Mesannepada

Template:Infobox royalty Template:Location map+ Mesannepada (Template:Langx, Template:Transliteration [MES-AN-NE₂-PAD₃-DA]), Mesh-Ane-pada or Mes-Anne-pada ("Youngling chosen by An"; died Template:Circa) was the first king listed for the First Dynasty of Ur on the Sumerian king list.<ref name=Romano>Template:Cite book</ref> He is listed to have ruled for 80 years, having overthrown Lugal-kitun of Uruk: "Then Unug (Uruk) was defeated and the kingship was taken to Urim (Ur)".Template:Sfn In one of his seals, found in the Royal Cemetery at Ur, he is also described as king of Kish.Template:Sfn<ref name="Harry Reginald"/>

Filiation

The "Treasure of Ur" discovered in Mari

Mesannepada was a son of Meskalamdug.Template:Sfn A lapis-lazuli bead with the name of King Meskalamdug was found in Mari, in the so-called "Treasure of Ur", and reads:<ref name="MET">Description with photograph: Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="O183"/><ref>For the discovery of the "Treasure of Ur" and detailed content of the jar, see: Template:Cite journal</ref>

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The lapis lazuli bead from Mari, National Museum of Damascus, Syria ("King of Ur", Template:Cuneiform side)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Object at time of discovery</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Transcription of the Mari bead<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Initially, it was thought that this bead (reference M. 4439) referred to a gift by Mesannepada to a king of Mari named Gansud or Ansud.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="orientalia Vol.38">Template:Cite book</ref> This has now been corrected with the translation given above.<ref name="MET"/><ref name="O183"/> The God "Lugal-kalam" (Template:Cuneiform, "Lord of the Land") to whom the dedication is made, is otherwise known in a dedication by a local ruler Šaba (Šalim) of Mari, also as Lugal-kalam, or in the dedication of Ishtup-Ilum where he is named "Lugal-mātim" (Template:Cuneiform, "Lord of the Land"), and is considered identical with the local deity Dagan, or Enlil.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

It is unclear how this bead came to be in Mari, but this points to some kind of relation between Ur and Mari at that time.<ref name="orientalia Vol.38"/> The bead was discovered in a jar containing other objects from Ur or Kish, the so-called "Treasure of Ur".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn The jar was recognized as an offering for the foundation of a temple in Mari.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Similar dedication beads have also been found from later rulers, such as Shulgi who engraved two carnelian beads with dedication to his gods Template:Circa.<ref name="MCI">Template:Cite book</ref>

A'annepada dedication tablet

Several dedication tablets by "A'annepada, son of Mesannepada" for the god Ninhursag are also known, which all have similar content:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="BM">Template:Cite web</ref>

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Sumerian King List

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Mesannepada appears in the Sumerian King List, as the first ruler of the First Dynasty of Ur, and is credited with a reign of 80 years. His successors are also named:

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It is considered unlikely for a king to inherit a throne in his childhood and reign thereafter for 80 years.Template:Sfn The length of the son's reign was probably added to that of the father.Template:Sfn

Old Babylonian tablet: the Tummal Chronicle

Mesannepada and his other son are also mentioned in an Old Babylonian tablet (1900-1600 BC), the Tummal Inscription, relating the accomplishments of several kings. Such tablets are usually copies of older tablets, now lost:

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Reign

Mesannepada is associated with an expansion of Ur, at least diplomatically.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn A lapis-lazuli bead in the name of Mesannepada was found in Mari, and formed part of the "Treasure of Ur", made for the dedication of a temple in Mari. 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. A seal impression in the name of "Mesannepada, king of Kish" was found in the Royal Cemetery at Ur.<ref name="Image">Image of a Mesanepada seal in: Template:Cite book</ref>

Mesannepada, and his son and successor Meskiagnun, who reigned 36 years,Template:Sfn are both named on the Tummal Inscription as upkeepers of the main temple in Nippur along with 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",Template:Sfn to indicate his hegemony.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Another son of Mesannepada, named Aannepadda, (Aja-ane-pada or A-Anne-pada, "father chosen by An"), whose years of reigned are unknown,Template:Sfn is known for having the temple of Ninhursag constructed (at modern Ubaid) near el-Obed, though he is not named on the kinglist.<ref name=Romano/>

A small ziggurat beneath the structure built at Ur by Ur-Nammu may date back to the time of Mes-Anne-pada.Template:Sfn

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.Template:Sfn

Mesannepada seal (combat scene)
Mesannepada seal (human wheel scene)

Royal Cemetery of Ur

Mesannapeda's tomb may have been located in the Royal Cemetery at Ur. It has been suggested that tomb PG 1232, or PG 1237, nicknamed "the Great Death-Pit," might belong to him.Template:Sfn