Sumerian King List: Who Was King? And Who Was Not King?
The Sumerian King List (abbreviated as SKL and also known as Chronicle of the One Monarchy) is an ancient Sumerian document whose earliest version is dated to Mesopotamia's Ur III period (circa 2112 to circa 2004 BCE) relating how kingship was first established and how it was passed on from city to city from Eridu to the Dynasty of Isin (circa 1953 to circa 1717 BCE) and its contemporary, the Dynasty of Larsa (circa 1961 to circa 1674 BCE).
The document was heavily redacted and revised as city-states came to use it to legitimize their right to rule over the region, and so the latter part recognizing the Isin-Larsa period did not appear in the original version, nor in others until the Isin dynasty found it useful. The purpose of the text was to legitimize rulers, not to document actual history.
Further, the early section of the original manuscript lists kings who ruled for impossible lengths of time and are not historically attested to elsewhere. Some early variants of the text omit the antediluvian kings entirely, and one reason could be these impossible lifespans (such as Alulim of Eridu ruling for 28,800 years) but some scholars have suggested that the 'years' given could be read as months or that the long lifespans were given as a sign of respect and a nod to the divine nature of kingship – but these claims are speculative.
These are among the many problems noted by historians regarding the SKL as a reliable primary source, as noted by scholar Marc Van de Mieroop:
Some parts – especially the earlier portions – are certainly unreliable, and for others we are unable to establish historical accuracy. Consequently, the list loses much of its value as a historical source, although it remains our primary means of structuring the Early Dynastic history…These texts are more important for the view they provide on the Sumerians' sense of the past than as sources on the Early Dynastic Period.
(Near East, 43-44)
The Sumerians' sense of the past included the history of their cities, and the SKL shows how the Sumerians understood that history, even though later archaeology has come to tell another story. According to the SKL, the first five cities that ruled in Mesopotamia before the Great Flood were:
Eridu
Bad-tibira
Larak
Sippar
Shuruppak
After the flood, according to the SKL, kingship passes in an unbroken line down through the Isin-Larsa period. Other texts and archaeological evidence have proven this progression fictional. Actually, many of the dynasties mentioned ruled at the same time, and the transfer of power did not follow the ordered progression the SKL suggests.
The Sumerian King List is still important, however, as it shows how ancient Mesopotamian scribes blended history with myth in creating documents to present a certain worldview. The actual event that had taken place was not as important as the worldview it could be used to support (a literary conceit that defines Mesopotamian naru literature). The SKL is also an important example of political propaganda and clearly expresses the Sumerian concept of kingship as divine in origin. It is no longer considered a reliable historical source, however, and some scholars have advocated ignoring the piece completely.
History of the SKL & Uses
The earliest complete text of the SKL comes from the Ur III period and would have been written to legitimize the city of Ur as the divinely appointed ruler of the region. To the Sumerians, the city of Eridu was the first city established by divine will and so the SKL begins by stating, "After the kingship descended from heaven, the kingship was in Eridu" and then, according to the view of the SKL, kingship was handed down in succession – except for the chaotic interruption of the Gutian invasion – to Ur. The Gutians' rule is sometimes understood as characterized by the line, "Then who was king? Who was not king?" as the world the scribes knew seemed to have lost all order and sense.
The last part of some versions of the SKL, bringing kingship to the Isin-Larsa period, are later additions but, in some versions, so is the entire introductory section that mentions the first five cities reigning before the Great Flood. The purpose of later revisions and redactions, and most likely the purpose of the original composition, was to
establish the divine nature of kingship
link the diverse kings together in a long line of succession
legitimize a reigning dynasty as part of that succession.
There are 16 known copies of the SKL (known as A-P versions), all written in Sumerian cuneiform, and suggesting the Sumerian scribes were interested in creating a document that legitimized their rule of the region from the establishment of the first city in the world to the time of the SKL's composition.
Other rulers, such as the Akkadians, are included in the succession, but, clearly, it is the Sumerians of cities like Kish, Uruk, and Ur, among many others, who are divinely appointed to rule.
The most complete version of the Sumerian King List is the Weld-Blundell Prism (circa 1800 BCE), discovered in the ruins of ancient Larsa in 1922. Most modern-day translations rely on this version of the SKL, though some prefer one of the other versions. Even though it is no longer considered a reliable primary source historically, it remains culturally significant for what it says about the people who wrote and revised the document, what they valued, and how they presented their history to themselves and others.
The piece is closely associated with the Eridu Genesis, the earliest Great Flood story that inspired later works, or sections of works, including the Atrahasis, the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Book of the Heavenly Cow, and the story of Noah's Ark from the biblical Book of Genesis.
The question, "Then who was King? Who was not King?" is at the heart of interpreting the Sumerian King List, as in many sections, it is difficult – or impossible – to determine historical fact from historical fiction.
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⇒ Sumerian King List: Who Was King? And Who Was Not King?
