The Sumerian King List is an ancient manuscript originally recorded in the Sumerian language, listing kings of Sumer (ancient southern Iraq) from Sumerian and neighboring dynasties, their supposed reign lengths, and the locations of kingship. Kingship was seen as handed down by the gods, and could be transferred from one city to another, reflecting perceived hegemony in the region.[1] Throughout its Bronze Age existence, the document evolved into a political tool. Its final and single attested version, dating to the Middle Bronze Age, aimed to legitimize Isin's claims to hegemony when Isin was vying for dominance with Larsa and other neighboring city-states in southern Mesopotamia.[1][2]
Composition
The list blends prehistorical, presumably mythical predynastic rulers enjoying implausibly lengthy reigns with later, more plausibly historical dynasties. Although the primal kings are historically unattested, this does not preclude their possible correspondence with historical rulers who were later mythicized. Some Assyriologists view the predynastic kings as a later fictional addition.[1][3] Only one ruler listed is known to be female: Kug-Bau "the (female) tavern-keeper", who alone accounts for the Third Dynasty of Kish. The earliest listed ruler whose historicity has been archaeologically verified is Enmebaragesi of Kish, ca. 2600 BC. Reference to him and his successor, Aga of Kish in the Epic of Gilgamesh has led to speculation that Gilgamesh himself may have been a historical king of Uruk. Three dynasties are absent from the list: the Larsa dynasty, which vied for power with the (included) Isin dynasty during the Isin-Larsa period; and the two dynasties of Lagash, which respectively preceded and ensued the Akkadian Empire, when Lagash exercised considerable influence in the region. Lagash in particular is known directly from archaeological artifacts dating from ca. 2500 BC. The list is important to the chronology of the 3rd millennium BC. However, the fact that many of the dynasties listed reigned simultaneously from varying localities makes it difficult to reproduce a strict linear chronology.[1]
Sources
The following extant ancient sources contain the Sumerian King List, or fragments:
The last two sources (WB) are a part of the "Weld-Blundell collection", donated by Herbert Weld Blundell to the Ashmolean Museum. WB 62 is a small clay tablet, inscribed only on the obverse, unearthed from Larsa. It is the oldest dated source (c. 2000 BC) containing the list.[6] WB 444 in contrast is a unique inscribed vertical prism,[1][7][8][9] dated c. 1817 BC, although some scholars prefer c. 1827 BC.[10] The Kish Tablet or Scheil dynastic tablet is an early 2nd millennium BC tablet which came into possession of Jean-Vincent Scheil; it only contains king list entries for four Sumerian cities.[11] UCBC 9-1819 is a clay tablet housed in the collection of the Museum of Anthropology at the University of California.[12] The tablet was inscribed during the reign of the Babylonian King Samsu-iluna, or slightly earlier, with a minimum date of 1712 BC.[13] The Dynastic Chronicle (ABC 18) is a Babylonian king list written on six columns, beginning with entries for the antideluvian Sumerian rulers. K 11261+[14] is one of the copies of this chronicle, consisting of three joined Neo-Assyrian fragments discovered at the Library of Ashurbanipal.[15] K 12054 is another of the Neo-Assyrian fragments from Uruk (c. 640 BC) but contains a variant form of the antediluvians on the list. The later Babylonian and Assyrian king lists, preserved the earliest portions of the list well into the 3rd century BC, when Berossus' Babyloniaca popularized fragments of the list in the Hellenic world. In 1960, the Apkullu-list (Tablet No. W.20030, 7) or “Uruk List of Kings and Sages” (ULKS) was discovered by German archaeologists at an ancient temple at Uruk. The list, dating to c. 165 BC, contains a series of kings, equivalent to the Sumerian antediluvians called "Apkullu".[16]
The list
Early dates are approximate, and are based on available archaeological data; for most pre-Akkadian rulers listed, this king list is itself the lone source of information. Beginning with Lugal-zage-si and the Third Dynasty of Uruk (which was defeated by Sargon of Akkad), a better understanding of how subsequent rulers fit into the chronology of the ancient Near East can be deduced. The short chronology is used here.
