Note 13 — Chapter III

The purely arbitrary character of the assumption is well illustrated by the different results obtained by those who make it. By clinging to Berossus's date of 2232 B.C., Thureau-Dangin assigns to the second dynasty of the Kings' List a period of 168 years of independent rule in Babylon (cf. "Zeits. für Assyr.," XXI., pp. 176 ff., and "Journal des savants," 1908, pp. 190 ff.), and Ungnad 177 years ("Orient. Lit.-Zeit.," 1907, col. 638, 1908, col. 63 ff.). Lehmann-Haupt, in his suggested reconciliation of the new data with his former emendation of the Bavian date, makes the period 80 years ("Klio," 1908, pp. 227 E). Poebel, ignoring Berossus and attempting to reconcile the native chronological notices to early kings, makes it 160 years (cf. "Zeits. für Assyr.," XXI., pp. 162 ff.). The latest combination is that proposed by Schnabel, who accepts the date of 2232 B.C. for both the system of Berossus and that represented by the Kings' List, but places the historical beginning of the First Dynasty in 2172 B.C.; this necessitates a gap of 120 years between Dynasties I. and III. ("Mitteil. der Vorderas. Gesellschaft," 1908, pp. 241 ff.). But all these systems are mainly based on a manipulation of the figures, and completely ignore the archaeological evidence.