Meskiagnun
| Meskiagnun ๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ฃ | |
|---|---|
King at war, from the Standard of Ur | |
| King of Ur | |
| Reign | c. 2485 - c. 2450 BC |
| Predecessor | Possibly A'annepada |
| Successor | Possibly Elulu |
| Died | c. 2450 BC |
| Spouse | Gan-Saman |
| Dynasty | First Dynasty of Ur |
| Father | Mesannepada |
Meskiagnun, also Mesh-ki-ang-Nanna (Sumerian: ๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ฃ, Meskiagฬnun [mes-ki-aลโ-nun], also ๐ญ๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐พ, Meskiagฬnunna [Dmes-ki-aลโ-nun-na]; died c. 2450 BC), was the fourth lugal or king of the First Dynasty of Ur, according to the Sumerian King List, which states he ruled for 36 years.[1]
Bowl dedication
Meskiagnun is mentioned in two bowl dedications by his wife Gan-Saman, with the same inscription:
๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ฃ / ๐๐ถ๐ / ๐ถ๐บ๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ก / ๐ฎ๐ค / ๐๐ฌ๐
[mes-ki]-ag2-nun / lugal uri5ki / gan-saman (SZE.NUN.SZE3.BU)-nu / dam-su3 / a mu-ru
"For (the life of) Meskiโagnun, king of Ur, Gan-Saman, his wife, dedicated this"
Records of temple dedication to the gods in the Tummal inscription
He is also mentioned in the Tummal Inscription with his father Mesannepada, as restoring the Tummal shrine to Enlil and Ninlil in Nippur after it had "fallen into ruin":[5]
"En-me-barage-si, the king, built the Iri-nanam in Enlil's temple. Aga, son of En-me-barage-si, made the Tummal flourish and brought Ninlil into the Tummal. Then the Tummal fell into ruins for the first time. Meลก-Ane-pada built the Bur-ลกuลกua in Enlil's temple. Meลก-ki-aฤ-nuna, son of Meลก-Ane-pada, made the Tummal flourish and brought Ninlil into the Tummal."
โโOld Babylonian tablet Tummal Inscription (1900-1600 BCE)[6]
Chronological discrepancies
The Tummal inscription attests to a relative date for Meskiagnun and his father between Enmebaragesi and Gilgamesh, whereas the Sumerian King List dates the father and son pair generations after Enmebaragesi and Gilgamesh. Samuel Noah Kramer notes that this raises "a chronological problem which cannot be resolved for the present."[7] Meskiagnun is mentioned as follows in the Sumerian King List:
"... Uruk with weapons was struck down, the kingship to Ur was carried off. In Ur Mesannepada was king, 80 years he ruled; Meskiagnun, son of Mesannepada, was king, 36 years he ruled; Elulu, 25 years he ruled; Balulu, 36 years he ruled; 4 kings, the years: 171(?) they ruled. Ur with weapons was struck down; the kingship to Awan was carried off.
โโSumerian King List, 137-147.[8]
References
- ^ Thorkild Jacobsen, The Sumerian King List (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1939), pp. 94f
- ^ "CDLI-Archival View". cdli.ucla.edu.
- ^ "CDLI-Archival View". cdli.ucla.edu.
- ^ "CDLI-Archival View". cdli.ucla.edu.
- ^ Sollberger, Edmond (1962). "The Tummal Inscription". Journal of Cuneiform Studies. 16 (2): 40โ47. doi:10.2307/1359332. ISSN 0022-0256. JSTOR 1359332.
- ^ "CDLI-Found Texts". cdli.ucla.edu.
- ^ Kramer, The Sumerians (Chicago: University Press, 1963), p. 50
- ^ "CDLI-Found Texts". cdli.ucla.edu.