ALULIM
![](640px-Lista_Reale_Sumerica.jpg)
Succeeded
by : Alalgar
Transliterated
: lu.gal
Alulim
was a mythological Mesopotamian ruler, regarded as the first king
to ever rule over mankind. He is absent from Early Dynastic sources,
and no individuals bearing the same name appear in any known documents.
He is considered fictional by Assyriologists. He is known from the
Sumerian King List, Ballad of Early Rulers, and other similar sources
which invariably place him in Eridu and assign a reign lasting thousands
of years to him. A myth describing his appointment by the gods and
incantations treating him as the creator of insects are also known.
His name was preserved in later Greek, Arabic and Persian works.
Name
:
Alulim’s name was written in cuneiform as A2-lu-lim or A-lu-lim
and can be translated from Sumerian as either “horn of the
red deer” or “seed of the red deer” depending
on the variable first sign. Jeremiah Peterson suggests that it might
reflect the Mesopotamian belief that at the dawn of history, when
Alulim was believed to live, humans behaved in animal-like manner,
as attested in texts such as Sheep and Grain or How Grain Came to
Sumer. A further attested spelling, Alulu, written A-lu-lu, might
represent an Akkadianized form. The name Ayalu, known from the Uruk
List of Kings and Sages where it is written A-a-lu, appears to be
another variant, resulting from reinterpretation reliant on the
partially homophonous word ayyalu, “deer” or “stag”.
The
name Alulim is not attested in any Early Dynastic sources and
was never used as an ordinary given name.The only indirect parallels
are the occurrences of individuals named Alulu (with variable
spelling) in early texts from Fara and other pre-Sargonic sites.
Reign
:
![](Initial_paragraph_about_rule_of_Alulim_in_Eridu_for_28800_years_(photograph,_transcription_and_translation).jpg)
Weld-Blundell
Prism, initial paragraph about rule of Alulim and Alalngar in
Eridu for 64.800 years
Alulim
is regarded as a fictional figure by Assyriologists. References
to him are largely limited to lists of legendary ancient rulers.
He was traditionally considered the first Mesopotamian king, and
his reign was placed before the mythical great flood. All known
sources listing primordial kings consistently state that he lived
in Eridu, unless no mention of any cities is made. This tradition
reflected the perception of Eridu as a city of particular symbolic
importance. His reign was described as supernaturally long. Its
duration was regarded as proverbial, as indicated by a letter of
the astrologer Ašaredu to an unspecified Babylonian king, in
which he wished him to be blessed by the gods of Babylon with “years
of Alulu”. According to the Sumerian King List, Alulim retained
his position for 28800 years before he was succeeded by Alalgar,
who in turn reigned for 36000 years. However, the contents of the
Sumerian King List are assumed to not reflect historical reality,
and cannot be used to reconstruct early Mesopotamian chronology.
There is no evidence that the figure of Alulim was incorporated
into it from a preexisting older source. A different tradition about
the length of his reign is preserved in the Ballad of Early Rulers,
which states that he ruled for 36000 years. According to Irving
Finkel, other similar texts give further variant figures, such as
36200 years (tablet BM 40565) or 67200 years (tablet WB 62).
Miscellaneous
attestations :
A manuscript of the Sumerian flood from Ur first published in 2018
describes the appointment of Alulim. It has been interpreted as
an etiology of the institution of kingship, with the first ruler
being chosen from among mankind to act as the shepherd of the early,
still animalistic humans, thus leading to the development of human
civilization. The gods responsible for Alulim's appointment in this
text are An, Enlil and Enki, who are also credited with assigning
his name to him. Jeremiah Peterson notes that the grammar of the
passage might not designate him as a human, which could indicate
that in this context Alulim is not a personal name, but merely a
description of the entity chosen to act as a ruler.
In
the Ballad of Early Rulers, a composition noted for its large number
of allusions to other works of Mesopotamian literature, Alulim is
listed among famous ancient figures alongside Etana, Gilgamesh,
Ziusudra, Humbaba, Enkidu, Bazi and Zizi. The fact that kings associated
both with southern cities, such as Alulim, and ones at home in the
north, such as Etana, are mentioned side by side might indicate
that it was composed during the period of exodus of scribes from
south to north in the Old Babylonian period. Bendt Alster compares
this text to a drinking song and notes it appears to enumerate renowned
legendary figures in seemingly humorous context, in order to explain
the need to find joy in the present.
Alulim
is also attested in Neo-Babylonian incantations against field pests,
acknowledge him as a “king from before the deluge”,
though in this context he is also addressed as the creator of insects.
He is described as capable of expelling them with a wand, and as
responsible for the weeding of fields belonging to Nergal. Elsewhere
the explusion of insects is the domain of the deities Ninkilim and
Ennugi, and it is not known how Alulim came to function as a similar
figure. The same texts also state that he was believed to enjoy
milk, ghee and beer, but could not stand “queen Nisaba”,
here a metonym for grain.
In
late tradition, Adapa came to be viewed as Alulim’s vizier.
It was believed that he provided the king with wisdom on behalf
of the god Ea. Piotr Steinkeller based on the connection between
them suggests Alulim could himself be viewed as a sagacious Adapa-like
figure, though he admits no sources provide information about the
perception of his character in Mesopotamian tradition. The association
between Alulim and Adapa is attested in lists of rulers and corresponding
sages known from the Hellenistic period, and additionally in an
earlier damaged text from Sultantepe labeled as a letter from Adapa
to Alulim, following a convention of so-called “scribal letters”.
However, a distinct tradition instead placed Adapa in the times
of another mythical king, Enmerkar.
Proposed
influence on other mythical figures :
Eckhart Frahm has tentatively suggested that it is possible that
the vowel pattern in the alternate form of Alulim’s name,
Alulu, influenced the formation of the name Pazuzu. A reference
to Alulu occurs in a broken context in a heavily damaged Middle
Assyrian (or later) text from Assur which might link him to Pazuzu,
if the restoration of the latter name is correct, though due to
the state of preservation the contents are presently impossible
to interpret.
Mary
R. Bachvarova notes that in the Hurrian Song of Birth, the primordial
deity Alalu who appears as the original “king in heaven”
(king of the gods) bears a name similar to Alulim’s. She suggests
that this text might have been influenced by the Sumerian King List,
with the reigns of the early rulers of the gods being patterned
on the traditions pertaining to early Mesopotamian legendary kings.
Later
relevance :
A Greek version of Alulim’s name, Aloros, is known from citations
from Berossus’ Babyloniaca preserved in the works of authors
such as Eusebius and Syncellus. Berossus’ account of early
kings depended on the tradition known from Sumerian King List. He
states that Aloros reigned for 36000 years and was succeeded by
Alaparos, presumed to be an adaptation of Alalgar. His writings
were later partially euhemerized by Annianus, who combined his account
with traditions pertaining to Enoch and with Genesis 6. His work
was in turn an influence on on the writings of the astrologer Abu
Ma'shar al-Balkhi and on Al-Biruni’s Qanun, cited as sources
in Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani’s Tabaqat-i Nasiri (written in 1259-1260),
where a derivative of Aloros, Aylurus, is presented as the first
king of the people standing in opposition to giants. Juzjani in
his account equates him with Gayumart.
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alulim