cle, by showing that the First and Second Dynasties were partly
contemporaneous, explains the discrepancies that have hitherto proved so
puzzling.

It would be out of place here to enter into a detailed discussion of
Babylonian chronology, and therefore we will confine ourselves to a
brief description of the sequence of events as revealed by the new
chronicle. According to the list of kings, Iluma-ilu's reign was a long
one, lasting for sixty years, and the new chronicle gives no indication
as to the period of his reign at which active hostilities with Babylon
broke out. If the war occurred in the latter portion of his reign, it
would follow that he had been for many years organizing the forces of
the new state he had founded in the south of Babylonia before making
serious encroachments in the north; and in that case the incessant
campaigns carried on by Babylon against Blam in the reigns of Hammurabi
and Samsu-iluna would have afforded him the opportunity of establishing
a firm foothold in the Country of the Sea without the risk of Babylonian
interference. If, on the other hand, it was in the earlier part of his
reign that hostilities with Babylon broke out, we may suppose that,
while Samsu-iluna was devoting all his energies to crush Bim-Sin, the
Country of the Sea declared her independence of Babylonian control. In
this case we may imagine Samsu-iluna hurrying south, on the conclusion
of his Elamite campaign, to crush the newly formed state before it had
had time to organize its forces for prolonged resistance.

Whichever of these alternatives eventually may prove to be correct, it
is certain that Samsu-iluna took the initiative in Babylon's struggle
with the Country of the Sea, and that his action was due either to her
declaration of independence or to some daring act of aggression on the
part of this small state which had hitherto appeared too insignificant
to cause Babylon any serious trouble. The new chronicle tells us that
Samsu-iluna undertook two expeditions against the Country of the Sea,
both of which proved unsuccessful. In the first of these he penetrated
to the very shores of the Persian Gulf, where a battle took place in
which Samsu-iluna was defeated, and the bodies of many of the Babylonian
soldiers were washed away by the sea. In the second campaign Iluma-ilu
did not await Samsu-iluna's attack, but advanced to meet him, and again
defeated the Babylonian army. In the reign of Abeshu', Samsu-iluna's
so