Isin (,ETCSL. Sumerian King List . Accessed 19 Dec 2010. modern Arabic: Ishan al-Bahriyat) is an archaeological site in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq which was the location of the Ancient Near East city of Isin, occupied from the late 4th millennium BC Uruk period up until at least the late 1st millennium BC Neo-Babylonian period. It lies about southeast of the modern city of Al Diwaniyah.
The tutelary deity of Isin, dating back to at least the Early Dynastic period, was the healing goddess Gula with a major temple (, E-gal-ma) sited there as well as smaller installations for the related gods of Ninisina and Sud.Tsouparopoulou, Christina, "The Healing Goddess, Her Dogs and Physicians in Late Third Millennium BC Mesopotamia", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 110, no. 1, pp. 14-24, 2020"Excavations in Iraq 1975", Iraq, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 69-70, 1976
Archaeology
Isin is located approximately south of the ancient city of Nippur. The site covers an area of about 150 hectares with a maximum height of about 10 meters.
By 1922 the site had been suggested as that of Isin.Langdon, S., "The Location of Isin", The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, no. 3, pp. 430–31, 1922 Ishan al-Bahriyat was visited by Stephen Herbert Langdon for a day to conduct a sounding, while he was excavating at Kish in 1924. He found inscribed bricks of Ishme-Dagan and Enlil-bani.Stephen Langdon, "Excavations at Kish I (1923–1924)", 1924 Two years later Raymond P. Dougherty, on behalf of the American Schools of Oriental Research, conducted a two-day survey of the site finding inscribed bricks of Bur-Sin and Neo-Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar II. Dougherty, Raymond P., "An Archæological Survey in Southern Babylonia I", Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 23, pp. 15–28, 1926Dougherty, Raymond P., "An Archæological Survey in Southern Babylonia (Continued)", Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 25, pp. 5–13, 1927Dougherty, Raymond P., "Searching for Ancient Remains in Lower ’Irâq: Report of an Archaeological Survey Made in Southern Babylonia during the First Quarter of 1926", The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research, vol. 7, pp. 1–93, 1925
Modern archaeological work at Isin was accomplished in 11 seasons between 1973 and 1989 by a team of German archaeologists led by Barthel Hrouda on behalf of the Munich Institute for Near Eastern Archaeology. Hundreds of cuneiform tablets from the Old Babylonian period, in buildings abandoned after being destroyed by fire, were recovered."Excavations in Iraq 1973-74", Iraq, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 57-58, 1975"Excavations in Iraq 1985-86", Iraq, vol. 49, pp. 239-240, 1987"Excavations in Iraq 1987-88", Iraq, vol. 51, pp. 256, 1989"Excavations in Iraq 1989–1990", Iraq, vol. 53, pp. 175-176, 1991 However, as was the case at many sites in Iraq, research was interrupted by the Gulf War (1990–1991) and the Iraq War (2003 to 2011). Since the end of excavations, extensive looting is reported to have resumed at the site. Even when the German team began their work, the site had already been heavily looted.Otto, A./B. Einwag, A. Al-Hussainy/J. Jawdat, Ch. Fink/H. Maaß, "Destruction and looting of archaeological sites between Fāra/Šuruppak and Išān Bahrīyāt/Isin. Damage assessment during the Fara regional survey project FARSUP", Sumer 64, pp. 35-48, 2018 A significant find, in the Ninurta shrine of the Gula temple, was an alabaster mace head of the Akkadian Empire ruler Manishtushu inscribed "Man-istusu, king of the world, dedicated (this mace) to the goddess Ninisina". An inscription of Takil-ilissu, ruler of Malgium was also found. Douglas R. Frayne, "Akkad", The Sargonic and Gutian Periods (2334–2113), University of Toronto Press, pp. 5-218, 1993 Early find included a Jemdet Nasr stamp seal and a small stone lion figurine of the Uruk period."Excavations in Iraq 1983-84", Iraq, vol. 47, pp. 221, 1985
The primary focus of the excavations was the four meter wide wall enclosed Gula temple complex. The complex showed construction through at least the Isin I, Kassite, and Neo-Babylonian periods with 3rd millennium BC finds suggested its earlier existence. Finds included 30 dog burials, copper pendants inscribed with dog images, and clay dog figurines, one with a prayer to Gula. An inscribed brick of Adad-apla-iddina, 8th ruler of the 2nd dynasty of Isin, dedicated to the healing goddess Nin-ezena was also found. On another section of the main mound 3rd millennium BC buildings provided "gold jewellery, bronze weapons, cylinder seals, and a few cuneiform tablets of which two date back to the Early Dynastic period", a clay nail of Isme-Dagan referring to construction of the bad-gal "Great Wall" city wall of Isin and an inscribed brick of Ur-du-kuga."Excavations in Iraq 1977-78", Iraq, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 150, 1979 In the Kassite layer an Early Dynastic III statue, 16.5 cm in height, of a kneeling man wearing only a triple belt."Excavations in Iraq 1972-73", Iraq, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 192, 1973 Just to the south of the temple complex two Early Dynastic I period buildings were found.Dunham, Sally, Review of "Isin-Išān-Baḥrīyāt, IV: Die Ergebnisse der Ausgrabungen 1986–1989 by B. Hrouda", Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 116, no. 1, pp. 131–33, 1996
History Isin sat on the Isinnitum canal, a vital branch of the Euphrates. Controlling Isin meant controlling the water flow and trade moving toward the south.
Chalcolithic The site of Isin was occupied at least as early as the Ubaid period based on pottery shards.
Early Bronze Age Early Dynastic period In the Early Dynastic III (c. 2750-2350 BCE), significant occupation began.
