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28 General History of Europe 38. Sargon I conquers the Sumerians about 2750 B.C. Semitic tribes from the desert invaded the region north of the Sumerian towns, and about 2750 B.C. the leader of these Semites, Sargon, a bold and able ruler, conquered the Sumerians and established the first important Semitic kingdom. The invaders took over the cuneiform characters to write their own language and forsook their tents and built brick houses instead. They learned all that the Sumerians had discovered, and in the matter of art, especially in sculpture, they far outstripped their teachers. 39. Hammurapi. About 2100 B.C. another Semitic king, Ham- murapi, conquered all Babylonia (see map, p. 24). He is remem- bered chiefly for the code of laws that he had drawn up and engraved on a stone shaft, which has survived to our own day (Ancient Times, Fig. 93). Its provisions show much considera- tion of the poor and defenseless classes, but are not always just. Babylonia prospered greatly under the wise Hammurapi, and her merchants traveled far and wide. Through their bills, made out on clay tablets, the wedge-writing of Babylonia gradually spread through Western Asia. There was as yet no coined money, but lumps of silver of a given weight circulated so commonly that values were given in weight of silver. Loans were common, and the rate of interest was 20 per cent. Business was the chief occupation and was carried on even in the temples. 40. Higher Life of Babylonia. A journey through Babylonia today could not tell us such a story as do the temples and tombs which still exist on the Nile, for the Babylon of Hammurapi has perished utterly. There seems to have been no painting, but we have at least one example of fine sculpture (see cut on page 27). Of architecture little remains. There were no colonnades and no columns, but the arch was used over front doorways. All build- ings were of brick, as Babylonia had no stone. There were schools where boys could learn to write cuneiform, and a school- house of Hammurapi's time still survives, though in ruins (Ancient Times, Fig. 95). 41. Stagnation of Babylonian Civilization. After Hammu- rapi's death his kingdom swiftly declined. Barbarians from the