Part XI

Until a short time ago it seemed possible to join a short Hittite occupancy of Babylonia directly on to the conquest of the land by the Cassites, whose first encounters with the kings of Babylon, it will be recalled, took place in the reign of Samsuiluna. This is, now that a more definite basis for dating the reigns of the rulers of the Babylon dynasty has been secured, ^[1] not easily possible, indeed one may say out of the question.

As a makeshift it is assumed that the rulers of the "sea land" availed themselves of the disturbed condition of affairs through the invasion of the Hittites and succeeded not only in gaining control of Isin and the land of Sumer in general, but also of Akkad, and ruled as kings of Sumer and Akkad for a period of about 150 years. There are some indications pointing in this direction. Until, however, further documents for this period shall be forthcoming, we cannot trace the course of events which led (c. 1760 B.C.) to the conquest of the entire country by the Cassites.

All that may safely be inferred is that the interval (c. 1926-1760 B.C.) between the invasion of the Hittites and the establishment of a dynasty of Cassite rulers who maintained themselves on the throne for more than half a millennium must have been marked by unrest, by frequent shiftings of the political kaleidoscope and by internal disturbances during which there was in many respects a reversion to earlier conditions when Sumer and Akkad were hopelessly divided up into a considerable number of independent little states.