===[[Early Bronze Age I#Near East|Early Bronze Age I]]===
===[[Early Bronze Age I#Near East|Early Bronze Age I]]===
None of the following predynastic "[[antediluvian]]" rulers have been verified via [[archeology|archaeological excavations]], [[epigraphy|epigraphical inscriptions]], or otherwise. It is possible that they correspond to the [[Early Bronze Age]] [[Jemdet Nasr period]] culture which ended approximately [[2900 BC]], immediately preceding the dynasts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://eclectic.ss.uci.edu/~drwhite/Civ/papers/Jemdt_Nasr_04D.pdf |title=The Earliest Bronze Age in Southwest Asia (3100-2700 BC) |accessdate=2008-07-04 |last=Wright |first=Henry}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www-geology.ucdavis.edu/~cowen/~GEL115/115CH4.html |title=Chapter 4: The Bronze Age |accessdate=2008-07-04 |last=Cowen |first=Richard}}</ref> It is also possible that they were fictional creations to make the kingdom seem more legitimate and ancient to it's subjects which would explain the exaggerated lifespans.
None of the following predynastic "[[antediluvian]]" rulers have been verified via [[archeology|archaeological excavations]], [[epigraphy|epigraphical inscriptions]], or otherwise. It is possible that they correspond to the [[Early Bronze Age]] [[Jemdet Nasr period]] culture which ended approximately [[2900 BC]], immediately preceding the dynasts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://eclectic.ss.uci.edu/~drwhite/Civ/papers/Jemdt_Nasr_04D.pdf |title=The Earliest Bronze Age in Southwest Asia (3100-2700 BC) |accessdate=2008-07-04 |last=Wright |first=Henry}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www-geology.ucdavis.edu/~cowen/~GEL115/115CH4.html |title=Chapter 4: The Bronze Age |accessdate=2008-07-04 |last=Cowen |first=Richard}}</ref> It is also possible that they were fictional creations to make the kingdom seem more legitimate and ancient to it's subjects which would explain the exaggerated lifespans and recurring and composite characters that have overwhelming similarities with their predecessors.
The following reigns were measured in Sumerian numerical units known as ''sars'' (units of 3600), ''ners'' (units of 600), and ''sosses'' (units of 60).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.world-destiny.org/a26kl.htm |title=Chapter 26: The Ancient King Lists of the World |accessdate=2009-01-07}}</ref>
The following reigns were measured in Sumerian numerical units known as ''sars'' (units of 3600), ''ners'' (units of 600), and ''sosses'' (units of 60).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.world-destiny.org/a26kl.htm |title=Chapter 26: The Ancient King Lists of the World |accessdate=2009-01-07}}</ref>
The Sumerian King List is an ancient manuscript originally recorded in the Sumerian language, listing kings of Sumer from Sumerian and neighboring dynasties, their supposed reign lengths, and the locations of "official" kingship. It has been suggested that this manuscript could serve to support certain details that are set forth in the Book of Genesis, where, similarly, individuals live for an extraordinary length of time prior to a great flood, and then for a lesser amount of time after said flood.[1] Kingship was believed to have been handed down by the gods, and could be transferred from one city to another, reflecting perceived hegemony in the region.[2] Throughout its Bronze Age existence, the document evolved into a political tool. Its final and single attested version, dating to the Middle Bronze Age, aimed to legitimize Isin's claims to hegemony when Isin was vying for dominance with Larsa and other neighboring city-states in southern Mesopotamia.[2]
Composition
The list blends prehistorical, presumably mythicalpredynastic rulers with implausibly lengthy reigns with later, more plausibly historical dynasties. Although the primal kings are historically unattested, this does not preclude their possible correspondence with historical rulers who were later mythicized. Some Assyriologists view the predynastic kings as a later fictional addition.[2][3] Only one ruler listed is known to be female: Kug-Bau "the (female) tavern-keeper", who alone accounts for the Third Dynasty of Kish.
The earliest listed ruler whose historicity has been archaeologically verified is En-me-barage-si of Kish, ca. 2600 BC. Reference to this individual in the Epic of Gilgamesh has led to speculation that Gilgamesh himself may be historical.
Three dynasties are notably excluded from the list: the Larsa dynasty, which vied for power with the (included) Isin dynasty during the Isin-Larsa period; and the two dynasties of Lagash, which respectively preceded and ensued the Akkadian Empire, when Lagash exercised considerable influence in the region. Lagash in particular is known directly from archaeological artifacts dating from 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 many of the dynasties listed reigned simultaneously from varying localities makes it difficult to reproduce a strict linear chronology.[2]
The oldest extant inscriptions containing the list, such as the Weld-Blundell Prism,[4][5] date from the early 2nd millennium BC.[2] 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 popularized the list in the Hellenic world.
The list
Sites mentioned in the Sumer Kinglist before the flood
None of the following predynastic "antediluvian" rulers have been verified via archaeological excavations, epigraphical inscriptions, or otherwise. It is possible that they correspond to the Early Bronze AgeJemdet Nasr period culture which ended approximately 2900 BC, immediately preceding the dynasts.[7][8] It is also possible that they were fictional creations to make the kingdom seem more legitimate and ancient to it's subjects which would explain the exaggerated lifespans and recurring and composite characters that have overwhelming similarities with their predecessors.
The following reigns were measured in Sumerian numerical units known as sars (units of 3600), ners (units of 600), and sosses (units of 60).[9]
Excavations in Iraq have revealed evidence of localized flooding at Shuruppak (modern Tell Fara, Iraq) and various other Sumerian cities. A layer of riverine sediments, radiocarbon dated to ca. 2900 BCE, interrupts the continuity of settlement, extending as far north as the city of Kish. Polychrome pottery from the Jemdet Nasr period (3000-2900 BCE) was discovered immediately below the Shuruppak flood stratum.[10]
said to have conquered parts of Sumer; then Eannatum of Lagash claims to have taken over Sumer, Kish, and all Mesopotamia. Kug-Bau of Kish is said to have gained independence from Lagash, and his Uruk, after Entemena's death.
said to have defeated Urukagina of Lagash, as well as Kish and other Sumerian cities, creating a unified kingdom; he in turn was overthrown by Sargon of Akkad
"Then Unug was defeated and the kingship was taken to Agade (Akkad)"
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.
Vincente, Claudine-Adrienne, "The Tall Leilan Recension of the Sumerian King List", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 50 (1995), 234–270
Google Books Search, The Beginning and the End of the Sumerian King List, in Jöran Friberg, a Remarkable Collection of Babylonian Mathematical Texts: Manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection Cuneiform Texts I, Springer, 2007, ISBN 0387345434
