Sumerian King List

Long ago, people wrote lists on clay.

These lists named many old kings. They wrote which city ruled first. Some kings ruled for a very long time.

The list tells of a great flood. After the flood, kingship went to a city called Kish. The list shows how power moves from city to city.

It is a very old story of many lands.

The Sumerian King List is a very old writing.

It was written on clay tablets in Sumer. Sumer was a place in southern Mesopotamia. The list names many kings and their cities. It also says how long they ruled.

Some parts of the list tell a myth. It says kings ruled before a great flood. These kings ruled for thousands of years. After the flood, kingship went to the city of Kish.

The list shows power moving from city to city. One city would rule for a while. Then it would fall or lose power. A new city would then become the ruler. This shows a cycle of power.

One famous ruler in the list is Sargon of Akkad. He was a cup-bearer for a king in Kish. Later, he defeated a ruler from Uruk. He then started his own ruling family. Scholars study these lists to learn about the past. But they must be careful. Some parts were changed by people long ago. Other parts might have errors from copying.

The Sumerian King List is a very old piece of writing.

It was written in a language called Sumerian. This list was likely made to show why certain cities should have power. It lists many Sumerian cities and the kings who ruled them. It also tells how many years each king stayed in power. Some of these reigns lasted for thousands of years. This makes the list feel like a mix of history and legend.

The list follows a specific pattern to tell its story. It starts by saying kingship came down from heaven. First, it talks about kings who ruled before a great flood. After the flood, the list shows power moving from one city to another. One city would hold kingship for a while. Then that city would fall or be defeated. Finally, the power would move to a new city. This creates a cycle of different cities taking turns as leaders.

Historians have found many different versions of this list.

Most of these were written on clay tablets. Many of these tablets were found in southern Mesopotamia. One very important version is called the Weld-Blundell Prism. This version is well-preserved and shows the kings from before the flood. It also ends with the rulers from the city of Isin. Other versions were found in places like Susa and Nippur. Some parts of the tablets are broken or missing.

There are many interesting details in the text.

The list mentions famous names like Gilgamesh. It also names Sargon of Akkad, who was once a cup-bearer. Sargon later defeated a ruler from Uruk to start his own dynasty. One ruler named Kug-Bau is even called a woman tavern keeper. This is the only queen mentioned in the list. The list also includes a king named Etana who went to heaven. These names help us see the people the ancients remembered.

Today, scholars use this list to study ancient history.

However, they must be very careful when reading it. Some parts of the list might have mistakes from copying. Other parts may have been changed on purpose. People long ago might have edited the list to fit their own needs. Because of this, the list is not always a perfect history. It is still a wonderful way to see how ancient people thought about power.

The Sumerian King List, often called the SKL, is an ancient literary composition written in the Sumerian language.

It was likely created and edited during the late third and early second millennium BC. The text served to legitimize the claims of various city-states and kingdoms in southern Mesopotamia. It achieved this by listing Sumerian cities, the kings who ruled them, and the lengths of their reigns. The document is not a single, unified text. Instead, it is a collection of different versions that existed throughout history. These versions often contain different names, different reign lengths, or different orders of dynasties.

The mechanism of the SKL relies on a repetitive structure to convey its message. Each entry typically names the city where kingship was located. It then lists one or more kings and specifies how many years they ruled. The entry often concludes with a summary and a statement about where kingship moved next. This pattern shows a cycle where one city holds power until it is defeated or falls.

Once a city falls, kingship is transferred to a new location. This structure reinforces the idea that kingship is a singular, divine authority that moves between cities.

The composition is divided into distinct chronological stages. The first stage describes antediluvian kings, or rulers who lived before a great flood.

These kings are often seen as legendary or fictional. The text states that kingship descended from heaven and first resided in Eridu. After the flood, the second stage begins with kingship descending to the city of Kish.

Following the Kish period, the list moves through various dynasties in cities like Uruk, Ur, and Akkad. The final stage recorded in the best-preserved version ends with the dynasty from Isin.

History and discovery of the SKL involve many different clay tablets and cylinders.

Most fragments were recovered from sites in southern Mesopotamia, with many coming from Nippur. The Weld-Blundell Prism is the most famous and best-preserved version. It includes the antediluvian section and ends with the Isin dynasty. Other important finds include the Scheil dynastic tablet from Susa and the Mari list found at Tell Leilan. The oldest known version is the Ur III Sumerian King List, which dates to the Ur III period. This version was likely copied during the reign of King Shulgi between 2084 and 2037 BC.

The significance of the SKL lies in its specific details and the way it views power. In the antediluvian section, the reigns are massive, ranging from 28,800 to 43,200 years. These reigns total 241,200 years before the flood occurs. After the flood, the kings of Kish ruled for a total of 24,510 years. As the list progresses toward more recent history, the average length of a reign decreases.

Modern scholars use numbered dynasties, such as Ur III, to describe periods of hegemony. However, these numbers are not in the original text and are used by researchers to organize the data.

Notable examples within the text provide a glimpse into ancient Mesopotamian culture. The list mentions Etana, a king who reportedly ascended to heaven.

It also records Enmebaragesi, the first king whose name is confirmed by other inscriptions. Another famous figure is Sargon of Akkad, who is described as a cup-bearer before founding his own empire.

The text even includes a single queen, Kug-Bau, who is described as a woman tavern keeper. These specific details, though sometimes legendary, add depth to our understanding of the era.

Connecting the SKL to broader topics requires careful academic caution. While once considered an invaluable tool for reconstructing political history, modern research suggests it is fraught with difficulties.

Differences between versions may result from simple copying errors by scribes. They may also be the result of deliberate editorial decisions. Scribes often changed the text to fit the political needs of their own time. Therefore, the SKL is studied as a literary and political tool rather than a strictly factual historical record.