Ibbi-Sin
Encyclopedia
Ibbi-Sin, son of Shu-Sin
, was king of Sumer
and Akkad
and last king of the Ur III dynasty, and reigned circa 1963 BC-1940 BC (Short chronology). During his reign, the Sumerian empire was attacked repeatedly by Amorite
s. As faith in Ibbi-Sin's leadership failed, Elam
declared its independence and began to raid as well.
Ibbi-Sin ordered fortifications built at the important cities of Ur
and Nippur
, but these efforts were not enough to stop the raids or keep the empire unified. Cities throughout Ibbi-Sin's empire fell away from a king who could not protect them. Ibbi-Sin was, by the end of his kingship, left with only the city of Ur
. In 1940 BC, the Elamites, along with "tribesmen from the region of Shimashki in the Zagros Mountains" (Stiebing 79) sacked Ur and took Ibbi-Sin captive; he was taken to the city of Elam where he was imprisoned and, at an unknown date, died.
In years seven and eight of Ibbi-Sin's kingship, the price of grain increased to 60 times the norm. From this, we can conclude that the success of the Amorites in disrupting the Ur III empire is, at least in part, a product of attacks on the agricultural and irrigation systems; these attacks brought famine and caused an economic collapse in the empire, paving the way for the Elamites to strike into Ur and capture the king.
Shu-Sin
Shu-sin was king of Sumer and Akkad, and was the penultimate king of the Ur III dynasty. He succeeded his brother Amar-Sin, and reigned circa 1972-1964 BC....
, was king of Sumer
Sumer
Sumer was a civilization and historical region in southern Mesopotamia, modern Iraq during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age....
and Akkad
Akkad
The Akkadian Empire was an empire centered in the city of Akkad and its surrounding region in Mesopotamia....
and last king of the Ur III dynasty, and reigned circa 1963 BC-1940 BC (Short chronology). During his reign, the Sumerian empire was attacked repeatedly by Amorite
Amorite
Amorite refers to an ancient Semitic people who occupied large parts of Mesopotamia from the 21st Century BC...
s. As faith in Ibbi-Sin's leadership failed, Elam
Elam
Elam was an ancient civilization located in what is now southwest Iran. Elam was centered in the far west and the southwest of modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of Khuzestan and Ilam Province, as well as a small part of southern Iraq...
declared its independence and began to raid as well.
Ibbi-Sin ordered fortifications built at the important cities of Ur
Ur
Ur was an important city-state in ancient Sumer located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate...
and Nippur
Nippur
Nippur was one of the most ancient of all the Sumerian cities. It was the special seat of the worship of the Sumerian god Enlil, the "Lord Wind," ruler of the cosmos subject to An alone...
, but these efforts were not enough to stop the raids or keep the empire unified. Cities throughout Ibbi-Sin's empire fell away from a king who could not protect them. Ibbi-Sin was, by the end of his kingship, left with only the city of Ur
Ur
Ur was an important city-state in ancient Sumer located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate...
. In 1940 BC, the Elamites, along with "tribesmen from the region of Shimashki in the Zagros Mountains" (Stiebing 79) sacked Ur and took Ibbi-Sin captive; he was taken to the city of Elam where he was imprisoned and, at an unknown date, died.
The success of the Amorite invasion
The Amorites were considered a backwards people by Mesopotamian standards. That they were able to cause so much trouble in the Ur III empire is surprising. In truth, the Amorite efforts to invade the empire may have been effective simply because they were in the right place at the right time. Scholars have suggested that, by the reign of Ibbi-Sin, the empire was already in decline due to long-term drought--in fact, the same drought that helped to take down the Akkadian Empire circa 2193 BC may have been responsible for the fall of Ur III.- "Studies of Persian GulfPersian GulfThe Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
sediments indicate that the stream flow of the TigrisTigrisThe Tigris River is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq.-Geography:...
and EuphratesEuphratesThe Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
was very low around 2100-2000 B.C.E. [...] Any damage to the agricultural system by enemy raids, bureaucratic mismanagement, or an inattentive ruler would result in food shortages"
In years seven and eight of Ibbi-Sin's kingship, the price of grain increased to 60 times the norm. From this, we can conclude that the success of the Amorites in disrupting the Ur III empire is, at least in part, a product of attacks on the agricultural and irrigation systems; these attacks brought famine and caused an economic collapse in the empire, paving the way for the Elamites to strike into Ur and capture the king.