(1921) The Early Dynasties of Sumer and Akkad by Cyril John Gadd (1893-)
(1921) The Early Dynasties of Sumer and Akkad by Cyril John Gadd (1893-)
(1921) The Early Dynasties of Sumer and Akkad by Cyril John Gadd (1893-)
DflM
,
[UNIVERSITY)
THE "EOTHEN" SERIES
The object of this series is to publish
original texts and translations, transliterations
and translations of texts hitherto unpublished
in English, and essays on the history, civilisa-
O++D
In the press.
In preparation.
By SIDNEY SMITH.
Eotben Series i.
BY
C. J. GADD, B.A.,
Assistant in the Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities
in the British Museum.
LONDON :
early period.
My thanks are due, and are hereby very heartily
offered, firstly, to the Trustees of the British Museum,
for permission to publish the texts printed herein, and
secondly, to Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, Keeper of the
>
C. J.
*
GADD.
Sources.
That the Babylonian scribes had preserved at least the chrono-
logical outline of their history from the Flood until the Persian
conquest had always been inferred from the Greek tradition found
in the late excerptors of Berossus. But it is only in recent years
that native evidence has become
available, in the fragments of
standard works on chronology, which appear to have been drawn
up and re-copied at the central shrine of Nippur. It is un-
necessary here to do more than mention that this evidence
has, until very recently, been constituted by what may be called
two groups. The collection of Nippur fragments published by
DR. POEBEL (Historical Texts) takes up the history of Babylonia
immediately after the Flood, and would, if complete, have con-
tinued it to the end of the Isin Dynasty, which immediately
preceded the First Dynasty of Babylon. Such, however, is the
damage to the tablets that all the middle portion of the mains
text is completely missing, and a great gap exists 'between the
Dynasty extract from the Isin works at Nippur, not merely ad-
justed, as it were, the focus of these two early kingdoms of Agade
and Gutium, but carried the chronology back three dynasties
1
Comptes rtndus de VAcadtmic des Inscriptions 1911,
> p. 606 et sqq.
A
2 THE EARLY DYNASTIES OF SUMER AND AKKAD.
("The Flood")
of Uruk
Dynasty of Kish
of Uruk of Agade
ofUr of Uruk
I
of Awan of Gutium
of Kish of Isin
CHAPTER II.
OBVERSE.
1. aksak-(Ki)-a kalam-zi lugal-dm xxx mu in-ag
At Akshak Kalam-zi, being king, reigned 30 years.
2. Kalam-da-lu-lu xn mu in-ag
Kalam-dalulu reigned 12 years.
A 2
4 THE EARLY DYNASTIES OF SUMER AND AKKAD.
3. ur-ur vi mu
in-ag
Ur-ur reigned 6 years.
4. puzur- sahan
dt
xx mu in-ag
Puzur-Sahan reigned 20 years.
6. su- d -
men dumu i-su-il-ge vn mu in-ag
Gimil (?)-Sin, son of Ishuil reigned 7 years.
IT. puzur
d zuen
-
dumu ku d ba-u-ge-
xxv mu in-ag
Puzur-Sin, son of Ku-Bau reigned 25 years.
1 6. i-mu d samas
-
xi mu in-ag
Imu-Shamash reigned n years.
21. i
lugal mu-bi xxv in-ag
i king, his years that he reigned were 25.
22 .
unu(g)-(Ki)-ga bal-bi ba-kur \nam-lugal\-bi a-ga-de-(KJ)-u ba-tum
At Uruk its rule was changed its royalty was {
;
unto^ade
23. a-ga-dt-(Ki)-a $ar-ru-Ki-in ?-ba-ni nu-gis-ar
At Agade Sharru-kin ......... a gardener.
cup-bearer of Ur-Ilbaba,
17. THUREAU-DANGIN (loc. cit.) suggests Nania zadim, "Nania, the gem-
engraver."
23. After the name of Sharru-kin there is a break in the surface and it is not
possible to decide what sign was originally written. LU is certain, but
it is
extremely probable that this was preceded by something else, and
the braces might indicate si. The reading must, however, remain
doubtful.
24. UR d-
25 26. The restorations, in square brackets, are from the photographs in The
Musctim Journal of the University of Pennsylvania, Dec., 1920,
176 & 178.
REVERSE.
THE TABLET B.M. 108857. 7
10. nam-lugal-bi unu(g)-(Ki)-u ba-tum
Its royalty unto Uruk was carried off.