Antediluvian rulers
None of the following predynastic antediluvian rulers has been verified as historical via archaeological excavations, epigraphical inscriptions, or otherwise. While there is no evidence they ever reigned as such, the Sumerians purported them to have lived in the mythical era before the great deluge. Some modern scholars believe the Sumerian deluge story corresponds to localized river flooding at Shuruppak (modern Tell Fara, Iraq) and various other cities as far north as Kish, as revealed by layer of riverine sediments, radiocarbon dated to ca. 2900 BC, which interrupt the continuity of settlement. Polychrome pottery from the Jemdet Nasr period (ca. 3000–2900 BC) was discovered immediately below this Shuruppak flood stratum.[17]
The antediluvian reigns were measured in Sumerian numerical units known as sars (units of 3,600), ners (units of 600), and sosses (units of 60).[18]
Ruler | Epithet | Length of reign | Approx. dates | Comments |
- "After the kingship descended from heaven, the kingship was in Eridug. In Eridug, Alulim became king; he ruled for 28800 years."
|
Alulim | | 8 sars (28,800 years) | mythological | |
Alalngar | | 10 sars (36,000 years) | | |
- "Then Eridug fell and the kingship was taken to Bad-tibira."
|
En-men-lu-ana | | 12 sars (43,200 years) | | |
En-men-gal-ana | | 8 sars (28,800 years) | | |
Dumuzid, the Shepherd | "the shepherd" | 10 sars (36,000 years) | | |
- "Then Bad-tibira fell and the kingship was taken to Larag."
|
En-sipad-zid-ana | | 8 sars (28,800 years) | | |
- "Then Larag fell and the kingship was taken to Zimbir."
|
En-men-dur-ana | | 5 sars and 5 ners (21,000 years) | | |
- "Then Zimbir fell and the kingship was taken to Shuruppag."
|
Ubara-Tutu | | 5 sars and 1 ner (18,600 years) | | |
- "Then the flood swept over."[19]
|
First Dynasty of Kish
Ruler | Epithet | Length of reign | Approx. dates | Comments |
- "After the flood had swept over, and the kingship had descended from heaven, the kingship was in Kish."
|
Jushur | | 1,200 years | historicity uncertain | names before Etana do not appear in any other known source, and their existence is archaeologically unverified |
Kullassina-bel | | 960 years | | |
Nangishlishma | | 670 years | | |
En-tarah-ana | | 420 years | | |
Babum | | 300 years | | |
Puannum | | 840 years | | |
Kalibum | | 960 years | | |
Kalumum | | 840 years | | |
Zuqaqip | | 900 years | | |
Atab (or A-ba) | | 600 years | | |
Mashda | "the son of Atab" | 840 years | | |
Arwium | "the son of Mashda" | 720 years | | |
Etana | "the shepherd, who ascended to heaven and consolidated all the foreign countries" | 1,500 years | | |
Balih | "the son of Etana" | 400 years | | |
En-me-nuna | | 660 years | | |
Melem-Kish | "the son of En-me-nuna" | 900 years | | |
Barsal-nuna | ("the son of En-me-nuna")* | 1,200 years | | |
Zamug | "the son of Barsal-nuna" | 140 years | | |
Tizqar | "the son of Zamug" | 305 years | | |
Ilku | | 900 years | | |
Iltasadum | | 1,200 years | | |
En-me-barage-si | "who made the land of Elam submit" | 900 years | ca. 2600 BC | the earliest ruler on the List confirmed independently from epigraphical evidence |
Aga of Kish | "the son of En-me-barage-si" | 625 years | ca. 2600 BC | contemporary with Gilgamesh of Uruk, according to the Epic of Gilgamesh Gilgameš and Aga Translation at ETCSL |
- "Then Kish was defeated and the kingship was taken to E-ana."
