(Photo: Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative, University of California)
The Sumerian King List
The Sumerian King List (SKL) dates from around 2100 BCE—near the time when Abram was in Ur. Most ANE scholars (following Jacobsen) attribute the original form of the SKL to Utu-hejel, king of Uruk, and his desire to legiti- mize his reign after his defeat of the Gutians.
The above cuneiform inscription is the source of just one of the several versions of the Sumerian King List. Showing in the photo are columns 7-8, and 1-2.
Later versions included a reference to the Great Flood and prefaced the list of postdiluvian kings with a rela- tively short list of what appear to be extremely long-reigning antediluvian kings. One explanation: transcription or translation errors resulting from confusion of the Sumerian base-60 and the Akkadian base-10 systems
of numbering. Dividing each ante- diluvian figure by 60 returns reigns in harmony with Biblical norms (the bracketed figures in the antediluvian portion of the chart).
Final versions of the SKL extended the list to include kings up to the reign of Damiq-ilicu, king of Isin (c. 1816- 1794 BCE).
Dates. Competing chronologies for the 2nd millenium BCE are dependent upon the observations of Venus by
an astronomer during the eighth year of the Babylonian king Ammisduqa. Astro-historians derive three possible dates for his accession: 1702 (High
or Long Chronology), 1646 (Middle Chronology), or 1582 (Low or Short Chronology). The following chart uses the Middle Chronology.
Text. The SKL text for the following chart was originally in a narrative form and consisted of a composite of several versions (see Black, J.A., Cunningham, G., Fluckiger-Hawker, E, Robson, E., and Zólyomi, G., The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (http:// www-etcsl.orient.ox.ac.uk/), Oxford 1998-). The text was modified by the elimination of manuscript references and by the addition of alternative name spellings, clarifying notes, and historical dates (typically in paren- thesis or brackets). The narrative was then organized into a chart format
to highlight the recurring formal ele- ments: a typical reference to a king’s realm originally read, “In Eridug, Alulim became king; he ruled for 28,800 years.” Compare this to the first reign in the chart below.
| City / Dynasty | King | Length of rule in years |
| “After the kingship descended from heaven, the kingship was in Eridug.” | ||
Eridug (cf. Eridu)
[Postdeluvian cities were probably named after antediluvian cities (e.g., “New York” after “York”).] | Alulim | 28,800 [/60 = 480] |
| Alaljar | 36,000 [/60 = 600] | |
| 2 kings | they ruled for 64,800 years [/60 = 1,080] | |
| Bad-Tibira | En-men-lu-ana | 43,200 [/60 = 720] |
| En-men-gal-ana | 28,000 [/60 = 467] | |
| Dumuzid, the shepherd | 36,000 [/60 = 600] | |
| 3 kings | they ruled for 108,000 years [/60 = 1800] | |
| Larag | En-sipad-zid-ana | 28,800 [/60 = 480] |
| 1 king | he ruled for 28,800 years [/60 = 480] | |
| Zimbar | En-men-dur-ana | 21,000 [/60 = 350] |
| 1 king | he ruled for 21,000 years [/60 = 350] | |
| Curuppag (Shurrupak) | Ubara-Tutu | 18,600 [/60 = 310] |
| 1 king | he ruled for 18,600 years [/60 = 310] | |
| 5 cities | 8 kings | they ruled for 241,200 years [/60 = 4020] |
“Then the flood swept over.”
