The Sumerian king list is an ancient text in the Sumerian language that lists kings of Sumer from Sumerian and foreign dynasties. It records the location of the "official" kingship, along with the rulers and the lengths of their rule. Kingship was believed to have been handed down by the gods, and could be passed from one city to another by military conquest - the loss being interpreted as abandonment by the city's tutelary deity.
The list blends earlier, possibly mythical kings with exceptionally long reigns, with later, more plausibly historical dynasties. It cannot be ruled out that the earlier names in the list correspond to historic rulers who later became legendary figures. The list mentions only one female ruler: Kug-Bau "the tavern-keeper", who alone accounts for the Third Dynasty of Kish.
The earliest name on the list whose existence has been authenticated through recent archaeological discoveries is that of En-me-barage-si of Kish (ca. 2600 BC). The fact that his name is also mentioned in the Epic of Gilgamesh has led to speculation that Gilgamesh himself was historical.
Three dynasties are notably not included in this list: the Larsa dynasty, which vied for power with the (included) Isin dynasty during the Isin-Larsa period; and the two dynasties of Lagash, from before and after the Akkadian Empire, when Lagash exerted considerable influence in the region. Lagash in particular is known directly from archeological artifacts beginning ca. 2500 BC.
For lack of a more accurate source, the list is central to the chronology of the 3rd millennium BC. However, the fact that a number of the dynasties in the list probably reigned simultaneously in different cities makes it difficult to produce a strict chronology.
Some of the earliest known inscriptions containing the list date from the late 3rd millennium BC; for example, the Weld-Blundell Prism[1][2] is dated to 2170 BC.[3] The later Babylonian and Assyrian king lists that were based on it still preserved the earliest portions of the list well into the 3rd century BC, when Berossus popularised the list in the Hellenic world.
Absolute dates for the Pre-dynastic rulers are unavailable. They may or may not correspond to the Jemdet Nasr period (in the Early Bronze Age), which ended by 2900 BC, immediately preceding the dynasts.[5][6] These reigns were measured in sars — periods of 3600 years, the next unit up after 60 in Sumerian counting (3600 = 60x60) — and in ners — periods of 600 years.
Ruler
Epithet
Length of reign
Approx. dates
Comments
Pre-dynastic kings
30th cen. BC, or earlier
"After the kingship descended from heaven, the kingship was in Eridug (Eridu). In Eridug, Alulim became king; he ruled for 28800 years."
Excavations in Iraq have shown evidence of a flood at Shuruppak and other Sumerian cities: a layer of riverine sediment interrupting the continuity of settlement, which was radiocarbon dated to about 2900 BC, and which extended as far north as the city of Kish. Polychrome pottery from the Jemdet Nasr Period (3000-2900 BCE) was found immediately below the Shuruppak flood layer.[7]
Conquered parts of Sumer, then Eannatum of Lagash took over Sumer, Kish, and all Mesopotamia. Kug-Bau of Kish gained independence from Lagash, and his Uruk, after Entemena's death.
Contemporary of Sumu-la-El of Babylon. During his reign, the king's gardener, to celebrate the New Year was named 'king for a day' then sacrificed, the "king" died during the celebration; Enlil-Bani remained on the throne.