15. ur <*
utu vi mu IK ag
Ur-Utu reigned 6 years.
itu
sig-a ud xxx (KAM}
Month of Siwan, 3oth day.
12. For the reading gigir see now Cuneiform Texts, xxxv, i. 27.
CHAPTER III.
It has been already stated that by far the most serious lacuna
in our partially-recovered scheme of Babylonian chronology was
that which extended from the early dynasty of Awan to that of
"
(a) Three new cities of royalty."
jectural.
(f) The first three kings of Agade in their order, and the
regnal years of two.
OBVERSE.
[xxx mu t]-ag
+ . . .
reigned 30 years.
iv (?) lugal
four kings
-&]-/
Elulu
i MMMDCCLXXXXII \b-ag
their years that they reigned
[xxv] mu i -
ag were 3792.
reigned 25 years.
Ki$ - (KI) s*tukul ba -
sig
its royalty
[xxxvi] mu I -
ag
reigned 36 years. ha -ma- zi - (KI)
- Su ba - turn (?)
- bi CL]XXI -
[mu ag ag
their years that they reigned
were 171. [lugal]
- dm
being king
Col. Ill restored from POEBEL, Hist. Texts, no. 2, Col. III.
10 THE EARLY DYNASTIES OF SUMER AND AKKAD
Col. V. Col. VI
adab - (KI) -
$u ba - turn mu - bi xcix ......
was carried off to Adab their years 99 ....
adab -
(KI)
- a
akSak-(Ki) ^tukul ba-sig
at Adab
Akshak was smitten with arms
lugal an
- -
ni - mu - un du -
Lugal-anni-mundu nam - -
lugal bi
lugal
- dm its royalty
being king
Ki$ -
(KI)
- $u ba - turn
xc mu l-ag
was carried off to Kish
reigned 90 years.
I
lugal Kts -
(KI)
- a
i
king at Kish
mu-bi xc l-ag
d-
a dab -
(KI)
sis
tukul ba -
sig d
dumu ku -
ba-u
Adab was smitten with arms,
son of Kli -
Bau
nam -
lugal -bi
its royalty lugal
- dm
ma - ri - - sit ba -
turn being king
(KI)
was carried off to Mari
xxv mu t -
ag
ma - ri -
(KI)
- a
reigned 25 years.
at Mari
ur d ilbaba-
an -pu lugal - dm
Ur - Ilbaba
Anpu, being king,
xxx mu I - dumu puzur d zuen -
ag
reigned 30 years son of Puzur -
Sin
THE NEW PHILADELPHIA FRAGMENT (L.). II
REVERSE.
lugal a-ga-de-(Ki)
lugal nu tuk tuk
-
lu a-ga-de-(xi)
im -bi -a v mu i -
ag
who Agade
Imbia reigned 5 years.
mu-un- da (?) -du-a
built, in -gi -Su
Ingishu
lugal
- dm
being king vn mu in-ag
LV mu I -
reigned 7 years.
ag
reigned 55 years.
wa -ar -la -ga - ba
ri -mu-u dumu Sar-ru - ki -
in Warlagaba
Rimush, son of Sharru-kin
vi mu in-ag
xv mu l-ag
reigned 6 years.
reigned 15 years.
Manishteshu larlagash
mu I -
ag .... mu ag I -
reigned . . ,
years. reigned .... years.
12 THE EARLY DYNASTIES OF SUMER AND AKKAD.
Col. IX. Col. X.
gan
xxi lug**
[Ishme-Dajgan
21 kings ,
da -gan
mu-bi cxxiv ud XL \b-az r c TJ- i ^
, .
[son of IdmJ-Dagan
their years that they reigned
were 124 and 40 days.
ugnim
the host
gu- ti-um-(Ki)
of Gutium
**tukul ba-sig
was smitten with arms.
- -
\nam~\ lugal bi
its
royalty
da- turn
was carried off to .
Towards filling the gap between Awan and Akshak, the new
fragment contributes the notice of four new dynasties, Kish-
Hamazi ......
Adab-Mari, these pairs standing like islands,
and so creating three smaller gaps in place of one greater. The
problem is, therefore, to find whether it is now possible to fill
these spaces, and it is proposed to investigate this question in
the following pages.