“After the flood had swept over, and the kingship had descended from heaven…” | ||
| City / Dynasty | King | Length of rule in years |
Kic (Kish)
The first dynasty of Kish
The beginning of the Early Dynastic Period (2900-2334 BCE) | Jucur (Ngushur) | 1,200 |
| Kullassina-bel | 960 (900) | |
| Nanjiclicma (Nangishlishma) | 670 | |
| En-tarah-ana | 420 years, 3 months, and 3 ½ days | |
| Babum | 300 | |
| Puannum | 840 (240) | |
| Kalibum | 960 (900) | |
| Kalumum | 840 (900) | |
| Zuqaqip | 900 (600) | |
| Atab (Aba) | 600 | |
| Macda (Mashda), son of Atab | 840 (720) | |
| Arwium, son of Macda | 720 | |
Etana, the shepherd who ascended to heaven and consolidated all the foreign countries | 1,500 (635) | |
| Balih, son of Etana | 400 (410) | |
| En-me-nuna | 660 (621) | |
| Melem-Kic (Melem-Kish), son of En-me-nuna | 900 | |
(1,560 are the years of the dynasty of En-me-nuna) | ||
| Barsal-nuna, son of En-me-nuna | 1,200 | |
| Zamug, son of Barsal-nuna | 140 | |
| Tizqar, son of Zamug | 305 (1620 + X) | |
| Ilku | 900 | |
| Iltasadum | 1,200 | |
En-men-barage-si, who made the lad of Elam submit [earliest name with an independent attestation] | 900 | |
Aga, son of En-men-barage-si [contemporary of Gilgamesh of Uruk (below)] | 625 | |
(1,525 are the years of the dynasty of En-men-barage-si) | ||
| 23 kings | 24,510 years, 3 months, and 3 ½ days | |
“Then Kic was defeated
and the kingship was taken to E-ana.” | ||
E-ana (Uruk)
The first dynasty of Erech | Mec-ki-aj-gacer (Mesh-ki-ang-gasher), son of Utu (the Sun God), became lord and king... … Mec-ki-aj-gacer entered the sea and disappeared | 324 (325) |
Enmerkar, son of Mec-ki-aj-gacer, king of Unug, who built Unug (or, “under whom Unug was built”) | 420 (900 + X) | |
745 are the years of the dynsty of Mec-ki-aj-gacer (or, “he ruled for 5 + X years”) | ||
| Lugalbanda, the shepherd | 1,200 | |
Dumuzid (Dumuzi), the fisherman, whose city was Kuara ... ...(“He captured En-me-barage-si single-handed”) | 100 (110) | |
Gilgamec (Gilgamesh), whose father was a phantom (?), the lord of Kulaba [contemporary of Aga of Kic] | 126 | |
| Ur-Nungal, son of Gilgamec | 30 | |
| Udul-Kalama, son of Ur-Nungal | 15 | |
| La-ba’cum (La-ba’shum) | 9 | |
| En-nun-tarah-ana | 8 | |
| Mec-he (Mesh-he), the smith | 36 | |
| Melem-ana (Til-kug) | 6 (900) | |
| Lugal-kitun | 36 (420) | |
| 12 kings | they ruled for 2,310 (3588) years | |
“Then Unug was defeated
and the kingship was taken to Urim” | ||
| City / Dynasty | King | Length of rule in years |
Urim (Ur)
The first dynasty of Ur | Mec-Ane-pada (Mesh-Ane-pada) | 80 |
Mec-ki-aj-Nanna (Mesh-ki-ang-Nanna), son of Mec-Ane-pada | 36 (30) | |
| Elulu | 25 | |
| Balulu | 36 | |
| 4 kings | they ruled for 171 years | |
“Then Urim was defeated
and the kingship was taken to Awan” | ||
Awan
The dynasty of Awan | … | … |
| … | … | |
| … | 36 | |
| 3 kings | they ruled for 356 years | |
“Then Awan was defeated
and the kingship was taken to Kic” | ||
Kic (Kish)
The second dynasty of Kish | Susuda, the fuller | 201 + X |
| Dadasig | 81 | |
| Mamagal, the boatman | 360 (420) | |
| Kalbum, son of Mamagal (Mamgalgal) | 195 (132) | |
| Tuge | 360 | |
| Men-nuna (son of Tuge) | 180 | |
| … (Enbi-Ishtar) | 290 | |
| Lugalju (Lugalngu) | 360 (420) | |
| 8 kings | they ruled for 3,195 (3,792) years | |
“Then Kic was defeated
and the kingship was taken to Hamazi.” | ||
Hamazi
The dynasty of Hamazi | Hadanic (Hadanish) | 360 |
| 1 king | he ruled for 360 years | |
“Then Hamazi was defeated
and the kingship was taken (or, returned the second time) to Unug.” | ||
Unug (Uruk)
The second dynasty of Erech | En-cakanca-ana (En-shag-kush-ana) | 60 |
| Lugal-ure (Lugal-kinice-dudu) | 120 | |
| Argandea | 7 | |
| 3 kings | they ruled for 187 years | |
| “Then Unug was defeated (destroyed) and the kingship was taken to Urim.” | ||
Urim (Ur)
