WORLD TIME LINE CHANNEL: ERIDU and the Sumerian King List

Eridu
History
The ruins of Eridu in 2011.
Shown within Iraq
Location	Tell Abu Shahrain, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq
Region	Mesopotamia
Coordinates	30°48′57″N 45°59′46″ECoordinates: 30°48′57″N 45°59′46″E
Type	Settlement
Area	At most 10 ha (25 acres)
Founded	Approximately 54th century BCE
Abandoned	Approximately 6th century BCE

Eridu (Cuneiform: NUN.KI 𒉣 𒆠; Sumerian: eridu^ki; Akkadian: irîtu modern Arabic: Tell Abu Shahrain) is an archaeological site in southern Mesopotamia (modern Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq). Eridu was long considered the earliest city in southern Mesopotamia and is still today argued to be the oldest city in the world.^[1] Located 12 km southwest of Ur, Eridu was the southernmost of a conglomeration of Sumerian cities that grew around temples, almost in sight of one another. These buildings were made of mud brick and built on top of one another.^[2] With the temples growing upward and the village growing outward, a larger city was built.^[2] In Sumerian mythology, Eridu was originally the home of Enki, later known by the Akkadians as Ea, who was considered to have founded the city. His temple was called E-Abzu, as Enki was believed to live in Abzu, an aquifer from which all life was believed to stem.

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History of research[edit]

E-abzu temple of Eridu

The site at Tel Abu Shahrain, near Basra, has been excavated 4 times. It was initially excavated by John George Taylor in 1855, R. Campbell Thompson in 1918, and H.R. Hall in 1919.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] Excavation there resumed from 1946 to 1949 under Fuad Safar and Seton Lloyd of the Iraqi Directorate General of Antiquities and Heritage.^[7]^[8] These archaeological investigations showed that, according to Oppenheim, "eventually the entire south lapsed into stagnation, abandoning the political initiative to the rulers of the northern cities," probably as a result of increasing salinity produced by continuous irrigation and the city was abandoned in 600 BC.

Prominence[edit]

Eridu, also transliterated as Eridug,^[9] could mean "mighty place" or "guidance place". In the Sumerian King List, Eridu is named as the city of the first kings. The king list continues:

In Eridu, Alulim became king; he ruled for 28800 years. Alalngar ruled for 36000 years. 2 kings; they ruled for 64800 years. Then Eridu fell and the kingship was taken to Bad-tibira.

The king list gave particularly long reigns to the kings who ruled before a great flood occurred, and shows how the centre of power progressively moved from the south to the north of the country. Adapa, a man of Eridu, is depicted as an early culture hero. Identified with U-an, a half-human creature from the sea (Abgallu, from ab=water, gal=big,lu=man), he was considered to have brought civilization to the city during the time of King Alulim.

In Sumerian mythology, Eridu was the home of the Abzu temple of the god Enki, the Sumerian counterpart of theAkkadian god Ea, god of deep waters, wisdom and magic. Like all the Sumerian and Babylonian gods, Enki/Ea began as a local god, who came to share, according to the later cosmology, with Anu and Enlil, the rule of the cosmos. His kingdom was the sweet waters that lay below earth (Sumerian ab=water; zu=far).

The stories of Inanna, goddess of Uruk, describe how she had to go to Eridu in order to receive the gifts of civilization. At first Enki, the god of Eridu attempted to retrieve these sources of his power, but later willingly accepted that Uruk now was the centre of the land. This seems to be a mythical reference to the transfer of power northward.

Babylonian texts talk of the foundation of Eridu by the god Marduk as the first city, "the holy city, the dwelling of their [the other gods] delight".

In the court of Assyria, special physicians trained in the ancient lore of Eridu, far to the south, foretold the course of sickness from signs and portents on the patient's body, and offered the appropriate incantations and magical resources as cures.

History[edit]

Re-creation of the port at Eridu.

According to the Sumerian kinglist Eridu was the first city in the World. The opening line reads,

"[nam]-lugal an-ta èd-dè-a-ba

[eri]du^ki nam-lugal-la"

"When kingship from heaven was lowered,

the kingship was in Eridu."

In Sumerian mythology, it was said to be one of the five cities built before the Deluge occurred.

Eridu appears to be the earliest settlement in the region, founded ca. 5400 BC, close to the Persian Gulf near the mouth of the Euphrates River. Because of accumulation of silt at the shoreline over the millennia, the remains of Eridu are now some distance from the gulf at Abu Shahrain in Iraq. Excavation has shown that the city was originally founded on a virgin sand-dune site with no previous occupation. P. Steinkeller has hypothesised that the earliest divinity at Eridu was a Goddess, who later emerged as the Earth GoddessNinhursag (Nin = lade, Hur = Mountain, Sag = Sacred), with the later growth in Enki as a male divinity the result of a hieros gamos, with a male divinity or functionary of the temple.

