{"id":3158,"date":"2025-10-10T14:39:54","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T14:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/terrarara.com.br\/en\/?page_id=3158"},"modified":"2025-10-10T14:39:54","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T14:39:54","slug":"a-lista-dos-reis-sumerianos-o-misterio-da-origem-da-realeza-na-mesopotamia","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/terrarara.com.br\/en\/?page_id=3158","title":{"rendered":"The sumerian king list: The mystery of the origin of royalty in Mesopotamia"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
The Weld-Blundell Prism. (Ashmolean Museum \/ CC BY-SA 4.0)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
<\/p>

\r\n\t#sumerian<\/a><\/p>

<\/p>

\r\n\tAmong the many incredible objects found at archaeological sites in Iraq where thriving Sumerian cities once existed, few are as fascinating as the Sumerian King List<\/strong><\/p>

\r\nThe list includes the names of the kings, the time they ruled and the cities where royalty was considered “official”.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nWhat makes the Sumerian King List so special is that it mixes kings who appear to be mythical figures from very ancient times with historical kings who we know actually existed.<\/p>

\r\nThis combination of myth and history has intrigued scholars for more than a century.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nThe Discovery of List<\/b>\r\n<\/p>

\r\nThe first piece of this rare text, a 4,000-year-old clay tablet with cuneiform writing, was found in the early 1900s by German-American researcher Hermann Hilprecht in the ancient city of Nippur.<\/p>

\r\nHe published his results in 1906. Since then, at least 18 other versions of the list have been found, most dating from the second half of the Isin dynasty, between 2017 and 1794 B.C.<\/p>

\r\nNone of these versions are identical, but they all share enough information to show that they came from a single “ideal” Sumerian history.\r\n<\/p>

<\/p>

\r\n

\"\"
Sculptured vase depicting Gilgamesh wrestling two bulls from the Shara temple at Tell Agrab, Diyala Region, Iraq. Gilgamesh was included in the Sumerian King List. (Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin \/ CC BY-SA 4.0)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
<\/p>

The Weld-Blundell<\/b><\/p>

\r\n Prism\r\n<\/p>

\r\nAmong all versions of the Sumerian King List, the Weld-Blundell Prism, kept at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, is the most complete and detailed.<\/p>

\r\nThis 8-inch-tall prism has four sides, each with two columns of text.<\/p>

\r\nIt is believed to have had a wooden shaft in the center, allowing it to be rotated for reading on all sides.<\/p>

\r\nThe document lists kings from the “antediluvian” (before the flood) dynasties to the 14th king of the Isin dynasty, around 1763 to 1753 BC.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nThe list is very valuable because it preserves ancient traditions and helps to understand the chronology of regnal periods in Sumer.<\/p>

\r\nInterestingly, it also bears surprising similarities to stories from the Bible, such as those from the book of Genesis.\r\n<\/p>

<\/p>

\r\nThe Sumerian Civilization<\/b>\r\n<\/p>

\r\nSumer, sometimes called Sumeria, is considered the first known civilization.<\/p>

\r\nIt was located in southern Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in the region that later became Babylon and is now southern Iraq, from the Baghdad area to the Persian Gulf.<\/p>

\r\nIn the 3rd millennium BC, Sumer was made up of at least 12 city-states, such as Kish, Ur, Nippur and Lagash.<\/p>

\r\nEach had a walled city, surrounding villages, and a central temple dedicated to a specific deity.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nIn the beginning, political power belonged to the citizens, but, with the increase in rivalries between cities, each one adopted the figure of a king.<\/p>

\r\nThe Sumerian King List says that eight kings ruled before a great flood.<\/p>

\r\nAfter that, different city-states and their kings assumed power for temporary periods.\r\n<\/p>

<\/p>

\r\n