Evening journal., 1899-03-10
EARLIEST LETTERS KNOWN.
BabyioniRR Correspondence ntscov.
cred Dating Hack 60 Abra-
hams Time.

During the last few years the Baby
lonian collection Of the British museum
has been enriched by the important
addition Of several thousands of tab
let's ob lined chiefly by DR. Bulge dur
ing hls expeditions TO the east on So.
hnif of the trustees. Among the d.
pipnl objects are a large number G.
small tablets, many of them of the CO..
yelope or duplicate class. which w,re
found at Tell-slfr, in South Babylouia
representing the ancient City of l.arsa
(the Elasar Of Genesis 1D. The ma
iority of these were contracts or legal
documents, but among them are many
letters. both private and official. This
collection, having just been carefully
arranged. Is found to contain one of the
most important series of inscriptions
which has ever been rescued from ori-
entail ruins. II is a group Of 30 letters.
written by Khammurabi, king of Baby
lon, who resigned about 23OO b. c., and
who is generally identified with the
Amraphel of Genesis IA. We have al
ready been made acquainted with the
existence Of n system of letter writing
in use among the kings of the east at
an early period, as illustrated by the
famous Tel-el-Amarna tablets.
These, we know, present the diplo-
matte and private correspondence be
tween the kings of Syria, Mitanni. or
northern Mesopotamia. and Babylon,
and may be dated about 1850 B. C.. The
valuable series of tablets which has lust
been secured for our National museum
belong to period of LOCO years earlier.
and are certainly the oldest known let
ters in the world. The position of
those Babylonian letters in oriental
| literature is of extreme importance.
They reveal the existence Of a regular
/ system of correspondence between
rulers and their subordinates and that
writing was not only used 90 record
events in royal annals, bgt for ordinary
purposes. They are, besides, manifest
ly the models for all after-time, as in
the case of the diplomatic correspond
ence in the Tel-el-Amarna tablets. We
can now see how overshadowing was
the influence of Babylonian over all
western Asia. During the thousand
years which elapsed between the time
! Of Khammurabi and the date of these
later letters discovered some years ago
Babylonia became the educational cen
ter of the oriental world.
The great library at Borsippa was
the school and university not only o.
Chaldea, but of Syria, North Mesopo
tamia, and Asia Minor. Fragments o
the Deluge and Creation tablets, dateC
from period moro than 1000 year,
before Moses, have been discovered il
Babylonia. 1t is therefore clear that /
the scribes Of Canaan were taugh
TO write and use the cuneiform script
through these influences, there mus
have been some among them who wer
acquainted with the traditions store'
in the Chaldean libraries. The presen
find is indeed a great one; but one ca
only regard it as a prelude to still NOR
important discoveries which will prob
ably put a new aspect on the vexe
question Of Hebrew origins. To posses
letters contemporary with the time O
Abraham is certainly an astonishin
result of oriental exploration, and on
which far exceeds the widest dream
of those who first revealed to us tn
buried cities of Assyria and Babyloni'
, Scotsman.