According to Gwendolyn Leick,^[10] Eridu was formed at the confluence of three separate ecosystems, supporting three distinct lifestyles, that led by the Abgallu (Ab = water, Gal = great, Lu = man) came to an agreement about access to fresh water in a desert environment. The oldest agrarian settlement seems to have been based upon intensive subsistence irrigation agriculture derived from the Samarra culture to the north, characterised by the building of canals, and mud-brick buildings. The fisher-hunter cultures of the Arabian littoral were responsible for the extensive middens along the Arabian shoreline, and may have been the original Sumerians. They seem to have dwelt in reed huts. The third culture that contributed to the building of Eridu were theSemitic-speaking nomadic herders of herds of sheep and goats living in tents in semi-desert areas. All three cultures seem implicated in the earliest levels of the city. The urban settlement was centered on an impressive temple complex built of mudbrick, within a small depression that allowed water to accumulate.

Kate Fielden reports "The earliest village settlement (c.5000 BC) had grown into a substantial city of mudbrick and reed houses by c.2900 BC, covering 8-10 ha (20-25 acres). Mallowan writes that by the Ubaid period, it was as an "unusually large city" of an area of approx. 20¬25 acres, with a population of "not less than 4000 souls".^[11] Jacobsen describes that "Eridu was for all practical purposes abandoned after the Ubaid period",^[12] although it had recovered by Early Dynastic II as there was a Massive Early Dynastic II palace (100 m in each direction) partially excavated there.^[13] Ruth Whitehouse called it "a Major Early Dynastic City".^[14] By c.2050 BC the city had declined; there is little evidence of occupation after that date. Eighteen superimposed mudbrick temples at the site underlie the unfinished Ziggurat of Amar-Sin (c. 2047 – 2039 BC). The finding of extensive deposits of fishbones associated with the earliest levels also shows a continuity of the Abzu cult associated later with Enki and Ea. This apparent continuity of occupation and religious observance at Eridu provide convincing evidence for the indigenous origin of Sumerian civilization.^{[citation needed]}

Eridu was abandoned for long periods, before it was finally deserted and allowed to fall into ruin in the 6th century BC. The encroachment of neighbouring sand dunes, and the rise of a saline water table, set early limits to its agricultural base so in its later Neo-Babylonian development, Eridu was rebuilt as a purely temple site, in honour of its earliest history.

Possible location of Tower of Babel[edit]

The Egyptologist David Rohl has conjectured that Eridu, to the south of Ur, was the original Babel and site of the Tower of Babel, rather than the later city of Babylon.^[15]^[16] although this belief is not widely held.^[17]

Other scholars have discussed at length a number of additional correspondences between the names of "Babylon" and "Eridu". Historical tablets state thatSargon of Akkad (ca. 2300 BC) dug up the original "Babylon" and rebuilt it near Akkad, though some scholars suspect this may in fact refer to the much later Assyrian king Sargon II.^[18]

Architecture[edit]

The urban nucleus of Eridu was Enki's temple, called House of the Aquifer (Cuneiform: 𒂍𒍪 𒀊, E₂.ZU.AB; Sumerian: e₂-abzu; Akkadian: bītu apsû), which in later history was called House of the Waters (Cuneiform: 𒂍𒇉, E₂.LAGAB×HAL; Sumerian: e₂-engur; Akkadian: bītu engurru). The name refers to Enki's realm.^[19] His consort Ninhursanga had a nearby temple at Ubaid.^[20]

During the Ur III period a ziggurat was built over the remains of previous temples by Ur-Nammu.

Aside from Enmerkar of Uruk (as mentioned in the Aratta epics), several later historical Sumerian kings are said in inscriptions found here to have worked on or renewed the e-abzu temple, including Elili of Ur; Ur-Nammu, Shulgi and Amar-Sin of Ur-III, and Nur-Adad of Larsa.^[21]

House of the Aquifer (E-Abzu)[edit]

Level	Date (B.C.)	Period	Size (m)	Note
XVIII	5300	-	3×0.3	Sleeper walls
XVII	5300–5000	-	2.8×2.8	First cella
XVI	5300–4500	Early Ubaid	3.5×3.5
XV	5000–4500	Early Ubaid	7.3×8.4
XIV	5000–4500	Early Ubaid	-	No structure found
XIII	5000–4500	Early Ubaid	-	No structure found
XII	5000–4500	Early Ubaid	-	No structure found
XI	4500–4000	Ubaid	4.5×12.6	First platform
X	4500–4000	Ubaid	5×13
IX	4500–4000	Ubaid	4×10
VIII	4500–4000	Ubaid	18×11
VII	4000–3800	Ubaid	17×12
VI	4000–3800	Ubaid	22×9
V	3800–3500	Early Uruk	-	Only platform remains
IV	3800–3500	Early Uruk	-	Only platform remains
III	3800–3500	Early Uruk	-	Only platform remains
II	3500–3200	Early Uruk	-	Only platform remains
I	3200	Early Uruk	-	Only platform remains

