to 1841)   invaded   and   occupied   the   city of Ur. In    1794,    Rim-Sin,    the    last    king    of Larsa,     invaded     and     occupied     Isin after       defeating       its       last       king Damikilishu.     Rim-Sin     claimed     for himself   to   be   a   god,   and   ruled   for   the longest   period,   about   62   years   (1823- 1763).    He    remained    throughout    his period,     defender     of     the     Sumerian language    and    culture.    In    1764    BC, king   Silim-Sin   of   Eshunna   (in   Sumer) was   defeated,   captured   and   jailed   in Larsa,    where    he    died    in    captivity. Rim-Sin   also   instituted   a   Code,   it   is named the Laws of Larsa. However,    in    the    game    of    conquest, Rim-Sin   was   defeated   by   Hammurabi, an          Amorite          migrant,          who incorporated      Larsa      in      1763      into Babylon    -    situated    in    the    south    of modern    Baghdad.    The    immigrating Amorite   tribes,   also   known   as   Amurra or     Amurri     -     a     nomadic     peoples originated    from    Syria    and    Canaan, suddenly      emerged      as      the      great conquerers;     they     occupied     Larsa, defeated   a   coalition   of   Elam,   Assyria, the   Gutians,   and   Eshnunna,   captured Mari,      tore      down      its      walls,      and ultimately       established       the       first Babylonian        Empire        under        the leadership   of   Hammurabi   (r.c   1792-50 BC) with a capital in Babylon. Hammurabi    went    further    extended his    empire    from    the    Persian    Gulf northward   and   westward   through   the Tigris-Euphrates   Valley,   together   with the   Syrian   coast   of   the   Mediterranean Sea.    He    called    himself    the    mighty King,    King    of    Babylon,    King    of    the whole    country    of    Amurru    (northern Palestine),   King   of   Sumer   and   Akkad, King    of    the    Four    Quarters    (of    the World)".    He    ruled    for    over    forty-two years. In   Sumerian   chronicles   the   Amorites are     described     as     nomadic     people knowing   no   submission   and   having no   house   in   their   lifetime.   They   were fierce        tribal        clansmen,        spoke Amorite,    a    Semitic    dialect,    worship the   moon-god   Sin   as   well   as   Amurru -   their   chief   god.   During   the   Third   Ur dynasty,   the   Amorites   were   merely   a regular    irritant    to    their    areas,    later they     forced     themselves     into     the lands,   sacked   and   burned   Sumerian settled    areas,    occupied    most    of    its important   cities   including   Isin,   Larsa, and   Eshnunna   and   founded   the   city of    Babylon.    Due    to    mass    migration and   forced   settlement   by   Amorites,   a new    components    of    the    population emerged       in       this       region,       from ‘Sumerians       and       Akkadians’       to ‘Akkadians             and             Amorites.’ Hammurabi     ignored     the     Sumerian language,    which    was    fully    revived during   the   last   five   centuries   during the   periods   of   the   Ur,   Isin   and   Larsa dynasties.    Hammurabi    retained    the Akkadian   as   the   official   language   of the                Babylonian                empire; simultaneously   the   Amorite   language was   also   encouraged.   In   due   course, changes   occurred   in   the   vocabulary of    Akkadian    and    it    evolved    as    the Babylonian language. With   the   rise   of   Hammurabi   and   the subsequent   fall   of   the   Third   dynasty of   Ur   and   the   dynasties   of   Isin   and Larsa,   the   Sumerian   language   had   to enter    to    its    last    phase    of    survival; now   it   was   the   beginning   of   the   fall   of the     Sumerian     language;     no     any future    conqueror    gave    it    again    the status      of      official      language.      The Babylonian   empire   survived   for   about 150   years   and   during   this   period,   the Akkadian    language    reached    to    its highest      level      and      flourished      all around   the   Babylonian   empire   as   a spoken and literary language. However,    the    Sumerian,    being    the most   sacred   language   of   culture   and religion,   survived   as   the   regional   and mother   tongue   of   many   city   states   of the     former     Sumer     and     Akkad     for many    more    centuries.    Ultimately    it disappeared      after      a      survival      of around   three   thousand   years.   Today, the   Sumerian   language   is   included   in the   list   of   the   dead   languages.      >>> CONTINUE ON NEXT PAGE - CLICK HERE