THE UR-ISIN KING LIST
MS | 1686 |
MS Short Title | THE UR-ISIN KING LIST |
Text |
|
Description | MS in Old Babylonian with a few names in Sumerian on clay, Isin, Babylonia, 1813 or 1812 BC, 1 tablet, 5,6x3,9x2,0 cm, 21 lines in Old Babylonian cuneiform script. |
Binding | Barking, Essex, 1993, red quarter morocco gilt folding case by Aquarius. |
Context | A near duplicate was Erlenmeyer Collection no. 115, now in Italy and was published by Mario Fales (Fales 1989:144-45). The texts were originally extracted from date lists, now lost. |
Commentary | 17 different Babylonian and Assyrian King Lists have survived, mostly in fragmentary or worn condition. The present King List is the only one perfectly preserved and is the oldest as well. All others are in public collections. In addition there are 23 surviving Sumerian King Lists, all in public collections except MS 2855. The importance of the King Lists for the chronology of the Babylonian and Assyrian Kingdoms can hardly be over-estimated. They are crucial tools and primary historical evidence for the historians. |
Published |
E. Sollberger: "New Lists of the Kings of Ur and Isin", in: Journal of Cuneiform Studies 8(1954) pp. 135-6; and A.H. Grayson, King List 2 in the article "Königlisten und Chroniken" in Reallexicon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archaeologie, Berlin 1980, p. 90. The Story of Time, ed.: Kristen Lippincott, with Umberto Eco, E.H. Gombrich. London, Merrell Holberton in association with National Maritime Museum, 1999, p. 255. Jöran Friberg: A remarkable Collection of Babylonian Mathematical Texts. Springer 2007. Sources and Studies in the History of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection, vol. 6, Cuneiform Texts I. pp. 233-236. Andrew George, ed.: Cuneiform Royal Inscriptions and Related Texts in the Schøyen Collection, Cornell University Studies in Assyriology and Sumerology, vol. 17, Manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection, Cuneiform texts VI. CDL Press, Bethesda, MD, 2011, text 100, pp. 206-207, pl. LXXXV. |
Exhibited | 1. Conference of European National Librarians, Oslo. Sept. 1994; 2. "The Story of Time", Queen's House at the National Maritime Museum and The Royal Observatory, Greenwich, Dec. 1999 - Sept. 2000. |
Place of origin | Babylonia |
Dates | 1813 - 1812 BC |