Alalngar[a] was the second king[b] to exercise the kingship of Eridu over all of Sumer—according to the Sumerian King List (SKL).[5][6][7] He may have fl. c. 2866 – c. 2856 BC;[2] however, the Weld-Blundell Prism (W-B 444) copy of the SKL states that he reigned for 10 sars (or 36,000 years) while the W-B 62 copy states that he reigned for 20 sars (or 72,000 years).[8][3][9] According to the Dynastic Chronicle (ABC 18), W-B 444, W-B 62 copies of the SKL: he was preceded by Alulim and succeeded by En-men-lu-ana of Bad-tibira.[10] The Uruk List of Kings and Sages (ULKS) copy of the SKL pairs seven antediluvian kings each with his own apkallu; and, the second apkallu (Uanduga) was paired up with Alalngar.[note 1][11]
"After the kingship[c] descended from heaven, the kingship was in Eridu. In Eridu, Alulim became king he ruled for 28,800 years. Alalngar ruled for 36,000 years. 2 kings; they ruled for 64,800 years. Then Eridu fell and the kingship was taken to Bad-tibira. In Bad-tibira, En-men-lu-ana ruled for 43,200 years. En-men-gal-ana ruled for 28,800 years. Dumuzid, the shepherd, ruled for 36,000 years. 3 kings; they ruled for 108,000 years. Then Bad-tibira fell and the kingship was taken to Larak. In Larak, En-sipad-zid-ana ruled for 28,800 years. 1 king; he ruled for 28,800 years. Then Larak fell and the kingship was taken to Sippar. In Sippar, En-men-dur-ana became king; he ruled for 21,000 years. 1 king; he ruled for 21,000 years. Then Sippar fell and the kingship was taken to Shuruppak. In Shuruppak, Ubara-Tutu became king; he ruled for 18,600 years. 1 king; he ruled for 18,600 years. In 5 cities 8 kings; they ruled for 241,200 years. Then the flood swept over."
See also
References
Notes
- ^ Sumerian: 𒀉𒋭𒃻, romanized: Alalĝar; transliterated: a2.lal3.ŋar; anglicized: Alalngar; also: Alalgar; alternatively: Alaljar
- ^ Sumerian: 𒈗, romanized: lúgal, lit. 'great man'; transliterated: lú.gal; anglicized: lugal
- ^ Sumerian: 𒉆𒈗, romanized: nam-lúgal, lit. 'fate of kings'; transliterated: nam.lú.gal; anglicized: namlugal
- ^ An apkallu was a sage in Sumerian religion and/or literature.
Citations
- ^ Ashmolean 2017.
- ^ a b c Kessler 2024.
- ^ a b c Black et al. 2006.
- ^ Sjöberg, Leichty & Tinney 2024.
- ^ a b Jacobsen 1939.
- ^ a b Langdon 2007.
- ^ a b Wang 2014.
- ^ a b Langdon 1923.
- ^ Proust 2009.
- ^ Lendering 2020.
- ^ Sanders 2017, pp. 52–59.
Sources
Bibliography
- Jacobsen, Thorkild Peter Rudolph (1939-04-14). Wilson, John Albert; Allen, Thomas George (eds.). THE SUMERIAN KING LIST. ASSYRIOLOGICAL STUDIES. Vol. 11 (4th ed.). University of Chicago, Illinois: Oriental Institute. p. 65. ISBN 0-226-62273-8. LCCN 39-19328. OCLC 397243.
- Langdon, Stephen Herbert (June 1923). "The Sumero-Accadian System of Legendary and Historical Chronology". In Milford, Humphrey Sumner (ed.). Historical Inscriptions, Containing Principally the Chronological Prism, W-B. 444 (PDF). Oxford Editions of Cuneiform Texts (OECT). Vol. II (revised ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 2–8.
- Sanders, Seth L. (2017). From Adapa to Enoch Scribal Culture and Religious Vision in Judea and Babylon. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck. ISBN 978-3-16-154456-9.
- Wang, Haicheng (2014-05-12). Writing and the Ancient State: Early China in Comparative Perspective. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-78587-8.
Journals
- Proust, Christine (2009-06-22). "Numerical and Metrological Graphemes: From Cuneiform to Transliteration". Cuneiform Digital Library Journal (1). ISSN 1540-8779.
Web resources
- Ashmolean (2017). "Sumerian king list". Ashmolean Museum.
- Black, Jeremy Allen; Baines, John Robert; Dahl, Jacob L.; Van De Mieroop, Marc (2006-12-19). Cunningham, Graham; Ebeling, Jarle; Flückiger-Hawker, Esther; Robson, Eleanor; Taylor, Jon; Zólyomi, Gábor (eds.). "The Sumerian king list". Faculty of Oriental Studies. Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL) (in Sumerian). Translated by Jacobsen, Thorkild Peter Rudolph; Glassner, Jean-Jacques; Römer, Willem H. Ph.; Zólyomi, Gábor (revised ed.). United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: University of Oxford.
The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL), a project of the University of Oxford, comprises a selection of nearly 400 literary compositions recorded on sources which come from ancient Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) and date to the late third and early second millennia BCE.
- Kessler, Peter L. (2024). "Eridu / Eridug (City State) (Sumer)". The History Files. Kessler Associates.
- Langdon, Stephen Herbert (2007-04-16). Joseph Weld Blundell, Herbert (ed.). "W-B 444" (in Sumerian). Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Images presented online by the research project Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI) are for the non-commercial use of students, scholars, and the public. Support for the project has been generously provided by the Mellon Foundation, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Institute of Museum and Library Services (ILMS), and by the Max Planck Society (MPS), Oxford and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); network services are from UCLA's Center for Digital Humanities.
- Lendering, Jona (2020-09-24). "ABC 18 (Dynastic Chronicle)". Livius.org. Netherlands: Livius Onderwijs.
After the kingship descended from heaven, the kingship was in Eridu. Eridu, Alulim became king; he ruled for N years. Alaljar ruled for N years. Two kings of the dynasty of Eridu ruled for N years. They were called Kings from Heaven.
Language
- Sjöberg, Åke Waldemar; Leichty, Erle; Tinney, Steve (2024). "PSD: The Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary".
The Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary Project (PSD) is carried out in the Babylonian Section of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology. It is funded by the NEH and private contributions. [They] work with several other projects in the development of tools and corpora. [Two] of these have useful websites: the CDLI and the ETCSL.
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