Mesannepada (or Mesh-Ane-pada, "hero chosen by Heaven") was the first king listed for the first dynasty of Ur (ca. the 25th century BC) on the Sumerian king list. He is listed to have ruled for 80 years, having overthrown Lugal-kitun of Uruk.
Mesannepada gave gifts to the kings of Mari, and according to a lapis lazuli bead inscription found there, his father was Meskalamdug. 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.
Mesannepada, and his son and successor Meskiag-nuna, are both named on the Tummal Inscription as upkeepers of the main temple in Nippur following 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", to indicate his hegemony.
Another son of Mesannepada, named A-anne-pada, is known for having a temple constructed (at modern Ubaid), though he is not named on the kinglist.
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.
Preceded by Lugal-kitun of Uruk |
King of Sumer ca. 26th century BC |
Succeeded by Mesh-ki-ang-Nuna |
Preceded by Meskalamdug |
Ensi of Ur ca. 26th century BC |
Ante-Diluvian kings | Alulim · Dumuzid the Shepherd · Ziusudra | 3rd Dynasty of Kish | Kubaba |
---|---|---|---|
1st Dynasty of Kish | Etana · Enmebaragesi | 3rd Dynasty of Uruk | Lugal-zage-si |
1st Dynasty of Uruk | Enmerkar · Lugalbanda · Dumuzid, the Fisherman · Gilgamesh | Dynasty of Akkad | Sargon · Tashlultum · Enheduana · Rimush · Manishtushu · Naram-Sin · Shar-Kali-Sharri · Dudu · Shu-turul |
1st Dynasty of Ur | Meskalamdug · Mesannepada · Puabi | ||
2nd Dynasty of Uruk | Enshakushanna | 2nd Dynasty of Lagash | Puzer-Mama · Gudea |
1st Dynasty of Lagash | Ur-Nanshe · Eannatum · En-anna-tum I · Entemena · Urukagina | 5th Dynasty of Uruk | Utu-hegal |
Dynasty of Adab | Lugal-Anne-Mundu | 3rd dynasty of Ur | Ur-Nammu · Shulgi · Amar-Sin · Shu-Sin · Ibbi-Sin |