Sumerian King List
Kingship itself, not any single dynasty, is presented as descending from heaven and moving from city to city, turning political propaganda into one continuous timeline.
- kingship as a single transferable office
- the flood as a historiographic hinge
- propaganda through chronology
- impossibly long antediluvian reigns
A chronographic text listing Mesopotamian dynasties from a mythical, pre-flood era of impossibly long reigns down through historical Ur III kings. Compiled to legitimize whichever dynasty currently held kingship by presenting it as the sole rightful heir to a single unbroken office passed down since before the flood.
Commentary
Readers' notes on this work. No account needed - be scholarly, or at least civil.
Loading commentary…