The first step is to obtain the dimensions of the task. What
are the spaces that have to be filled ? In the present case this is
merely another form of asking what number of lines, approximately,
are lost between the end of one column on the fragment and the
beginning of the next. This question may be answered by pro-
ceeding from the known to the unknown. The gaps between
Cols. III-IV, IV-V, and V-VI are unknown. But those between
VI-VII and VII-VIII can be filled from 108857. To obtain
the approximate number of lines missing from L. the given material
from 108857 must be re-arranged in accordance with the practice
of the L. scribe, somewhat as follows :
zi mu dar
- -
m mu in -
ag xxv mu in -
ag
xxx mu in ag - vin lugal-e - ne i
lugal
u zi wa dar
- - -
mu -
bi DLXXXVI mu - bi xxv in -
ag
dumu zi-mu-dar-ra-ge in -ag - es
vi mu in ag -
KIS(KI) bal-bi ba-kur bal bi ba
- - kur
tl mu ti
- -
nam - lugal -
bi nam - lugal - bi
xi mu in - ag unu(g)-(Ki)-sii ba-tum a-ga-de\Ki)-su ba-tum
d
i -mu -$amas unu(g}
-
(KI)
-
ga a-ga-de-(Ki)-a
xi mu in - ag -
lugal zag gi
- - si $ar -
ru - ki -
in
na-ni- a- ah lugal
- dm t-ba-ni nu-gi-$ar
14 THE EARLY DYNASTIES OF SUMER AND AKKAD.
As a
result of this re-arrangement it has appeared that the
totalgap between the end of L. VI and the beginning of L. VII
is about 30 lines, and might be rather more. The next space,
which extends from the middle of the Agade kingdom to the
beginning of Gutium, may be similarly filled from the contents of
108857. It would be tedious to repeat the actual process here,
and in this case the result may be barely stated : this gap
appears to comprise some 36 lines. The beginning of L. IX
contains the summary of the Gutium dynasty, and here, as we
do not possess the missing portions, no very precise reckoning
is possible. But L. enumerated 21 kings in this dynasty, and
four are preserved in Col. VIII. This would leave 17 more
to be entered, and, allowing two lines to each king, we might
arrive at arough total of 34 lines missing between L. VIII-IX.
The result of these calculations is that we have three spaces
which contained approximately 30, 36, and 34 lines, from
which the average of 33 or 34 is readily obtained, and, while
there is, of course, no mathematical exactitude about these
Awan, and 13 kings of Ur. But, the first and third kingdoms of
Ur being known to comprise 9 kings when added together, the
second is seen, by mere subtraction from the total 13, to have
contained four kings (ibid. 106).
L. IV
begins with a summary
of 4 of Kish. Assuming, therefore, that the order of
(?) kings
dynasties at this point is Ur I, Awan, Ur II,
Kish II, Hamazi,
we may attempt a skeleton reconstruction of the text between
THE DYNASTIES KISH I KISH II. 1$
nam - -
lugal bi uri - (AY) - su ba - turn
a -wa -an- (AY)
- sti ba - turn uri - (AY) - ma etc.
a-wa- an - (AY)
- na 8 lines for 4 kings
6 lines for 3 kings 2 ,, summary of Ur II
in lugal 4 transfer to Kish II
mu-bi CCCLVI ib-ag 8 for 4 kings of Kish II.
ground ;
we moment, in the light of L. IV, which
are now, for a
exhibits a dynasty of Kish (II) succeeded by that of Hamazi.
The latter is an entirely new revelation, and completes the list of
the "eleven cities of royalty" summarised in Historical Texts,
for seven years. POEBEL has shown (ibid., p. 99) that "the
enumeration corresponds to the order in which the various cities
1
Rtvue cTAssyriologte V, 99, and VI, 67.
1 8 THE EARLY DYNASTIES OF SUMER AND AKKAD.
1
Published by HILPRECHT, Old Babylonian Inscriptions; Nos. 108
and 109.
HAMAZI
^ TO URUK II. Ip
-^
Consequently :
T * kingsli
i i
Kish * 23
1
Total TT.
, .
1 Kishll 4 or 6 > 34 or 37.
of Kish JfS Tr . .
TT _ i
Kish IV 7 or 8 J
B 2
20
CHAPTER VI.
kingdom of Adab
inaugurated by Lugal-anni-mundu, who is said
to have been the sole king of his dynasty and to have reigned for
the very beginning of the Mari kings, giving only the first of them,
Anpu, who reigned 30 years, and a few traces of his successor.
1
1
The reading of this name is, of course, doubtful.
