Sargon I. and his son, Naram Sin, had great capacity for organization. They were prolific builders, and bricks have been found bearing their names and titles. The material for their temples they brought some distance—the famous cedars of Lebanon forming the beams. Sargon was called "Lord of Nippur, Shirpurla, Kish, Babylon and Uruk." Naram Sin extended his sway to the Mediterranean on the west, east into Elam, and south into Arabia and the isles of the Persian Gulf. He took for the first time the title: "King of the Four World-Regions." His vast kingdom thus built up disappeared, however, as quickly as it came into being, and after some changes, Ur became the capital center. Three thousand eight hundred B.C. has been accepted as the date of Sargon's reign and this is the first definite date in Babylonian history.
The kings of the Ur dynasty erected several temples, and because Ur was easy of access, they imported many of their building materials. Dolerite was brought from Arabia, cedar from Syria, gold and precious stones from the east. This town was sacred to Sin, the moon-god, and several hymns praising this deity have been found.
Isin, Erech, and other cities strove now for leadership, and internal dissensions offered opportunity for the Elamites on the east, now advancing on a wave of prosperity, to invade the land. It is known that they advanced as far as Erech, and carried off a statue of the goddess Nana. They set up their own king, whose line continued on the throne for some time. One of these invading kings called himself: "exalter of Ur, king of Larsa, king of Sumer and Accad." Under Elamite administration, temples were built and the religious and commercial centers continued to grow.
Of this whole period Maspero has said: "We have here the dust of history rather than history itself; here an isolated individual makes his appearance in the record of his name, to vanish when we attempt to lay hold of him; there the stem of a dynasty which breaks abruptly off, pompous preambles, devout formulas, dedications of objects of buildings, here or there the account of some battle, or the indication of some foreign country with which relations of friendship or commerce were maintained—these are the scanty materials of which to construct a narrative."
To summarize the period as a whole, we may note that thus far no united kingdom had been evolved. To weld that together was the work of the next period. This was, on the other hand, an age of city-states, each one contesting for leadership. While the struggle began with the mere hope of annexing cities in the valley, it expanded to include outlying lands as well. The assimilation of the two races was, generally speaking, effected, and henceforth the Chaldeans disappear as a distinct element of the country, having been absorbed politically by the Semites.
A Part of a Hymn to the Moon-God.[3]
(Composed in the city of Ur before the age of Abraham.)
Father, long-suffering and full of forgiveness,
Whose hands uphold the life of all mankind!
First born, omnipotent, whose heart is immensity,
There is none who may fathom it!
In heaven, who is supreme?
Thou alone, Thou art supreme.
On earth, who is supreme?
Thou alone, Thou art supreme.
As for Thee, Thy will is made known in heaven,
And the angels bow their faces.
As for Thee, Thy will is made known upon earth,
And the spirits kiss the ground.