Akkadian period In the Akkadian period (c. 2350-2150 BCE), Isin is known to have been occupied by the Akkadian Empire.Foster., Benjamin R., "Archives and Record-keeping in Sargonic Mesopotamia", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 72, no. 1, pp. 1-27, 1982
Ur III period An intensive building program began at Isin during the Ur III empire in the late 3rd millennium BC. With the fall of Ur, an Amorite dynasty took power in the city, during the Isin-Larsa period. The city then fell to Babylon and suffered a period of abandonment. Activity resumed under the Kassites, followed by a period of local control. Isin was occupied to various degrees until the Neo-Babylonian period.Kaniuth, Kai, "Isin in the Kassite Period", Volume 2 Karduniaš. Babylonia under the Kassites 2, edited by Alexa Bartelmus and Katja Sternitzke, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 492-507, 2017
With the final decline of the Ur III empire at the end of the third millennium BC, a power vacuum was left that other city-states scrambled to fill. Ishbi-Erra, said to be an Amorite, from Mari, and an Ur III official under its final ruler Ibbi-Sin, gained rulership of Isin and began the First Dynasty of Isin. The Elamites had attacked Isin and Ur, capturing Ur.Michalowski, Piotr, "The Royal Letters in Their Historical Setting 3: Ur, Isin, Kazallu, and the Final Decades of the Ur III State (Letters 21–24)", The Correspondence of the Kings of Ur: An Epistolary History of an Ancient Mesopotamian Kingdom, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 170-215, 2011 One of Ishbi-Erra's acts was to expel the Elamites from Ur and the region, his year name being "Year (Iszbi-Irra the king) brought out of Ur, with his strong weapon, the Elamite who was dwelling in its midst".Vaughn E. Crawford, "An Ishbi-Irra Date Formula", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 13-19, 1948 Although the Sumerian King List gives a 33-year reign for Ishbi-Erra only one royal inscription has been found.
Middle Bronze Age Following an abrupt climate change around 2036-2023 BCE, probably caused by a major volcanic eruption, drought his the region and caused severe economic hardship which caused the Ur III to decline and ultimately end in 2004 BCE. The province of Isin broke out and formed an independent kingdom under Ishbi-Erra, along with its rival Larsa, saw the decentralization of irrigation networks and agricultural fields.
Isin-Larsa period
The First Dynasty of Isin was founded by Ishbi-Erra (r. 2018-1985 BCE) and lasted over two centuries. Ishbi-Erra continued the traditions of the previous Ur III period, and Isin reached its peak and became a powerful city-state in the Middle Bronze I. A notable ruler was Ishme-Dagan (r. 1954-1935 BCE) for whom a number of hymns were written, in a style thought to be imitative of Shulgi, the ruler of Ur III.Frayne, D. R, "New light on the reign of Išme-Dagan", ZA 88, pp. 6-44, 1998
With the rise of Larsa and a number of smaller Amorite city-states, the influence of Isin slowly declined. The rivalry between Isin and Larsa has led this phase of the Middle Bronze I to be the term the Isin-Larsa period.
The exact events surrounding Isin's disintegration as a kingdom are mostly unknown, but some evidence can be pieced together. Documents indicate that access to water sources presented a huge problem for Isin. Isin also endured an internal coup of a sort when Gungunum the royally appointed governor of Larsa and Lagash province, seized the city of Ur. Ur had been the main center of the Gulf trade; thus this move economically devastated Isin. Additionally, Gungunum's two successors Abisare and Sumuel ( and 1894 BC) both sought to cut Isin off from its canals by rerouting them into Larsa. At some point, Nippur was also lost. Isin would never recover. Around 1860 BC, an outsider named Enlil-bani seized the throne of Isin, ending the hereditary dynasty established by Ishbi-Erra over 150 years earlier.
Although politically and economically weak, Isin maintained its independence from Larsa for at least another forty years, ultimately succumbing to Larsa's ruler Rim-Sin I.
Old Babylonian period After the First Dynasty of Babylon rose to power in the early 2nd millennium and captured Larsa, much significant construction occurred at Isin.
For most of his reign, Hammurabi of Babylon (r. 1792-1750 BCE) was an ally of Rim-Sin I, the long-lived king of Larsa who controlled Isin. However, in his 30th and 31st regnal years (c.1763-1762 BCE), Hammurabi turned his military focus southward against Isin-Larsa. Larsa became a provincial administrative center in the Babylonian Empire.
In 1723 BCE, the Isin was fell in the 27th year of the reign of Samsu-iluna (r. 1749-1712 BCE), based on tablets found there. The year name reads: ""The year in which Samsu-iluna the king (destroyed) the wall of Isin...". The word "destroyed" often mean the destruction of fortifications such as city-walls. Shortly after the wars of Samsu-iluna, the irrigation systems in the Isin-Nippur region suffered a catastrophic failure. This may have been a deliberate "scorched earth" tactic or a byproduct of the lack of centralized maintenance during the revolt. Following Samsu-iluna’s reign, archaeological layers show a massive hiatus. Isin, along with Nippur and Uruk, was largely abandoned. The city does not show significant signs of re-occupation until the Kassite Period (c. 1400 BCE).
Late Bronze Age Kassite period The Kassites took over in Babylon after its sack in 1531 BC, resumed building at Isin. Activity was primarily at the Gula temple and it appears that in that period Isin was only a cult center.
Iron and Classical Age The final significant stage of activity occurred during the Second Dynasty of Isin at the end of the 2nd millennium, most notably by king Adad-apla-iddina. Isin remained occupied at least as late as the second decade of the reign of the Persian ruler Darius I (c 507 BC), then in the control of the region.Bloch, Yigal, "An Edomite in Isin", Individuals and Institutions in the Ancient Near East: A Tribute to Ran Zadok, edited by Uri Gabbay and Shai Gordin, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 229-241, 2021