|
First Rulers of Uruk
Ruler | Epithet | Length of reign | Approx. dates | Comments |
Mesh-ki-ang-gasher of E-ana | "the son of Utu" | 324 years | ca. 27th | |
- "Mesh-ki-ang-gasher entered the sea and disappeared."
|
Enmerkar | "the son of Mesh-ki-ang-gasher, the king of Unug, who built Unug (Uruk)" | 420 years | | |
Lugalbanda | "the shepherd" | 1,200 years | | |
Dumuzid (Dumuzi) | "the fisherman whose city was Kuara." ("He captured En-me-barage-si single-handedly.")* | 100 years | ca. 2600 BC | |
Gilgamesh | "whose father was a phantom (?), the lord of Kulaba" | 126 years | ca. 2600 BC | contemporary with Aga of Kish, according to the Epic of Gilgamesh[20] |
Ur-Nungal | "the son of Gilgamesh" | 30 years | | |
Udul-kalama | "the son of Ur-Nungal" | 15 years | | |
La-ba'shum | | 9 years | | |
En-nun-tarah-ana | | 8 years | | |
Mesh-he | "the smith" | 36 years | | |
Melem-ana | | 6 years | | |
Lugal-kitun | | 36 years | | |
- "Then Unug was defeated and the kingship was taken to Urim (Ur)."
|
First Dynasty of Ur
Ruler | Epithet | Length of reign | Approx. dates | Comments |
Mesh-Ane-pada | | 80 years | ca. 26th century BC | |
Mesh-ki-ang-Nuna | "the son of Mesh-Ane-pada" | 36 years | | |
Elulu | | 25 years | | |
Balulu | | 36 years | | |
- "Then Urim was defeated and the kingship was taken to Awan."
|
Dynasty of Awan
This was a dynasty from Elam.
Ruler | Epithet | Length of reign | Approx. dates | Comments |
Three kings of Awan | | 356 years | ca. 26th century BC | |
- "Then Awan was defeated and the kingship was taken to Kish."
|
Second Dynasty of Kish
Ruler | Epithet | Length of reign | Approx. dates | Comments |
Susuda | "the fuller" | 201 years | ca. 26th century BC | |
Dadasig | | 81 years | | |
Mamagal | "the boatman" | 360 years | | |
Kalbum | "the son of Mamagal" | 195 years | | |
Tuge | | 360 years | | |
Men-nuna | "the son of Tuge" | 180 years | | |
(Enbi-Ishtar) | | 290 years | | |
Lugalngu | | 360 years | | |
- "Then Kish was defeated and the kingship was taken to Hamazi."
|
The First Dynasty of Lagash (ca. 2500 – ca. 2271 BC) is not mentioned in the King List, though it is well known from inscriptions
The Dynasty of Hamazi
Ruler | Epithet | Length of reign | Approx. dates | Comments |
Hadanish | | 360 years | ca. 2500 BC | |
- "Then Hamazi was defeated and the kingship was taken to Unug (Uruk)."
|
Second Dynasty of Uruk
Ruler | Epithet | Length of reign | Approx. dates | Comments |
En-shag-kush-ana | | 60 years | ca. 25th century BC | said to have conquered parts of Sumer; then Eannatum of Lagash claims to have taken over Sumer, Kish, and all Mesopotamia. |
Lugal-kinishe-dudu or Lugal-ure | | 120 years | | contemporary with Entemena of Lagash |
Argandea | | 7 years | | |
- "Then Unug was defeated and the kingship was taken to Urim (Ur)."
|
Second Dynasty of Ur
Ruler | Epithet | Length of reign | Approx. dates | Comments |
Nanni | | 120 years | ca. 25th century BC | |
Mesh-ki-ang-Nanna II | "the son of Nanni" | 48 years | | |
(?) | | 2 years | | |
- "Then Urim was defeated and the kingship was taken to Adab."
