Amorites

Amorites , a people of Canaan. There is evidence of them in Babylonia, where in the 19th cent. BC they established under their patronage the first dynasty at Babylon. The most powerful king of this dynasty, Hammurabi, put an end (18th cent. BC) to Amorite domination and issued a famous code of law, similar to Israelite codes. At the time of Joshua the Amorites were living both E and W of the Dead Sea. They were subdued and gradually absorbed by the Israelites.

Amorites Inhabitants of Transjordan before the entry of the Israelites, perhaps settled by 1900 BCE. They resisted the newcomers but were expelled. Compiling the story in the 7th cent. BCE, the Deuteronomist editor regards their expulsion as the proper reward for their idolatry (Josh. 24: 18).

Sumerians A people living in southern Mesopotamia in the 4th and 3rd millennia BC. By 3000 BC a number of city states had developed in Sumer, such as URUK, Eridu, and UR. The Sumerians are credited with inventing the cuneiform system of writing, which was originally pictographic but gradually became stylized. Many simple inscriptions survive as evidence of this development; they also attest the increase in administration that accompanied urban growth. Their literature contains references to myths, hymns, and incantations. They developed a legal system, supported by complex political and economic organization. Their technological achievements included wheeled vehicles and potters' wheels, as well as such architectural features as columns, vaults, and domes.

The first great empire of Sumer was established by the people of AKKAD, who conquered the area in about 2350 under the leadership of Sargon. The dynasty founded by him was destroyed in about 2200, and after 2150 the kings of Ur not only re-established Sumerian sovereignty in Sumer but also conquered Akkad. This new empire lasted until roughly 2000 when pressure from the Elamites and Amorites reached its culmination with the capture and devastation of Ur. The Sumerians at this point disappear from history, but the influence of their culture on the subsequent civilizations of Mesopotamia was far-reaching.