As these explorations are yet in progress, it is too early to indicate the farther evidences of these early rulers of Babylonia remaining at Nippur.
The various localities in which these relics have been found indicate the extensive sway of these monarchs. They suggest also the period when certain gods of Chaldea were adopted by the various nations and people conquered by Sargon or Naram-Sin.
Sinai, the mountain of Sin, the Moon God, may be a reminiscence of the invasion of Arabia by Naram-Sin directed by this divinity.
Mount Nebo, the mountain upon which Moses died, received its name from the Chaldean Nebo, the god of science and literature, the god of wisdom and prophesy.
Istar, the evening star, the Chaldean Venus, the goddess of love and fertility, became the Atthar of southern Arabia, is identical with the goddess Hathor, of Egyptian mythology, and was worshipped by the Canaanites as Ashtaroth, and finally by the Greeks as Astarte.
Against this background of history and tradition, of civilization so remote, a notable figure appears about fifteen hundred and forty years later than the great Sharrukin, or 2260 B. C., in whom the most sacred traditions of later civilizations were to have their rise.
This was Abraham, or Abu-ramu, “the exalted father” with whom the history of the people of Israel begins. A Semite, and a native of Ur, his historical position is an important landmark in the story of letters.
Of special significance in this connection is this early contact of Abraham and his family with the land and people of Chaldea;—the lingering survivals of Accadian speech and traditions in Hebrew language and literature.
Again, when Abraham left Chaldea to found a great nation in another land, writing and literature could not have been unknown to him.
The constant use of cuneiform signs in architectural structures, in business forms and in every department of social and industrial life and the ever present schools for scribes in all the great cities of Mesopotamia made this impossible. The art of writing was no new thing to this young Semite prince. It was an art even then hoary with age.