Mesannepada
Encyclopedia
Mesannepada was the first king listed for the first dynasty of Ur
(ca. the 25th century BC
) on the Sumerian king list
. He is listed to have ruled for 80 years, having overthrown Lugal-kitun of Uruk
.
Mesannepada gave gifts to the kings of Mari
, and according to a lapis lazuli
bead inscription found there, his father was Meskalamdug
. Seals from the royal cemetery at Ur have also been found bearing the names of Mesannepada and his predecessors Meskalamdug and Akalamdug, along with Queen Puabi
.
Mesannepada, and his son and successor Meskiang-nanna, are both named on the Tummal Inscription as upkeepers of the main temple in Nippur
following Gilgamesh
of Uruk and his son Ur-Nungal, verifying their status as overlords of Sumer. Judging from the inscriptions, Mesannepada then assumed the title "King of Kish
", to indicate his hegemony.
Another son of Mesannepada, named A-anne-pada, is known for having a temple constructed (at modern Ubaid), though he is not named on the kinglist.
In the 1950s, Edmund I. Gordon conjectured that Mesannepada, and an archaeologically attested early "king of Kish", Mesilim
, were one and the same, as their names were interchanged in certain proverbs in later Babylonian tablets; however this has not proved conclusive. More recent scholars tend to regard them as distinct, usually placing Mesilim in Kish before Mesannepada.
Ur
Ur was an important city-state in ancient Sumer located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate...
(ca. the 25th century BC
25th century BC
The 25th century BC is a century which lasted from the year 2500 BCE to 2401 BCE.-Events:*c. 2900 BCE – 2334 BCE: Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period.*c. 2500 BCE: Rice was first introduced to Malaysia...
) on the Sumerian king list
Sumerian king list
The Sumerian King List is an ancient manuscript originally recorded in the Sumerian language, listing kings of Sumer from Sumerian and neighboring dynasties, their supposed reign lengths, and the locations of "official" kingship...
. He is listed to have ruled for 80 years, having overthrown Lugal-kitun of Uruk
Uruk
Uruk was an ancient city of Sumer and later Babylonia, situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates river, on the ancient dry former channel of the Euphrates River, some 30 km east of modern As-Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Uruk gave its name to the Uruk...
.
Mesannepada gave gifts to the kings of Mari
Mari, Syria
Mari was an ancient Sumerian and Amorite city, located 11 kilometers north-west of the modern town of Abu Kamal on the western bank of Euphrates river, some 120 km southeast of Deir ez-Zor, Syria...
, and according to a lapis lazuli
Lapis lazuli
Lapis lazuli is a relatively rare semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense blue color....
bead inscription found there, his father was Meskalamdug
Meskalamdug
Meskalamdug was an early ruler of Ur who does not appear in the Sumerian king list.His tomb, discovered by English archaeologist Sir Leonard Wooley in the Royal Cemetery of Ur in 1924, contained numerous gold artifacts including a golden helmet with an inscription of the king's name. His wife's...
. Seals from the royal cemetery at Ur have also been found bearing the names of Mesannepada and his predecessors Meskalamdug and Akalamdug, along with Queen Puabi
Puabi
Puabi , also called Shubad in Sumerian, was an important person in the Sumerian city of Ur, during the First Dynasty of Ur . Commonly labeled as a "queen", her status is somewhat in dispute. Several cylinder seals in her tomb identify her by the title "nin" or "eresh", a Sumerian word which can...
.
Mesannepada, and his son and successor Meskiang-nanna, are both named on the Tummal Inscription as upkeepers of the main temple in Nippur
Nippur
Nippur was one of the most ancient of all the Sumerian cities. It was the special seat of the worship of the Sumerian god Enlil, the "Lord Wind," ruler of the cosmos subject to An alone...
following Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh was the fifth king of Uruk, modern day Iraq , placing his reign ca. 2500 BC. According to the Sumerian king list he reigned for 126 years. In the Tummal Inscription, Gilgamesh, and his son Urlugal, rebuilt the sanctuary of the goddess Ninlil, in Tummal, a sacred quarter in her city of...
of Uruk and his son Ur-Nungal, verifying their status as overlords of Sumer. Judging from the inscriptions, Mesannepada then assumed the title "King of Kish
Kish (Sumer)
Kish is modern Tell al-Uhaymir , and was an ancient city of Sumer. Kish is located some 12 km east of Babylon, and 80 km south of Baghdad ....
", to indicate his hegemony.
Another son of Mesannepada, named A-anne-pada, is known for having a temple constructed (at modern Ubaid), though he is not named on the kinglist.
In the 1950s, Edmund I. Gordon conjectured that Mesannepada, and an archaeologically attested early "king of Kish", Mesilim
Mesilim
Mesilim or Mesalim was lugal of the Sumerian city-state of Kish.Though his name is missing from the Sumerian king list, Mesilim is among the earliest historical figures recorded in archaeological documents. He was a monarch in the 3rd Dynasty of Kish, reigning some time in the "Early Dynastic...
, were one and the same, as their names were interchanged in certain proverbs in later Babylonian tablets; however this has not proved conclusive. More recent scholars tend to regard them as distinct, usually placing Mesilim in Kish before Mesannepada.
See also
- History of SumerHistory of SumerThe history of Sumer, taken to include the prehistoric Ubaid and Uruk periods, spans the 5th to 3rd millennia BC, ending with the downfall of the Third Dynasty of Ur around 2004 BC, followed by a transition period of Amorite states before the rise of Babylonia in the 18th century BC. The first...