A king who ruled the southern Mesopotamian city of Larsa for sixty years, the longest-known reign of any ancient Mesopotamian ruler. The Amorite dynasty of which Rim-Sin was a member came to power in Larsa following the collapse of the Third Dynasty of Ur, which had earlier ruled the region. The brother of the former ruler of Larsa, Warad-Sin, he carried on the already existing rivalry between the rulers of Larsa and the rulers of the city of Isin, which he captured circa 1796 B. C. Rim-Sin also defeated a coalition of nearby cities led by the king of Uruk. In this way, Larsa gained control of most of southern Babylonia, formerly Sumer. However, Rim-Sin was eventually himself defeated by Hammurabi, king of Babylon, in about 1764 b. c. and seems to have died in custody soon afterward. Several cuneiform documents about Rim-Sin have survived, most of them prayers addressed to various gods in his name. This excerpt is from one such prayer dedicated to the moon god, Nanna:
Rim-Sin, king of abundance, august prince of rulers, may right and justice be your helpers. May they make a good [works] for you. . . . Rim-Sin named with a name by [the great gods] An and Enlil, when you enter the Great Gate. . . may the favorable protective god and the protective goddess of peace, gatekeepers of the Great Gate, shine upon you. May they bring you back an answer of life and peace . . . to your greeting which they bring before Nanna. . . . May they cause a good [future] that brings happiness, a mood of encouragement, to issue for you. . . . May the gods of life of the Great Gate open the doors for you.
May the gods of peace, guardians of the Great Gate, rejoice at your presence, and may their features light up at you.
See Also: Hammurabi; Larsa; Third Dynasty of Ur
World History
