Sealand, the Dark Mesopotamian Kingdom Determined to Remain Independent

Hammurabi, the sixth king of the First Dynasty of Babylon, is not only remembered for his famous legal code but also for being the creator of the Babylonian Empire. This empire extended from the territories controlled by the city to neighboring Mesopotamia, whose various kingdoms were absorbed. However, after his death, this empire began to disintegrate, and one of the first episodes of this fragmentation was a secession that his son and successor, Samsu-iluna, tried in vain to reclaim: that of Māt Tamtim, the Sealand.

Samsu-iluna ascended to the throne in 1749 B.C. and soon faced a rebellion in Larsa led by Rin-Sim II, a usurper who took power by exploiting the perceived weakness of the new Babylonian monarch. Samsu-iluna mobilized his army and managed to defeat and execute the insurgent, although at a high cost: having to destroy other cities that had allied with Rin-Sim II, such as Ur, Uruk, Isin, and Esunna, sowing widespread discontent in Mesopotamia. This led many to see Elam (a Sumerian city in whose lands the battles had taken place) as a potential savior, prompting an attempt to invade Babylon.

The Elamites failed, but the situation had already spiraled out of control, and the next blow came from a mysterious figure named Iluma-Ilum, an Akkadian name meaning “My God is [truly] God” (curiously, as it refers to the deity in a generic way, without specifying which one). He claimed to be the son of the deceased Damiq-ilishu, king of Isin, a city in Lower Mesopotamia near Nippur. The history of that region had been quite turbulent, alternating between periods of independence and subjugation by others, including Akkad, Ur, Larsa, and finally Babylon. It was under Babylon’s control when Iluma-Ilum rose in rebellion.

Due to the lack of truly important cities, the rebellious monarch established the capital in Uruku, a city that has not been identified, though some believe it was Ur—others suggest Lagash—and managed to resist the attacks that Samsu-iluna launched to reclaim the area. Thus, he secured the throne and founded what would be known as the First Dynasty of Sealand, as this was the name given to his dominion over the next millennium: a marshy region along the coastal strip of the Persian Gulf, forming the southernmost part of the Babylonian Empire.

It was located north of the current confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, where the Shatt al-Arab now begins, a waterway that travels two hundred kilometers to the sea. At that time, however, it was the coastal limit because the sea has since receded, hence the name.

According to the few sources available, mainly the Chronicle of the Ancient Kings, Iluma-Ilum reigned for no less than six decades and remained free from Babylonian control, although at great effort, as Samsu-iluna launched three military campaigns against him, fighting at least two major battles (which he evidently lost).

The Babylonian efforts can be explained by the wealth of Sealand, covered by fertile marshes that were useful for brick-making, supported the growth of date palm groves, provided abundant fishing grounds, and offered a strategic location for overseas trade with nearby regions such as Dilmun and Magan (approximately present-day Bahrain and Oman) and Meluhha (the Indus Valley, centered on Harappa), making it a highly coveted site in the second millennium B.C.

However, access through the vast marshlands was not easy, which helped maintain a degree of independence. After a long war that lasted from 1720 B.C. to 1684 B.C., Isin retained control of the marshes and the Gulf coast, thus formally establishing Sealand. Once free of threats, Iluma-Ilum was able to focus on administration. It is known that he tore down the walls of Isin to expand it, while on the other hand, he built walls around Sippar, along with a temple, emulating what Samsu-iluna had done before.

Moreover, documents from Nippur written in his name demonstrate that he also managed to take control of that city, although it was lost at the end of his reign, which ended around 1724 BC. According to the Royal List A, he was succeeded by Ittili, who appears in the Royal List B as Itti-ili-nībī (pseudo-Sumerian names, as adopted by all the kings of that lineage in an effort to assimilate into Sumerian culture, despite the population speaking the Akkadian language), followed by ten other rulers.

Babylon, having lost Sealand and its access to the sea, began to be overtaken by the new power, Assyria. However, it was the Kassites who undertook the conquest of the region during the time of Ulamburiash first and Agum II later, around the 15th century BC, emerging victorious and thus unifying southern Mesopotamia for a time. The last representative of the dynasty, Ea-gamil, had to flee and seek refuge in Elam, giving way to a new dynasty, the Kassite, which lasted until 1155 BC.

Then began the Isin Dynasty, the fourth Babylonian dynasty, which had eleven kings (including Nebuchadnezzar I) until 1026 BC. The following year, Simbar-shimpak, a military man of Kassite origin sent to Mesopotamia to restore order, decided to take advantage of the instability in Babylon—a succession crisis worsened by Aramean raids and the growing presence of Assyria—to become the first ruler of the Second Dynasty of Sealand. Then, in a bold move, he took control of Babylon itself, creating the Fifth Babylonian Dynasty, with both dynasties identified as one.

There is not much information about Simbar-Shimpak other than what is provided by four documents: two later copies of a royal inscription known as the Throne of Enlil or Royal Inscription of Simbar-Šhipak, a record from his twelfth year of reign, an inscription of ownership on a dagger, and another on an arrowhead.

In any case, that dynasty barely lasted twenty years, because in 1008 BC, Simbar-Shipak was succeeded by Ea-mukin-zeri, who reigned only a few months, and then Kashu-nadin-ahhe, whose rule lasted two years.

Then, another dynasty emerged, the Bazi Dynasty, followed by the Elamite Dynasty. Finally, in 732 BC, the Tenth Dynasty came into power, called the Assyrian Dynasty because by then the Babylonian Empire had fallen into Assyrian hands. Nabu-mukin-zeri was its first representative, although the most famous ones came at the end: Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, and Ashurbanipal. The last one, Kandalanu, left the throne in 627 BC, allowing the Eleventh Neo-Babylonian Dynasty to begin, also called Chaldean because this Semitic people from central Mesopotamia, led by Nabopolassar, subdued the Assyrians; his son was the great Nebuchadnezzar II.

It was precisely a Chaldean tribe that then dominated Sealand, the Bit Yakin, the largest and most powerful of the five tribes that made up that people, who became a nightmare for Assyrian monarchs due to their indomitable nature. As is well known, the Neo-Babylonian Empire fell in 539 BC to the Persians under Cyrus II the Great, and Mesopotamia was never independent again; with Cambyses II, Sealand became just another province of the Persian Empire.

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This article was first published on our Spanish Edition on October 5, 2023: El País del Mar, el oscuro reino mesopotámico empeñado en mantenerse independiente

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