The Sumerian King List Before the Flood: Myth or Reality?

The Flood in Religious Narratives and Historical Context

If religious narratives have specified the time period between the creation of the first human (Adam) and the Great Flood, they did not explicitly determine the exact timing of the flood or its precise location. The events that transpired before the flood have been referenced only through brief mentions.

The Fundamental Question: Was the Flood a Global or Local Event?

The primary question that scholars and archaeologists have sought to answer is whether the flood occurred in a specific region and then spread across the entire Earth or whether it was a localized event. Most archaeological evidence suggests that the flood took place in Mesopotamia, particularly in its southern region, and covered a relatively small area of land.

As for the estimated time of occurrence, researchers have dated it to approximately 3000 BCE, with a possible margin of error of ±100 years, meaning it likely happened between 3100 and 2900 BCE.

The Sumerian King List Before the Flood

Comparing the Sumerian and Biblical Flood Narratives

A key aspect of this discussion is the comparison between the Sumerian figure Ziusudra (known as Utnapishtim in Babylonian mythology) and the biblical and Quranic figure of Noah. This parallel has led scholars to examine both the Sumerian King List and the genealogies in the Book of Genesis.

While the Book of Genesis provides a lineage of the early patriarchs and pre-flood prophets, the Sumerian King List, discovered on ancient clay tablets, records the names of early Sumerian rulers who reigned before the flood.

The Pre-Flood Sumerian Kings

The following version of the Sumerian King List is based on translations by Thorkild Jacobsen and Weld-Blundell. These versions are largely similar, with only minor differences that we will highlight. Below is the full translation of the pre-flood section of the list, as translated by Jacobsen from the original Sumerian text:

1. "When kingship descended from heaven,
2. It was established in Eridu.
3. In Eridu, Alulim became king,
4. And he ruled for 28,800 years.
5. Alalngar ruled for 36,000 years.
6. Two kings in total,
7. They ruled for 64,800 years.
8. Eridu then fell,
9. And its kingship was transferred to Bad-tibira.
10. In Bad-tibira, En-men-lu-ana
11. Ruled for 43,200 years.
12. En-men-gal-ana
13. Ruled for 28,800 years.
14. Dumuzi-Sipa ruled for 36,000 years.
15. Three kings in total,
16. They ruled for 108,000 years.
17. Bad-tibira then fell,
18. And its kingship was transferred to Larak.
19. In Larak, En-sipad-zid-ana
20. Ruled for 28,800 years.
21. One king in total,
22. He ruled for 28,800 years.
23. Larak then fell,
24. And its kingship was transferred to Sippar (Zimbir).
25. In Sippar, En-men-dur-ana
26. Became king and ruled for 21,000 years.
27. One king in total,
28. He ruled for 21,000 years.
29. Sippar then fell,
30. And its kingship was transferred to Shuruppak.
31. In Shuruppak, Ubara-Tutu
32. Became king and ruled for 18,600 years.
33. One king in total,
34. He ruled for 18,600 years.
35. In total, there were five cities
36. Ruled by eight kings
37. Who collectively ruled for 241,200 years.
38. Then, the flood swept over the land.
39. After the flood had passed,
40. Kingship once again descended from heaven,
41. And it was established in Kish.
42. In Kish, Jushur
43. Became king,
44. And he ruled for 1,200 years."

Analyzing the Enormous Reign Durations

What stands out in the pre-flood section of the Sumerian King List is the extraordinarily long reign durations assigned to each king. This raises an important question: could the term "year" in these records actually represent a shorter time unit, such as a day? If so, dividing the reign periods by 365 days (or 360, based on the Sumerian calendar) would produce more realistic lifespans.

Moreover, the Sumerian numeral system used the "sar" unit, which consistently equated to 3,600. Some scholars argue that this unit does not necessarily indicate literal years but might symbolize a different measurement of time.

The list does not mention specific events during the reign of each king, except for the descent of kingship in the first city (Eridu) and the occurrence of the flood during the era of the last city (Shuruppak). To clarify the content of the previous tablet, we have presented it in the following simplified table:

The primary Weld-Blundell version lists nine kings ruling over five cities before the flood.