Babyloniaca, études de philologie assyro-babylonienne.

138

ST. LANGDON

upon which a specialist in Babylonian and Sumerian would be loth
to express an opinion, at least with the assurance of the learned
Eduard MEYER of Berlin, who in the above mentioned book, has from
the position of an historian and ethnologist, studied these questions
and assured Sumerologists that the dynasty of Sargon is 1000 years
later than the figures fixed by Nabuna'id, that Semitic civilization may
be even older than Sumerian and that the cult of Enlil, chief god of the
Sumerian pantheon is by origin Semitic. Reasons have been given
above in my review of Mr. KING's book for being exceedingly skeptical
about assuming so late a date for Sargon although we must recognize
within certain limits the untrustworthiness of chronological figures
given by Assyrian and Babylonian kings.
Semitic influence at the city of Kis, in the vicinity of Babylon
can be certified by the dynasty of Urumus who ruled sometime
before Sargon of Agade and after the downfall of Lagas at the hands
of Lugalzagisi in the time of its independent ruler Urukagina. A
still earlier king of Kis was Enbi-as-dar who seems also to have
perished at the hands of Lugalzagisi, at least this is a probable
assumption from OBI 104 and we are thus tolerably certain of a
Semitic dynasty at Kis contemporary with Urukagina of Lagas. The
earlier kings and patesis of Kis wrote Sumerian and have Sumerian
names. Further there is no compelling reason to assume that these
Semites, from whom we have some important sources in the literary
remains of Manistusu and Sargon, had any definite god called Bell,
and we know that Astoreth-Istar was the protecting divinity of the
Sargon dynasty. There is moreover reason for assuming that the
Semites pronounced this name da-tar and wrote it AS-DAR2.
Now these are facts which need statement in a popular way and
which the non-technical reader should have in mind when reading
sweeping statements about the origins of Babylonian history and
religion. Undoubtably Assyriologists have a great deal to learn from a
1. Cf. HOSHANDER in ZA XX 285 ff. I assume that B1e and Itar were the chief
divinities of the early Semites.
2. See REC nos 120, 543 and Ham. Code III 54; cf. Collection de Clercq n0 94 (!).