Evening journal., 1899-06-21
EARLIEST LETTERS KNOWN.
Bnbyionian Correspondence Dtscov-
cred Dating Back TO 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 obtained chiefly by DR.. Bulge dur
ing his expeditions to the east on be-
half of the trustees. Among the prin-
ripal objects are a large number of
small tablets, many of them of the en-
yelope or duplicate class, which were
found at Tell-sifr, III South Babylonia,
representing the ancient City of Larsa
(the Ellasar of Genesis 14). 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. 1t is a group Of so letters,
written by Khammurabi, king of Baby
Ion, who resigned about 2300 b. c., and
who is generally identified with the
Amraphel of Genesis a. We have al
ready been made acquainted with the
existence of 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 145O b. c. The
valuable series of tablets which has just
/ been secured for our National museum
( belong to period of 1000 years earlier,
I 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 to 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 Of
Chaldea, but of Syria, North Mesopo-
tamia. and Asia Minor. Fragments Of
The Deluge and Creation tablets, dated
from a period more than 1000 years
before Moses, have been discovered in
Babylonia. 1t is therefore clear that il
the scribes Of Canaan were taught
TO write and use the cuneiform script,
through these influences. there must
have been some among them who were
acquainted with the traditions stored
in the Chaldean libraries. The present
find is indeed a great one; but one can
only regard it as a prelude to still more
important discoveries which will prob
ably put new aspect on the vexed
question of Hebrew origins. To possess
letters contemporary with the time OF
Abraham is certainly an astonishing
result of oriental exploration, and one
, which far exceeds the widest dreams
/ Of those who first revealed to us tn,
buried cities of Assyria and Babylonia
: Scotsman.