Cuneiform Texts V, 12146.
22 THE EARLY DYNASTIES OF SUMER AND AKKAD.
this dynasty, and the scribe of 108857, adding up their total of
1
Cuneiform Texts XIII, 42, 43.
24 THE EARLY DYNASTIES OF SUMER AND AKKAD.
interpretation is clearly a
; proper name.
Ur-Ilbaba Nor have we
far to seek Ur-Ilbaba, son of Puzur-Sin, grandson ot
its bearer.
yet appeared in the connected dynastic lists) but also partly with
the First Dynasty of Babylon, which began to rule not much later
than the middle of the Isin kingdom. 1 Subsequently, the king
lists Second Dynasty as following immediately upon
exhibit the
the First ; it has long been known, however, that Iluma-ilum, the
founder of the Second Dynasty, was not the successor of
2
Samsu-ditana, but the contemporary of Samsu-iluna. In view of
these familiar instances it is difficult to resist the conclusion that
thesame process is at work between the dynasties of Kish IV,
Uruk III, and Agade, and that both Lugal-zaggisi and Sargon
must have set up as independent rulers while the dynasty of
1 2
THUREAU-DANGIN, Chronologie, p. 47. KING, Chronicles II, 20.
THE REIGNS OF LUGAL-ZAGGISI AND SARGON. 25
CHAPTER VIII.
sickness after
adopting Cyrus as
son, his and Astyages
bestowed on him, as son, the whole of Artembares' substance,
and many gifts as well, so that he was by now a great man,
and his name was noised abroad."
Agade to Isin.
125 years and 40 days, while L. computes 124 years and 40 days.
But, whereas the dynasty has almost completely disappeared from
the former, L. preserves the names of the first four kings, prefaced
with the curious statement that "the host of Gutium had no
5
With this may be compared a similar date referring to Siiim, king of
Gutium (ScHEiL, Comptes-rendits de F Academic, 1911, p. 319, 11. 14, 15).
AGADE TO ISIN. 3 1
1
For the inscription commemorating his triumph, see THURBAO-DANGIN
in Rtvue (T Assyriologie IX, 111-120, and X, 99, IOO.
32 THE EARLY DYNASTIES OF SUMER AND AKKAD.
king of Gutium reigned about 100 years before the end of his
dynasty, and, if the identification proposed might be accepted,
this would tend again to fix the date of Gudea during the latter
years and after the fall of the Gutian Dynasty. But the son of
Gudea was, ashas appeared, a contemporary of Dungi, the
it
1
D&coiwertes en Chaldee II, PI. 37, No. 8.
2
Gudea, Statue B. VI, 64-69.
33
CHAPTER X.
not because it has any historical value, but because of its interest
as being only the second inscription of this king as yet recovered.
Unlike the first (best represented in CLAY, Miscellaneous Inscrip-
tionS) No. 27), it is written in Akkadian, and deals with a different
event. The text (Plate 3), which is copied from two small clay
cones in the British Museum, 1 may be transcribed and rendered
as follows :
d
Col. i. (\) *li-bi-it-istar (2) ri-i-um (3) pa-li-ih (4) nippurim-(KJ)
Libit-Ishtar, the shepherd who feareth Nippur,
* *'
(21) tt-M-il (22) i-ti belim (23) u btltim (ti-im)
beloved of the hand of Bel and Beltu,
1
The writer has also seen several further examples in private possession.
C
34 THE EARLY DYNASTIES OF SUMER AND AKKAD.
Col. II. (i) i-na \-si-in-(Ki) (2) a-al sar-ru-ti-ia
in Isin my royal city,
(3) i-na ba-ab ekallim (im) (4) d li-bi-it iStar (5) ma-ru * bclim
at the palace-gate, Libit-Ishtar, the son of BI,
CHAPTER XL
Rim-Sin of Larsa and Rim -Sin of Ashur.
and Larsa must have been ruled at almost precisely the same
time by kings of the same name. It is not intended to suggest
that identity is to be assumed. There is no warrant for any such
inference, and, indeed, the date-list of Rim-Sin of Larsa, which
may be trusted to reflect the more notable events of his reign,
makes no reference to any enterprise beyond the limits of southern
Babylonia. In these circumstances, the identity in the names of
contemporary rulers between two cities so far separated as Ashur
and Larsa might be considered simply as a remarkable coincidence.
