Larsa

### Known for

The city of learning, The Schools of lightRevolting against Uruk and UrLong standing rivalry with Isin

## Location

### Climate

Humid, fertile, semi-arid, with hot summers and sporadic rain.

### Terrain

Wetland ecosystem, sand and silt, flat and marshy

## Social

### Main Export

Export: ivory, hides and vegetable oil, Import: wool, silver and timber.

## Historical

### Site Location

Ishan al-Bahriyat, Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq

Located on the Euphrates River between Ur and Babylon, southeast of Uruk, the city of Larsa was he most important city of southern Mesopotamia during the early Old Babylonian period, one of the city-states of Sumer. It came to prominence at the end of the Ur III period, around 2000 BCE. It first joined up with another city, Isin, to form the Larsa-Isin empire. Then the king Gungunum of Larsa set out as a stand-alone empire without Isin, and the Larsa empire covered about 10-15 city states around it. The Larsa dynasty held considerable power, competing with other dynasties based at Isin, Assur and Eshnunna for control of all Mesopotamia.

It was finally conquered by Babylon and incorporated into the larger Babylonian empire around 1700 BCE. The historical "Larsa" was already in existence as early as the reign of Eannatum of Lagash (reigned circa 2500–2400 BCE), who annexed it to his empire.

The city became a political force during the Isin-Larsa period. After the Third Dynasty of Ur collapsed c. 2000 BC, Ishbi-Erra, an official of Ibbi-Sin, the last king of the Third Dynasty of Ur, relocated to Isin and set up a government which purported to be the successor to the Third Dynasty of Ur. From there, Ishbi-Erra recaptured Ur as well as the cities of Uruk and Lagash, which Larsa was subject to. Subsequent rulers of Isin appointed governors to rule over Larsa; one such governor was an Amorite named Gungunum. He eventually broke with Isin and established an independent dynasty in Larsa. To legitimize his rule and deliver a blow to Isin, Gungunum captured the city of Ur. As the region of Larsa was the main center of trade via the Persian Gulf, Isin lost an enormously profitable trade route, as well as a city with much cultic significance.

Gungunum's two successors, Abisare (c. 1841–1830 BC) and Sumuel (c. 1830–1801 BC), both took steps to cut Isin completely off from access to canals. Isin quickly lost political and economic influence.

Larsa grew powerful, but never accumulated a large territory. At its peak under king Rim-Sin I (c. 1758–1699 BC), Larsa controlled only about 10-15 other city-states — nowhere near the territory controlled by other dynasties in Mesopotamian history. Nevertheless, huge building projects and agricultural undertakings can be detected archaeologically. After the defeat of Rim-Sin I by Hammurabi of Babylon, Larsa became a minor site, though it has been suggested that it was the home of the First Sealand Dynasty of Babylon.

Larsa is thought to be the source of a number of tablets involving Babylonian mathematics, including the Plimpton 322 tablet that contains patterns of Pythagorean triples. Suggesting the people of Larsa understood trigonometry almost 4000 years ago.