The second dynasty of Ur | Nani (Nanni) | 120 + X (54 + X) |
| Mec-ki-aj-Nanna (Mesh-ki-ang-Nanna II), son of Nani | 48 | |
| ..., son of ... | 2 | |
| 3 (2) kings | they ruled for 582 (578, 120 + X) years | |
| “Then Urim was defeated (destroyed) and the kingship was taken to Adab.” | ||
Adab
The dynasty of Adab | Lugal-Ane-mundu | 90 |
| 1 king | he ruled for 90 years | |
| “Then Adab was defeated (destroyed) and the kingship was taken to Mari.” | ||
Mari
The dynasty of Mari | Anbu | 30 (90) |
| Anba, son of Anbu | 17 (7) | |
| Bazi, the leatherworker | 30 | |
| Zizi, the fuller | 20 | |
| Limer, the gudu (gudug) priest | 30 | |
| Carrum-iter (Sharrum-iter) | 9 (7) | |
| 6 kings | they ruled for 136 (184) years | |
| “Then Mari was defeated (destroyed) and the kingship was taken to Kic.” | ||
| City / Dynasty | King | Length of rule in years |
Kic (Kish)
The third dynasty of Kish | Kug-Bau, the woman tavern-keeper, who made firm the foundations of Kic, became king. [the only woman] | 100 |
| 1 king | she ruled for 100 years | |
| “Then Kic was defeated (destroyed) and the kingship was taken to Akcak.” | ||
Akcak (Akshak)
The dynasty of Akshak | Unzi | 30 |
| Undalulu | 6 (12) | |
| Urur (“was king” instead of “ruled”) | 6 | |
| Puzur-Nirah | 20 | |
| Icu-Il | 24 | |
| Cu-Suen, son of Icu-Il | 7 (24) | |
| 6 kings | they ruled for 99 (116) years | |
| “Then Akcak was defeated (or, reign of Akcak was abolished) and the kingship was taken to Kic.” | ||
Kic (Kish)
The fourth dynasty of Kish
(c. 2,650 BCE) | Puzur-Suen, son of Kug-Bau | 25 |
| Ur-Zababa, son of Puzur-Suen | 400 (6) | |
| (131 are the years of the dynasty of Kug-Bau) | ||
| Zimudar (Ziju-iake) | 30 (30 + X) | |
| Usi-watar, son of Zimudar (Ziju-iake) | 7 (6) | |
| Ectar-muti (Eshtar-muti) | 11 (17) | |
| Icme-Camac (Ishme-Shamash) | 11 | |
| (Cu-ilicu) | (15) | |
| Nanniya, the jeweller (Zimudar) | 7 (3) | |
| 7 (8) kings | they ruled for 491 (485, 586) years | |
“Then Kic was defeated (the reign of Kic was abolished)
and the kingship was taken (returned for the third time) to Unug.” | ||
Unug (Uruk)
The third dynasty of Erech | Lugal-zage-si (Lagesh) | 25 (34) |
| 1 king | he ruled for 25 (34) years | |
| “Then Unug was defeated (abolished) and the kingship was taken to Agade.” | ||
Agade (Akkad)
The dynasty of Agade (Akkad)
Sargon and the Akkadian Empire (c. 2334-2193 BCE) | Sargon, whose father was a gardener, the cup-bearer of Ur-Zababa, became king, the king of Agade, who built Agade (or, under whom Agade was built) [Sargon’s defeat of Lugal-zage-si of Uruk was the begin- ning of the Akkadian Empire] | 56 (55, 54) (2334-2279 BCE) |
| Rimuc (Rimush), son of Sargon | 9 (7, 15) (2278-2270 BCE) | |
| Man-icticcu (Man-ishtishu), the older brother of Rimuc, the son of Sargon | 15 (7) (2269-2255 BCE) | |
| Naram-Suen, son of Man-icticau | 56 (2254-2218 BCE) | |
| Car-kali-carri (Shar-kali-sharri), son of Naram-Suen | 25 (24) (2217-2193 BCE) | |
157 are the years of the dynasty of Sargon. Then who was king? Who (indeed) was the king? | ||
| Irgigi was King | …and the four of them ruled for only 3 years | |
| Imi was king | ||
| Nanum was king | ||
| Ilulu was king… | ||
| Dudu | 21 | |
Cu-Dural (Shu-Durul), son of Dudu [Akkad falls to the Gutians] | 15 (18) | |
| 11 (12, 9) kings | they ruled for 181 (197, 161, 177) years | |
| City / Dynasty | King | Length of rule in years |
| “Then Agada was defeated (the reign of Agade was abolished) and the kingship was taken to Unug.” | ||
Unug (Uruk)
The fourth dynasty of Erech | Ur-nigin | 7 (3, 15, 30) |
| Ur-gigir, son of Ur-nijin | 6 (7, 15, 7) | |
| Kuda | 6 | |
| Puzur-ili | 5 (20) | |
| Ur-Utu (or, Lugal-melem) (son of Ur-gigir) | 6 (25, 7) | |
| 5 (3) kings | they ruled for 30 (26, 47) years | |
| “Then Unug was defeated (the reign of Unug was abolished) and the kingship was taken to the army (land) of Gutium.” | ||
