Alulim
Alulim was the first king of Eridu, and the first king of Sumer, according to the Sumerian King List, presumably making him the first recorded king in the world. Enki, the god of Eridu, is said to have brought civilization to Sumer at this point, or just shortly before.
The Sumerian King List has the following entry for Alulim:
- "After the kingship descended from heaven, the kingship was in Eridug (Eridu). In Eridug, Alulim became king; he ruled for 28800 years." However, this predates recorded history which would place his existence before the extinction of Homo neanderthalensis. See Timeline of ancient history.
In a chart of antediluvian generations in Babylonian and Biblical traditions, Professor William Wolfgang Hallo associates Alulim with the composite half-man, half-fish counselor or culture hero (Apkallu) Uanna-Adapa (Oannes), and suggests an equivalence between Alulim and Enosh in the Sethite genealogy given in Genesis chapter 5. Hallo notes that Alulim's name means "Stag".[1]
Alulim as biblical Adam [edit]
Shea suggests that the historical Alulim (king of Eridu which may be biblical Eden) may be the same man as the biblical Adam.[2]
Hess elaborates that there are three different ways the Hebrew word "adam" is used in Genesis. "Adam" can be the generic term for mankind in general, a male in particular, or as a title, as is seen in ancient Near Eastern parallels where the lu-sign for ruler means "man". The Sumerian and the Hebrew Adam are similar in usage; both can mean humans or humanity.[3] As a general rule, in Hebrew, when adam has a definite article it means man or human, while Adam with no article is a personal name (Hamilton 1990, 159).[4]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Hallo, William W. and William Kelly Simpson, The Ancient Near East: A History, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., New York, 1971, p. 32
- ^ William H. Shea (1977). "Adam in Ancient Mesopotamian Traditions".
- ^ Richard S. Hess (1990). "Studies in the Personal Names of Genesis".
- ^ Victor P. Hamilton (1990). "The book of Genesis:chapters 1-17".
| Preceded by new creation |
1st King of Sumer before c. 2900 BC, or legendary |
Succeeded by Alalngar |
| 1st Ensi of Eridu before c. 2900 BC, or legendary |
|
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| Notable Sumerians | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ante-Diluvian kings | Alulim · Dumuzid the Shepherd · Ziusudra | 3rd Dynasty of Kish | Kubaba |
| 1st Dynasty of Kish | Etana · Enmebaragesi | 3rd Dynasty of Uruk | Lugal-zage-si |
| 1st Dynasty of Uruk | Enmerkar · Lugalbanda · Dumuzid, the Fisherman · Gilgamesh | Dynasty of Akkad | Sargon · Tashlultum · Enheduanna · Rimush · Manishtushu · Naram-Sin · Shar-Kali-Sharri · Dudu · Shu-turul |
| 1st Dynasty of Ur | Meskalamdug · Mesannepada · Puabi | ||
| 2nd Dynasty of Uruk | Enshakushanna | 2nd Dynasty of Lagash | Puzer-Mama · Gudea |
| 1st Dynasty of Lagash | Ur-Nanshe · Eannatum · En-anna-tum I · Entemena · Urukagina | 5th Dynasty of Uruk | Utu-hengal |
| Dynasty of Adab | Lugal-Anne-Mundu | 3rd dynasty of Ur | Ur-Nammu · Shulgi · Amar-Sin · Shu-Sin · Ibbi-Sin |