The Sumerian King List is an ancient manuscript originally recorded in the Sumerian language, listing kings ofSumer (ancient southern Iraq) from Sumerian and neighboring dynasties, their supposed reign lengths, and the locations of the 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[edit]

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 theIsin-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 chronologyof 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[edit]

The following extant ancient sources contain the Sumerian King List, or fragments:

Apkullu-list (W.20030,7)
Babyloniaca (Berossus)
Dynastic Chronicle (ABC 18)^[4] including copies, K 11261+ and K 12054
Kish Tablet (Scheil dynastic tablet)
UCBC 9-1819 ("California Tablet")
WB 62
WB 444 (Weld-Blundell Prism) ^[5]

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 antedeluvian Sumerian rulers. K 11261+^[14] is one of the copies of this chronicle, consisting of three joined Neo-Assyrianfragments 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[edit]

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[edit]

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. Polychromepottery 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
"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[edit]

Ruler	Epithet	Length of reign	Approx. dates	Comments
"After the flood had swept over, and the kingship had descended from heaven, the kingship was inKish."
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 Elamsubmit"	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 ofUruk, according to theEpic of Gilgamesh^[20]
"Then Kish was defeated and the kingship was taken to E-ana."

First Rulers of Uruk[edit]

Ruler	Epithet	Length of reign	Approx. dates	Comments
Mesh-ki-ang-gasherof 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 capturedEn-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 withAga of Kish, according to theEpic of Gilgamesh^[21]
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[edit]

Ruler	Epithet	Length of reign	Approx. dates
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[edit]

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[edit]

Ruler	Epithet	Length of reign	Approx. dates
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[edit]

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[edit]

Ruler	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 Lagashclaims to have taken over Sumer, Kish, and all Mesopotamia.
Lugal-kinishe-dudu or Lugal-ure	120 years		contemporary with Entemena ofLagash
Argandea	7 years
"Then Unug was defeated and the kingship was taken to Urim (Ur)."

Second Dynasty of Ur[edit]

Ruler	Epithet	Length of reign	Approx. dates
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[edit]

Ruler	Epithet	Length of reign	Approx. dates	Comments
Lugal-Ane-mundu		90 years	ca. 25th century BC	said to have conquered allMesopotamia from the Persian Gulf to the Zagros Mountains and Elam
"Then Adab was defeated and the kingship was taken to Mari."

Dynasty of Mari[edit]

Ruler	Epithet	Length of reign	Approx. dates
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[edit]

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 Iof Lagash and En-shag-kush-ana ofUruk; 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[edit]

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[edit]

Ruler	Epithet	Length of reign	Approx. dates	Comments
Puzur-Suen	"the son ofKug-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[edit]

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[edit]

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)	defeatedLugal-zage-siof 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?"
Irgigi Imi Nanum Ilulu	"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 theGutians
"Then Agade was defeated and the kingship was taken to Unug (Uruk)."

Fourth Dynasty of Uruk[edit]

(Possibly rulers of lower Mesopotamia contemporary with the Dynasty of Akkad)

Ruler	Epithet	Length of reign	Approx. dates
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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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 toIsin."

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[edit]

Ruler	Epithet	Length of reign	Approx. dates	Comments
Ishbi-Erra		33 years	ca. 1953–1730 BC (short)	contemporary of Ibbi-Suen ofUr
Shu-Ilishu	"the son of Ishbi-Erra"	20 years
Iddin-Dagan	"the son of Shu-ilishu"	20 years
Ishme-Dagan	"the son of Iddin-Dagan"	20 years
Lipit-Eshtar	"the son of Ishme-Dagan (or Iddin-Dagan)"	11 years		contemporary of Gungunum ofLarsa
Ur-Ninurta	("the son of Ishkur, may he have years of abundance, a good reign, and a sweet life")*	28 years		Contemporary of Abisare ofLarsa
Bur-Suen	"the son of Ur-Ninurta"	21 years
Lipit-Enlil	"the son of Bur-Suen"	5 years
Erra-imitti		8 years		He appointed his gardener, Enlil-Bani, substitute king and then suddenly died.
Enlil-bani		24 years		contemporary of Sumu-la-El ofBabylon. He was Erra-imitti's gardener and was appointed substitute king, to serve as a scapegoat and then sacrificed, but remained on the throne when Erra－imitti suddenly died.
Zambiya		3 years		contemporary of Sin-Iqisham ofLarsa
Iter-pisha		4 years
Ur-du-kuga		4 years
Suen-magir		11 years
(Damiq-ilishu)*	("the son of Suen-magir")*	(23 years)*

* These epithets or names are not included in all versions of the king list.

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Wednesday, August 17, 2016

ERIDU and the Sumerian King List

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