|
Dynasty of Adab
Dynasty of Mari
Ruler | Epithet | Length of reign | Approx. dates | Comments |
Anbu | | 30 years | ca. 25th century BC | |
Anba | "the son of Anbu" | 17 years | | |
Bazi | "the leatherworker" | 30 years | | |
Zizi of Mari | "the fuller" | 20 years | | |
Limer | "the 'gudug' priest" | 30 years | | |
Sharrum-iter | | 9 years | | |
- "Then Mari was defeated and the kingship was taken to Kish."
|
Third Dynasty of Kish
Ruler | Epithet | Length of reign | Approx. dates | Comments |
Kug-Bau (Kubaba) | "the woman tavern-keeper, who made firm the foundations of Kish" | 100 years | ca. 25th century BC | the only known woman in the King List; said to have gained independence from En-anna-tum I of Lagash and En-shag-kush-ana of Uruk; contemporary with Puzur-Nirah of Akshak, according to the later Chronicle of the É-sagila |
- "Then Kish was defeated and the kingship was taken to Akshak."
|
Dynasty of Akshak
Ruler | Epithet | Length of reign | Approx. dates | Comments |
Unzi | | 30 years | ca. 25th – 24th century BC | |
Undalulu | | 6 years | | |
Urur | | 6 years | | |
Puzur-Nirah | | 20 years | | contemporary with Kug-Bau of Kish, according to the later Chronicle of É-sagila |
Ishu-Il | | 24 years | | |
Shu-Suen of Akshak | "the son of Ishu-Il" | 7 years | | |
- "Then Akshak was defeated and the kingship was taken to Kish."
|
Fourth Dynasty of Kish
Ruler | Epithet | Length of reign | Approx. dates | Comments |
Puzur-Suen | "the son of Kug-Bau" | 25 years | ca. 24th – 23rd century BC | |
Ur-Zababa | "the son of Puzur-Suen" | 400 (6?) years | ca. 2300 BC | according to the king list, Sargon of Akkad was his cup-bearer |
Zimudar | | 30 years | | |
Usi-watar | "the son of Zimudar" | 7 years | | |
Eshtar-muti | | 11 years | | |
Ishme-Shamash | | 11 years | | |
(Shu-ilishu)* | | (15 years)* | | |
Nanniya | "the jeweller" | 7 years | ca. 2303–2296 BC (short) | |
- "Then Kish was defeated and the kingship was taken to Unug (Uruk)."
|
Third Dynasty of Uruk
Ruler | Epithet | Length of reign | Approx. dates | Comments |
Lugal-zage-si | | 25 years | ca. 2296–2271 BC (short) | said to have defeated Urukagina of Lagash, as well as Kish and other Sumerian cities, creating a unified kingdom; he in turn was overthrown by Sargon of Akkad |
- "Then Unug was defeated and the kingship was taken to Agade (Akkad)"
|
Dynasty of Akkad
Ruler | Epithet | Length of reign | Approx. dates | Comments |
Sargon of Akkad | "whose father was a gardener, the cupbearer of Ur-Zababa, became king, the king of Agade, who built Agade" | 40 years | ca. 2270–2215 BC (short) | defeated Lugal-zage-si of Uruk, took over Sumer, and began the Akkadian Empire |
Rimush of Akkad | "the son of Sargon" | 9 years | ca. 2214–2206 BC (short) | |
Manishtushu
(Manishtusu) |
"the older brother of Rimush, the son of Sargon" | 15 years | ca. 2205–2191 BC (short) | |
Naram-Sin of Akkad | "the son of Man-ishtishu" | 56 years | ca. 2190–2154 BC (short) | |
Shar-kali-sharri | "the son of Naram-Sin" | 25 years | ca. 2153–2129 BC (short) | |
- "Then who was king? Who was not the king?"
|
|
"and the 4 of them ruled for only 3 years" | | ca. 2128–2125 BC (short) | |
Dudu of Akkad | | 21 years | ca. 2125–2104 BC (short) | |
Shu-Durul | "the son of Dudu" | 15 years | ca. 2104–2083 BC (short) | Akkad falls to the Gutians |
- "Then Agade was defeated and the kingship was taken to Unug (Uruk)."
