The Sumerian King List or Chronicle of the One Monarchy is an ancient literary composition written in Sumerian that was likely created and redacted to legitimize the claims to power of various city-states and kingdoms in southern Mesopotamia during the late third and early second millennium BC. It does so by repetitively listing Sumerian cities, the kings that ruled there, and the lengths of their reigns. Especially in the early part of the list, these reigns often span thousands of years. In the oldest known version, dated to the Ur III period but probably based on Akkadian source material, the SKL reflected a more linear transition of power from Kish, the first city to receive kingship, to Akkad. In later versions from the Old Babylonian period, the list consisted of a large number of cities between which kingship was transferred, reflecting a more cyclical view of how kingship came to a city, only to be inevitably replaced by the next. In its best-known and best-preserved version, as recorded on the Weld-Blundell Prism, the SKL begins with a number of fictional antediluvian kings, who ruled before a flood swept over the land, after which kingship went to Kish. It ends with a dynasty from Isin, which is well-known from other contemporary sources.
The history of Sumer spans the 5th to 3rd millennia BCE in southern Mesopotamia, and is taken to include the prehistoric Ubaid and Uruk periods. Sumer was the region's earliest known civilization and ended with the downfall of the Third Dynasty of Ur around 2004 BCE. It was followed by a transitional period of Amorite states before the rise of Babylonia in the 18th century BCE.
Ziusudra of Shuruppak is listed in the WB-62 Sumerian King List recension as the last king of Sumer prior to the Great Flood. He is subsequently recorded as the hero of the Sumerian creation myth and appears in the writings of Berossus as Xisuthros.
Kish is an important archaeological site in Babil Governorate (Iraq), located 80 kilometers south of Baghdad and 12 kilometers east of the ancient city of Babylon. The Ubaid period site of Ras al-Amiyah is 8 kilometers away. It was occupied from the Ubaid to Hellenistic periods. In Early Dynastic times the city's patron deity was Inanna with her consort Enki. Her temple, at Tell Ingharra, was (E)-hursag-kalama. By Old Babylonian times the patron deity had become Zababa, along with his consort, the goddess Bau. His temple Emeteursag was at Uhaimir.
Mesannepada, Mesh-Ane-pada or Mes-Anne-pada was the first king listed for the First Dynasty of Ur on the Sumerian king list. He is listed to have ruled for 80 years, having overthrown Lugal-kitun of Uruk: "Then Unug (Uruk) was defeated and the kingship was taken to Urim (Ur)". In one of his seals, found in the Royal Cemetery at Ur, he is also described as king of Kish.
Kubaba was a legendary Mesopotamian queen who according to the Sumerian King List ruled over Kish for a hundred years before the rise of the dynasty of Akshak. It is typically assumed that she was not a historical figure.
Enmebaragesi (Sumerian: 𒂗𒈨𒁈𒄄𒋛En-me-barag-gi-se [EN-ME-BARA2-GI4-SE]) originally Mebarasi (𒈨𒁈𒋛) was the penultimate king of the first dynasty of Kish and is recorded as having reigned 900 years in the Sumerian King List. Like his son and successor Aga he reigned during a period when Kish had hegemony over Sumer. Enmebaragesi signals a momentous documentary leap from mytho-history to history, since he is the earliest ruler on the king list whose name is attested directly from archaeology.
Hamazi or Khamazi was an ancient kingdom or city-state of some importance that reached its peak c. 2500–2400 BC. Its exact location is unknown, but is thought to have been located in the western Zagros Mountains roughly between Elam and Assyria, possibly near Nuzi or modern Hamadan.
Enshakushanna, or Enshagsagana, En-shag-kush-ana, Enukduanna, En-Shakansha-Ana, En-šakušuana was a king of Uruk around the mid-3rd millennium BC who is named on the Sumerian King List, which states his reign to have been 60 years. He conquered Hamazi, Akkad, Kish, and Nippur, claiming hegemony over all of Sumer.
Aga commonly known as Aga of Kish, was the twenty-third and last king in the first dynasty of Kish during the Early Dynastic I period. He is listed in the Sumerian King List and many sources as the son of Enmebaragesi. The Kishite king ruled the city at its peak, probably reaching beyond the territory of Kish, including Umma and Zabala.
En-tarah-ana of Kish was the fourth Sumerian king in the First Dynasty of Kish, according to the Sumerian king list. The Weld-Blundell Prism was damaged at this point, so Thorkild Jacobsen had restored this ruler's name as Bahina. En-tarah-ana is unlikely to have existed as his name does not appear on texts dating from the period in which he was presumed to have lived. He is awarded a reign of 420 years, 3 months, and 3 and a half days. Why the length of his reign is so specific compared to the recorded lengths of the other kings of the Early Dynastic is unknown.
Babum of Kish was the fifth Sumerian king in the First Dynasty of Kish, according to the Sumerian king list. Babum is unlikely to have existed as his name does not appear on texts dating from the period in which he was presumed to have lived. Like other leader of the first dynasty, his name is an Akkadian word, bālum meaning "gate".
Puannum of Kish was the sixth Sumerian king in the First Dynasty of Kish, according to the Sumerian king list. Puannum is unlikely to have existed as his name does not appear on texts dating from the period in which he was presumed to have lived.
Kalibum of Kish was the seventh Sumerian king in the First Dynasty of Kish, according to the Sumerian king list. This name is written "Ga-lí-bu-um ... normalized as Kalibum", and is believed to be derived from the Akkadian for 'hound'. Kalibum is unlikely to have existed as his name does not appear on texts dating from the period in which he was presumed to have lived.
Kalumum of Kish was the eighth Sumerian king in the First Dynasty of Kish, according to the Sumerian king list. Like the other members of the First dynasty prior to Etana, he was named for an animal; his name "Kalumun" is Akkadian for "lamb". Kalulum is unlikely to have existed as his name does not appear on texts dating from the period in which he was presumed to have lived.
Zuqaqip of Kish was the ninth Sumerian king of the semi-legendary First Dynasty of Kish, according to the Sumerian King List, where his length of reign is given as 900 years. His name means "Scorpion". Zuqaqip is unlikely to have existed as his name does not appear on texts dating from the period in which he was presumed to have lived.
Mashda of Kish was the eleventh Sumerian king in the First Dynasty of Kish, according to the Sumerian king list. He was a son of the king Atab. Like the other members of the First dynasty prior to Etana, he was named for an animal; his name "Mashda" is Akkadian for "gazelle". Mashda is unlikely to have existed as his name does not appear on texts dating from the period in which he was presumed to have lived.
Arwium of Kish was the twelfth Sumerian king in the First Dynasty of Kish, according to the Sumerian king list. His father was Mashda, the previous ruler. Like the other members of the First dynasty prior to Etana, he was named for an animal; his name "Arwium" is Akkadian for "male gazelle". Arwium is unlikely to have existed as his name does not appear on texts dating from the period in which he was presumed to have lived.
King of the Universe, also interpreted as King of Everything, King of the Totality, King of All or King of the World, was a title of great prestige claiming world domination used by powerful monarchs in ancient Mesopotamia. The title is sometimes applied to God in the Judeo-Christian and Abrahamic tradition.
Gilgamesh and Aga, sometimes referred to as incipit The envoys of Aga is an Old Babylonian poem written in Sumerian. The only one of the five poems of Gilgamesh that has no mythological aspects, it has been the subject of discussion since its publication in 1935 and later translation in 1949.