But it is worthy of note that Ashur had, before this, acknowledged
the suzerainty of Bur-Sin I, and is also known to have been
under the control of Hammurabi. Neither of these kings appear,
however, in the list of actual Assyrian rulers.
1
KING, Chronicles II, 14.
2
SCHROEDER, Zcitschrift fiir Assyriologie^ XXXIII, 58.
C 2
36 THE EARLY DYNASTIES OF SUMER AND AKKAD.
Elulu 25
Balulu 36 (number of kings doubtful)
4 kings 171 90 years
1
A comma following a name indicates that the king was succeeded by his son.
TABLE OF EARLY DYNASTIES. AFTER THE FLOOD. 37
KINGDOM OF MARI
Anpu 30 years
(and other kings)
-Ur-Nina
(summary doubtful) of Lagash (?)
KINGDOM OF AKSHAK
Kalam-zi 30 years
Kalam-dalulu 12 ,,
Ur-ur 6
Puzur-Sahan 20
Ishuil, 24
Gimil Sin 7
6 kings 99
FOURTH KINGDOM OF
KISH
KINGDOM OF Ku-Bau, ? years
AGADE Puzur-Sin, 25 Urukagina
Ur-Ilbaba 6
Sharru-kin, 55 years
Zimudar, 30 THIRD KINGDOM OF
Uziwadar 6 URUK
Elmuti 1 1
Dudu, 21
Shudurkib (?) 15
12 kings 197
38 THE EARLY DYNASTIES OF SUMER AND AKKAD.
5 kings 26
KINGDOM OF GUTIUM
Imbia 5 years
Ingishu 7
Warlagaba 6
larlagash ?
-Nammaljni of Umma
(17 more kings, including: (and Lagash ?)
Erridu-pizir
Lasirab
Sium
Saratigubisin Gudea,
Tirigan) of Lagash
(Summary doubtful)
THIRD KINGDOM OF UR
Ur-Engur w #& 18 years
5 kings 117
TABLE OF EARLY DYNASTIES. AFTER THE FLOOD. 39
P4
rt '^
s
i s
_2
13
h s
o 2
Ii
1^
M PQ S =f
3
w PQ -s^
P 3
S S I
^ s *4 1 I
co co a co ffi>co
CO R
^
M OO *H ON ^O in
M M M vO
<
KINGDOM
APPENDIX.
a date for Ilushuma, the father of Irishum, 780 years before his
own time, /".*., 1250 + 780 = 2030
which agrees very well
B.C.,
with Shalmaneser's date for Irishum. It is true that
Esarhaddon,
in the passage already quoted, gives the intervals Shalmaneser I
Shamshi-Adad as 434 years, and Shamshi-Adad Irishum as
126 years, thus obtaining a date of B.C. 1820 for Irishum. There
isthus a conflict of evidence, but in view of the higher antiquity
of Shalmaneser, and the confirmation of his dating by his son
Tukulti-Enurta I, it seems better to reject the version of
1
Messerschmidt, Ktilschrifttcxtt aus Assur historischcn Inherits, No. 51,
col. II, 11. 12-32.
2 No. 13, Reverse, col. Ill, 32 col. IV, 4.
Ibid.,
3
Mitttilungen dtr dcutschtn Orient- Gesellschaft^ 54, p. 23 sqq.
APPENDIX. 41
1
Mitttii. d. dtutsch. Or.-Gesell.^ 54, p. 16.
ADDITIONAL NOTE.
WHEN the foregoing pages had already reached their final form
in the press, there appeared in the Expository Times of June,
The deficiencies of one king and one year are probably connected
ADDITIONAL NOTE. 43
precision with which the text states, for instance, the exact
number of the pretenders who disputed the throne after the reign
of Shar-gali-sharri. But it is indeed a matter of congratulation that
these slight uncertainties are all that is now left of the formidable
difficulties which once beset this important period of Babylonian
history.
KINGDOM OF AGADE.
Sharru-kin, 55 years.
Rimush, 15
... ...
Manishtusu, 7 ,,
Naram-Sin, 56
... ... 24
Shar-gali-sharri ,,
Nanum Elulu J
Dudu, 21
Shudurkib (?) 15
iff **
JO
iS <T
<T
to
153
PL. 2.
*
|>
'
I . V I'+^V* *^* ^ t~"^
&
><
16-
X
PL. 3.
CONE OF LIBIT-ISHTAR;,
KING OF ISIN.
COL. II.
TfEajfefmaM
:c I
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