Meskiagnun, also Mesh-ki-ang-Nanna ( sux, , ''mes-ki-ag₂-nun'', also , ), was the fourth

lugal Lugal ( Sumerian: ) is the Sumerian term for "king, ruler". Literally, the term means "big man." In Sumerian, ''lu'' "𒇽" is "man" and ''gal'' "𒃲" is "great," or "big." It was one of several Sumerian titles that a ruler of a city-state could ...

or king of the

First Dynasty of Ur The First Dynasty of Ur was a 26th-25th century BCE dynasty of rulers of the city of Ur in ancient Sumer. It is part of the Early Dynastic period III of the history of Mesopotamia. Rule According to the ''Sumerian King List'', the final ruler ...

, according to the ''

Sumerian King List The ''Sumerian King List'' (abbreviated ''SKL'') or ''Chronicle of the One Monarchy'' is an ancient literary composition written in Sumerian that was likely created and redacted to legitimize the claims to power of various city-states and king ...

'', which states he ruled for 36 years.

Bowl dedication

Meskiagnun is mentioned in two bowl dedications by his wife Gan-Saman, with the same inscription:

Records of temple dedication to the gods in the Tummal inscription

He is also mentioned in the

Tummal Inscription The Tummal Inscription , one of the Babylonian Chronicles, is a writing of ancient Sumer from the time of the ruler Ishbi-Erra. The writing lists the names of the rulers that built the temples dedicated to ''Enlil'' within Nippur and temples of ''Ni ...

with his father

Mesannepada Mesannepada ( sux, , ), Mesh-Ane-pada or Mes-Anne-pada ("Youngling chosen by An") was the first king listed for the First Dynasty of Ur (c. 26th century BC) on the Sumerian king list. He is listed to have ruled for 80 years, having overthrown ...

, as restoring the Tummal shrine to

Enlil Enlil, , "Lord f theWind" later known as Elil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Bab ...

and

Ninlil Ninlil ( D NIN.LÍL; meaning uncertain) was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife of Enlil. She shared many of his functions, especially the responsibility for declaring destinies, and like him was regarded as a senior deity and head of the ...

Nippur Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian language, Akkadian: '' ...

after it had "fallen into ruin":

Chronological discrepancies

Sumerian_King_List,_1800_BC,_Larsa,_Iraq_(detail)

Tummal inscription attests to a relative date for Meskiagnun and his father between

Enmebaragesi Enmebaragesi ( Sumerian: ''En-me-barag-gi-se'' N-ME-BARA2-GI4-SE originally Mebarasi () was the penultimate king of the first dynasty of Kish and is recorded as having reigned 900 years in the ''Sumerian King List''. Like his son and successor ...

and

Gilgamesh sux, , label=none , image = Hero lion Dur-Sharrukin Louvre AO19862.jpg , alt = , caption = Possible representation of Gilgamesh as Master of Animals, grasping a lion in his left arm and snake in his right hand, in an Assyr ...

, whereas the ''

'' dates the father and son pair generations after Enmebaragesi and Gilgamesh.

Samuel Noah Kramer Samuel Noah Kramer (September 28, 1897 – November 26, 1990) was one of the world's leading Assyriologists, an expert in Sumerian history and Sumerian language. After high school, he attended Temple University, before Dropsie and Penn, both in ...

notes that this raises "a chronological problem which cannot be resolved for the present."Kramer, ''The Sumerians'' (Chicago: University Press, 1963), p. 50 Meskiagnun is mentioned as follows in the Sumerian King List:

References

, - Sumerian rulers 26th-century BC Sumerian kings First Dynasty of Ur {{AncientNearEast-bio-stub