|
Fourth Dynasty of Uruk
- (Possibly rulers of lower Mesopotamia contemporary with the Dynasty of Akkad)
Ruler | Epithet | Length of reign | Approx. dates | Comments |
Ur-ningin | | 7 years | ca. 2091? – 2061? BC (short) | |
Ur-gigir | "the son of Ur-ningin" | 6 years | | |
Kuda | | 6 years | | |
Puzur-ili | | 5 years | | |
Ur-Utu (or Lugal-melem) | ("the son of Ur-gigir")* | 25 years | | |
- "Unug was defeated and the kingship was taken to the army of Gutium."
|
The 2nd Dynasty of Lagash (before ca. 2093–2046 BC (short)) is not mentioned in the King List, though it is well known from inscriptions.
Gutian rule
Ruler | Epithet | Length of reign | Approx. dates | Comments |
- "In the army of Gutium, at first no king was famous; they were their own kings and ruled thus for 3 years."
|
Inkishush | | 6 years | ca. 2147–2050 BC (short) | |
Zarlagab | | 6 years | | |
Shulme (or Yarlagash) | | 6 years | | |
Silulumesh (or Silulu) | | 6 years | | |
Inimabakesh (or Duga) | | 5 years | | |
Igeshaush (or Ilu-An) | | 6 years | | |
Yarlagab | | 3 years | | |
Ibate of Gutium | | 3 years | | |
Yarla (or Yarlangab) | | 3 years | | |
Kurum | | 1 year | | |
Apilkin | | 3 years | | |
La-erabum | | 2 years | | mace head inscription |
Irarum | | 2 years | | |
Ibranum | | 1 year | | |
Hablum | | 2 years | | |
Puzur-Suen | "the son of Hablum" | 7 years | | |
Yarlaganda | | 7 years | | foundation inscription at Umma |
(?) | | 7 years | | Si-um or Si-u? — foundation inscription at Umma |
Tirigan | | 40 days | | defeated by Utu-hengal of Uruk |
- "Then the army of Gutium was defeated and the kingship taken to Unug (Uruk)."
|
Fifth Dynasty of Uruk
Ruler | Epithet | Length of reign | Approx. dates | Comments |
Utu-hengal | | conflicting dates (427 years / 26 years / 7 years) | ca. 2055–2048 BC (short) | defeats Tirigan and the Gutians, appoints Ur-Namma governor of Ur |
- "Then Unug was defeated and the kingship was taken to Urim (Ur)."
|
Third Dynasty of Ur
Ruler | Epithet | Length of reign | Approx. dates | Comments |
Ur-Namma (Ur-Nammu) | | 18 years | ca. 2047–2030 BC (short) | defeats Nammahani of Lagash; contemporary of Utu-hengal of Uruk |
Shulgi | "the son of Ur-Namma" | 46 years | ca. 2029–1982 BC (short) | possible lunar/solar eclipse 2005 BC |
Amar-Suena | "the son of Shulgi" | 9 years | ca. 1981–1973 BC (short) | |
Shu-Suen | "the son of Amar-Suena" | 9 years | ca. 1972–1964 BC (short) | |
Ibbi-Suen | "the son of Shu-Suen" | 24 years | ca. 1963–1940 BC (short) | |
- "Then Urim was defeated. The very foundation of Sumer was torn out. The kingship was taken to Isin."
|
Independent Amorite states in lower Mesopotamia.
The Dynasty of Larsa (ca. 1961–1674 BC (short)) from this period is not mentioned in the King List.
Dynasty of Isin
* These epithets or names are not included in all versions of the king list.
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Van De Mieroop, Marc (2004). A History of the Ancient Near East. Blackwell. p. 41. ISBN 0-631-22552-8.
