onidus, King of Babylon;
and about fifty thousand tablets.

M. de Sarzec, the French consul at Bassorah, began in 1877 excavations
at the ancient Sumerian city of Lagash (Shirpula), and continued them
until 1900. He found thousands of tablets, many has reliefs, votive
statuettes, which worshippers apparently pinned on sacred shrines, the
famous silver vase of King Entemena, statues of King Gudea, and
various other treasures which are now in the Louvre.

The pioneer work achieved by British and French excavators stimulated
interest all over the world. An expedition was sent out from the
United States by the University of Pennsylvania, and began to operate
at Nippur in 1888. The Germans, who have displayed great activity in
the domain of philological research, are at present represented by an
exploring party which is conducting the systematic exploration of the
ruins of Babylon. Even the Turkish Government has encouraged research
work, and its excavators have accumulated a fine collection of
antiquities at Constantinople. Among the archaeologists and linguists
of various nationalities who are devoting themselves to the study of
ancient Assyrian and Babylonian records and literature, and gradually
unfolding the story of ancient Eastern civilization, those of our own
country occupy a prominent position. One of the most interesting
discoveries of recent years has been new fragments of the Creation
Legend by L.W. King of the British Museum, whose scholarly work, _The
Seven Tablets of Creation_, is the standard work on the subject.

The archaeological work conducted in Persia, Asia Minor, Palestine,
Cyprus, Crete, the Aegean, and Egypt has thrown, and is throwing, much
light on the relations between the various civilizations of antiquity.
In addition to the Hittite discoveries, with which the name of
Professor Sayce will ever be associated as a pioneer, we now hear much
of the hitherto unknown civilizations of Mitanni and Urartu (ancient
Armenia), which contributed to the shaping of ancient history. The
Biblical narratives of the rise and decline of the Hebrew kingdoms
have also been greatly elucidated.

In this volume, which deals mainly with the intellectual life of the
Mesopotamian peoples, a historical narrative has been provided as an
appropriate setting for the myths and legends. In this connection the
reader must be reminded that the chronology of the early period is
still uncertain. The approximate dates which are