Historical place profile
Larsa
Larsa (modern Tell as-Senkereh), a city located ca. 21 km east of Uruk, was an important southern Mesopotamian cult center of the sun-god (Utu/Šamaš). Its principal religious structure was called Ebabbar, just like the Šamaš temple in the northern Babylonian city of Sippar. The Sumerian ceremonial names of some of Larsa’s other religious buildings are mentioned in two first-millennium-BC lists of ziggurats and some royal inscriptions, especially from the Isin-Larsa Period (ca. 2025–1763 BC) — when the city of Larsa temporarily became a dominant political power (ca. 1924–1763 BC) — and the Neo-Babylonian Period. The most important of these, at least in the sixth century BC, was the temple tower Edurana, which sometimes went by the name Eduranki. At the beginning of the second millennium BC (ca. 1924 BC), under a man called Gungunum (r. 1932–1906 BC), Larsa broke free of Isin’s dominance over it and established its political dynasty. Although it grew more powerful than its former overlord, Larsa never accumulated a significant amount of territory. At its peak, under the authority of Rīm-Sîn I (r. 1822–1763 BC), it controlled only ten to fifteen other city-states. This city’s politica
Record details
- Research ID
- catholon:place:pleiades:912897
- Catalogue ID
- pleiades:912897
- Place type
- archaeological-site, settlement
- Coordinates
- 31.283217, 45.852450
- Precision
- precise
- Locator semantics
- representative_point_not_boundary
Historical description
Larsa (modern Tell as-Senkereh), a city located ca. 21 km east of Uruk, was an important southern Mesopotamian cult center of the sun-god (Utu/Šamaš). Its principal religious structure was called Ebabbar, just like the Šamaš temple in the northern Babylonian city of Sippar. The Sumerian ceremonial names of some of Larsa’s other religious buildings are mentioned in two first-millennium-BC lists of ziggurats and some royal inscriptions, especially from the Isin-Larsa Period (ca. 2025–1763 BC) — when the city of Larsa temporarily became a dominant political power (ca. 1924–1763 BC) — and the Neo-Babylonian Period. The most important of these, at least in the sixth century BC, was the temple tower Edurana, which sometimes went by the name Eduranki. At the beginning of the second millennium BC (ca. 1924 BC), under a man called Gungunum (r. 1932–1906 BC), Larsa broke free of Isin’s dominance over it and established its political dynasty. Although it grew more powerful than its former overlord, Larsa never accumulated a significant amount of territory. At its peak, under the authority of Rīm-Sîn I (r. 1822–1763 BC), it controlled only ten to fifteen other city-states. This city’s politica
Geographic evidence
The coordinates are a representative_point_not_boundary. They identify a research anchor and do not by themselves assert an ancient administrative boundary or the full extent of the settlement.
Provenance: Barrington Atlas: BAtlas 93 B2 Larsa
Source and reuse
This profile derives from the Pleiades current GIS record, licensed CC BY 3.0. Pleiades place record The profile preserves the source name, point, type, description, precision and provenance without silently adding a boundary reconstruction.
Research path
Compare this place with the chronological map at the relevant year, nearby political units, routes, institutions and the period portals. Where the source record is silent about jurisdiction, population or ecclesiastical rank, this profile makes no such claim.
Phase II — chronological and spatial research layer
Historical problem
Larsa (modern Tell as-Senkereh), a city located ca. 21 km east of Uruk, was an important southern Mesopotamian cult center of the sun-god (Utu/Šamaš). Its principal religious structure was called Ebabbar, just like the Šamaš temple in the northern Babylonian city of Sippar. The Sumerian ceremonial names of some of Larsa’s other religious buildings are mentioned in two first-millennium-BC lists of ziggurats and some royal inscriptions, especially from the Isin-Larsa Period (ca. 2025–1763 BC) — when the city of Larsa temporarily became a dominant political power (ca. 1924–1763 BC) — and the Neo-Babylonian Period. The most important of these, at least in the sixth century BC, was the temple tower Edurana, which sometimes went by the name Eduranki. At the beginning of the second millennium BC (ca. 1924 BC), under a man called Gungunum (r. 1932–1906 BC), Larsa broke free of Isin’s dominance…
Spatial reading
The record classifies this location as archaeological-site, settlement with precise point precision. The coordinate is a research anchor, not a timeless urban, political or ecclesiastical boundary.
Source path
Geographic provenance: Barrington Atlas: BAtlas 93 B2 Larsa. The place should be compared with the active time slice, routes, neighbouring polities, institutions and dated textual witnesses.
Questions for further dossier work
- Which occupation phases are directly attested at this coordinate?
- Which ancient or medieval names refer to the same site, and which remain disputed?
- Which political and ecclesiastical jurisdictions changed over time?
- Which routes, ports or regional centres explain the place’s historical importance?