- ↑ The spelling of royal names follows the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature
- ↑ von Soden, Wolfram (1994). The Ancient Orient. Donald G. Schley (trans.). Wm. B. Eerdmans. p. 47. ISBN 0-8028-0142-0.
- ↑ translation
- ↑ translation
- ↑ Langdon, OECT2 (1923), pl. 6.
- ↑ Stephen Langdon,
Historical inscriptions, containing principally the chronological prism, W-B 444, Oxford University Press, 1923
- ↑ "WB-444 High Resolution Image from CDLI".
- ↑ "WB-444 Line Art from CDLI".
- ↑ Ancient Iraq: (Assyria and Babylonia), Peter Roger Stuart Moorey, Ashmolean Museum, 1976; The Sumerian King List, T. Jacobsen, University of Chicago Press, 1939, p. 77.
- ↑ "The Early Chronology of Sumer and Egypt and the Similarities in Their Culture", S. Langdon, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 7, No. 3/4, Oct., 1921, p. 133.
- ↑ "The Antediluvian Kings: A University of California Tablet", J. J. Finkelstein, Journal of Cuneiform Studies, Vol. 17, No. 2, 1963, p. 39.
- ↑ Finkelstein, 1963, pp.39-40.
- ↑ Lambert and Millard, Cuneiform Texts 46 Nr. 5
- ↑ Bilingual Chronicle Fragments, Irving L. Finkel, Journal of Cuneiform Studies, Vol. 32, No. 2, Apr., 1980, pp. 65-80.
- ↑ A copy of the tablet appears in Jan van Dijk and Werner R. Mayer, Texte aus dem Rès-Heiligtum
in Uruk-Warka, Bagdader Mitteilungen Beiheft 2 (Berlin: Gebr. Mann Verlag, 1980), text no. 89 (= BaMB 2 89). For an edition of the text, see J. van Dijk, Die Inschriftenfunde, Vorläufiger Bericht über die... Ausgrabungen in Uruk-Warka 18 (1962), 44-52 and plate 27.
- ↑ Harriet Crawford (2004), Sumer and the Sumerians, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-53338-6
- ↑ Christine Proust, "Numerical and Metrological Graphemes: From Cuneiform to Transliteration," Cuneiform Digital Library Journal, 2009, ISSN 1540-8779
- ↑ http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section2/tr211.htm
- ↑ Gilgameš and Aga Translation at ETCSL
Literature
- Jacobsen, Thorkild. The Sumerian King List. Oriental Institute, Assyriological Studies 11, University of Chicago Press, 1939
- Rowton, M. B. The Date of the Sumerian King List, Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 156–162, 1960
- P. Steinkeller, An Ur III Manuscript of the Sumerian King List. In Literatur, Politik und Recht in Mesopotamien: Festschrift fur Claus Wilcke, ed. W. Sallaberger et al., Harrassowitz Verlag, pp. 267–92, 2003
- Young, Dwight W. The Incredible Regnal Spans of Kish I in the Sumerian King List, Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 50, no. 1, pp. 23–35, 1991
- Hallo, William W. Beginning and End of the Sumerian King List in the Nippur Recension, Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 52–57, 1963
- Vincente, Claudine-Adrienne, "The Tall Leilan Recension of the Sumerian King List", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 50 (1995), 234–270
- Friberg, Jöran. "The Beginning and the End of the Sumerian King List", in A remarkable collection of Babylonian mathematical texts: Manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection Cuneiform Texts I, Springer, 2007, ISBN 0-387-34543-4
- Michalowski, Piotr. History as Charter Some Observations on the Sumerian King List, Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 103, no. 1, pp. 237–248, 1983
- Jean-Jacques Glassner, Mesopotamian Chronicles, Brill, 2005, ISBN 90-04-13084-5
- J. J. Finkelstein, The Antediluvian Kings: A University of California Tablet, Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 39–51, 1963
- Albrecht Goetze, Early Kings of Kish, Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 105–111, 1961
- Thomas Jacobs, The Sumerian King List, UGent paper, GONO department