In the army (land) of Gutium
The dynasty of Gutium
The “Guti Period” (beg. c. 2200 BCE) | at first no king was famous; they were their own kings and ruled thus (or, ruled themselves) ... then | 3 (5) |
| Iukicuc (Inkishush) | 6 (7) | |
| Zarlagab | 6 | |
| Culme (Shulme) (or, Yarlagac) | 6 | |
| Silulumec (Silulumesh) (or, Silulu) | 6 (7) | |
| Inimabakec (Inimabakesh) (or, Duga) | 5 (6) | |
| Igecanc (Igeshaush) (or, Ilu-an) | 6 (3) | |
| Yarlagab | 15 (5) | |
| Ibate | 3 | |
| Yarla (or, Yarlangab) | 3 | |
| Kurum | 1 (3) | |
| Apil-kin | 3 | |
| La-erabum | 2 | |
| Irarum | 2 | |
| Ibranum | 1 | |
| Hablum | 2 | |
| Puzur-Suen, son of Hablum | 7 | |
| Yarlaganda | 7 | |
| ... (Si-um ? Si-u ?) | 7 | |
| Tiriga (Tirigan) [Defeated by Utu-henjal of Uruk] | 40 days | |
| 21 kings | they ruled for 124 years, 40 days | |
| “Then the army of Gutium was defeated (destroyed) and the kingship was taken to Unug.” | ||
Unug (Uruk)
The fifth dynasty of Erech | Utu-hejal (Utu-hegel, Utu-hengal) [Defeated Tiriga the Gutian; appointed Ur-Nammu as governor of Urim; perhaps responsible for composing the Sumerian King List to legitimize his reign.] | 427 years, ... days (or, 26 years, 2 + X months, 15 days) (or, 7 years, 6 months, 5 days) |
| 1 king | he ruled for 427 years and … days (or, 26 years, 2 + X months, 15 days)
(or, 7 years, 6 months, 5 days) | |
“Then Unug was defeated
and the kingship was taken to Urim.” | ||
Urim (Ur)
The third dynasty of Ur
(2112-2004 BCE) | Ur-Nammu (Ur-Namma) [Defeated Nammahani of Lagash] | 18 |
| Culgi (Shulgi), son of Ur-Namma | 46 (48, 58) | |
| Amar-Suena, son of Culgi | 9 (25) | |
| Cu-Suen (Shu-Suen), son of Amar-Suena | 9 (7, 20 + X, 16) | |
| Ibbi-Suen, son of Cu-Suen | 24 (25, 15, 23) | |
| 4 (5) kings | they ruled for 108 (117, 120 + X, 123) years | |
“Then Urim was defeated (the reign of Urim was abolished).
The very foundation of Sumer was torn out. The kingship was taken to Isin.” | ||
| City / Dynasty | King | Length of rule in years |
Isin
The dynasty of Isin
Isin-Larsa Period (2000-1800 BCE) | Icbi-Erra (Ishbi-Erra) | 33 (32) |
| Cu-ilicu (Shu-ilishu), son of Icbi-Erra | 20 (10, 15) | |
| Iddin-Dagan, son of Cu-ilicu | 21 (25) | |
| Icme-Dagan (Ishme-Dagan), son of Iddin-Dagan | 20 (18) | |
Lipit-Ectar (Lipit-Eshtar), son of Icme-Dagan (or, Iddin- Dagan) [contemporary of Gungunum of Larsa] | 11 | |
Ur-Ninurta, son of Ickur—may he have years of abun- dance, a good reign, a sweet life— [contemporary of Abisare of Larsa] | 28 | |
| Bur-Suen, son of Ur-Ninurta | 21 | |
| Lipit-Enlil, son of Bur-Suen | 5 | |
| Erra-lmitti | 8 (7) | |
| (…) | (… 6 months) | |
| Enlil-bani [contemporary of Sumu-la-El of Babylon] | 24 | |
Zambiya [contemporary of Sin-Iqisham of Larsa] | 3 | |
| Iter-pica (Iter-pisha) | 4 | |
| Ur-dul-kuga | 4 | |
Suen-magir (Damiq-ilicu, the son of Suen-magir) | 11 (23) | |
| 14 kings | they ruled for 203 years (225 years, 6 months) | |
Summary: [Some mss. summarize the post-deluvian dynasties...] |
a total of 39 kings |
ruled for 14,409 + X years, 3 months, 3 ½ days |
| In Kic (Kish) ...4 times | ||
| In Unug (Uruk) ...5 times | a total of 22 kings | ruled for 2610 + X years, 6 months, 15 days |
| In Urim (Ur) ...3 times | a total of 12 kings | ruled for 396 years |
| In Awan ...1 time | a total of 3 kings | ruled for 356 years |
| In Hamazi ...1 time | a total of 1 king | ruled for 420 years |
| [mss. have 16 missing lines] | (...) | (...) |
| In Agade ...1 time | a total of 12 kings | ruled for 197 years |
| In Army of Gutium ...1 time | a total of 21 (23) kings | ruled for 125 years, 40 days (or, 99 years) |
| In Isin ...1 time | a total of 11 (16) kings | ruled for 159 (226) years |
There are 11 cities,
cities in which kingship was exercised | a total of 134 (139) kings | who altogether ruled for 28,876 (3443) + X years |
