View source for Eridu

{{Short description|Archaeological site in Iraq}}
{{For|the unincorporated community in Taylor County, Florida|Eridu, Florida}}
{{Distinguish|Irridu}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox ancient site
| name = Eridu
| native_name = {{langx|sux|{{cuneiform|[[Wikt:𒉣|𒉣]][[Wikt:𒆠|𒆠]]}}}}<br>{{langx|ar|تل أبو شهرين}}
| alternate_name = Tell Abu Shahrain
| image = Ziggurat at Eridu (30809118442).jpg
| caption = Ruins of a [[ziggurat]] at Eridu
| map_type = Iraq
| relief = yes
| coordinates = {{coord|30|48|57|N|45|59|46|E|display=inline,title}}
| location = Al-Batha Subdistrict, [[Nasiriyah District]], [[Dhi Qar Governorate]], [[Iraq]]
| region = [[Lower Mesopotamia]], [[Mesopotamia]], [[West Asia]]
| type = [[Ancient city]]
| area = At most {{convert|10|ha|abbr=on}}
| built = {{circa|5500|5300 BC}}
| abandoned = {{circa|600 BC}}
| epochs = {{Collapsible list
|bullets         =on
|1               =[[Ubaid period]]
|2               =[[Uruk period]]
|3               =[[Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|Early Dynastic period]]
|4               =[[Akkadian Period|Akkadian period]]
|5               =[[Gutian period]]
|6               =[[Ur III period]]
|7               =[[Isin-Larsa period]]
|8               =[[Old Babylonian period]]
|9               =[[Middle Babylonian period]]
|10              =[[Neo-Babylonian Empire|Neo-Babylonian period]]
}}
| excavations = 1855, 1918–1919, 1946–1949, 2018
| archaeologists = John George Taylor, R. Campbell Thompson, H. R. Hall, Fuad Safar, Seton Lloyd, Franco D’Agostino
| notes = {{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
|child           =yes
|Official_name   =Tell Eridu Archaeological Site
|Part_of         =[[Ahwar of Southern Iraq]]
|Type            =Mixed
|Criteria        =(iii)(v)(ix)(x)
|ID              =1481-007
|Coordinates     ={{coord|30|49|1|N|45|59|45|E|format=dms}}
|Year            =2016
|Area            ={{convert|33|ha|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|Buffer_zone     ={{convert|1,069|ha|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|locmapin        = 
}}
}}
'''Eridu''' ({{langx|sux|{{cuneiform|4|[[Wikt:𒉣|𒉣]][[Wikt:𒆠|𒆠]]}}|translit=NUN.KI}}; [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]]: eridug<sup>ki</sup>; [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]]: ''irîtu'') was a Sumerian city located at '''Tell Abu Shahrain''' ({{langx|ar|تل أبو شهرين}}), also Abu Shahrein or Tell Abu Shahrayn, an [[archaeological site]] in [[Lower Mesopotamia]]. It is located in [[Dhi Qar Governorate]], [[Iraq]], near the modern city of [[Basra]]. Eridu is traditionally considered the earliest city in southern Mesopotamia based on the [[Sumerian King List]]. Located {{cvt|24|km}} south-southwest of the ancient site of [[Ur]], Eridu was the southernmost of a conglomeration of [[Sumer]]ian cities that grew around temples, almost in sight of one another. The city gods of Eridu were [[Enki]] and his consort [[Damkina]]. Enki, later known as Ea, was considered to have founded the city. His temple was called E-Abzu, as Enki was believed to live in [[Abzu]], an aquifer from which all life was thought to stem. According to Sumerian temple hymns, another name for the temple of Ea/Enki was called Esira (Esirra).
{{Blockquote|text="... The temple is constructed with gold and [[lapis lazuli]], Its foundation on the nether-sea (apsu) is filled in. By the river of Sippar (Euphrates) it stands. O Apsu pure place of propriety, Esira, may thy king stand within thee. ..."<ref>{{cite journal| last= Langdon| first=S. | title= Review of 'Campbell Thompson, R. "The British Museum excavations at Abu Shahrain in Mesopotamia in 1918", 1920'| work= Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland| number= 4| pages= 621–25| year= 1922}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last= Langdon| first=S. | title= Two Sumerian Hymns from Eridu and Nippur| work= The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures| volume= 39| number= 3| pages= 161–86| year= 1923}}</ref>
}}

At nearby Ur there was a temple of Ishtar of Eridu (built by [[Lagash]]'s ruler [[Ur-Baba]]) and a sanctuary of Inanna of Eridu (built by Ur III ruler [[Ur-Nammu]]). Ur-Nammu also recorded building a temple of Ishtar of Eridu at Ur which is assumed to have been a rebuild.<ref>Clayden, Tim, "Kassite housing at Ur: the dates of the EM, YC, XNCF, AH and KPS houses", Iraq, vol. 76, pp. 19–64, 2014</ref><ref>Radau, Hugo, "Letters to Cassite Kings from the Temple Archives of Nippur", Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1908</ref>

One of the religious quarters of [[Babylon]], containing the temple called the [[Esagila]] as well as the temple of [[Annunitum]], among others, was also named Eridu.<ref>Gurney, O. R., "The Fifth Tablet of ‘The Topography of Babylon’", Iraq, vol. 36, no. 1/2, pp. 39–52, 1974</ref>

==Archaeology==
[[File:Eridu Context Map.jpg|thumb|left|Eridu context {{Circa|5000 BC}}]]
Eridu is located on a natural hill in a basin approximately {{convert|15|mi}} long and {{convert|20|ft}} deep, which is separated from the Euphrates River by a sandstone ridge called the ''Hazem''.<ref name="Taylor1855" /> This basin, the ''As Sulaybiyat'' Depression (formerly: ''Khor en-Nejeif''), becomes a seasonal lake (Arabic: Sebkha) during the rainy season from November to April.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Edwards |editor1-first=I. E. S. |title=The Cambridge Ancient History. Vol. I, Part 1: Prolegomena and Prehistory |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=331–332 |edition=3rd |url= https://www.academia.edu/35997578 |access-date=28 February 2023}}</ref>  During this period, it is filled by the discharge of the Wadi Khanega.  Adjacent to eastern edge of the seasonal lake are the [[Hammar Marshes]].

In the 3rd Millennium BC a canal, Id-edin-Eriduga (NUN)<sup>ki</sup> "the  canal  of  the  Eridug  plain", connected Eridu to the Euphrates River, which later shifted its course. The path of the canal is marked by several low tells with 2nd Millennium BC surface pottery and later burials.<ref>{{cite book| first= Thorkild| last= Jacobsen| title= "The Waters of Ur", Toward the Image of Tammuz and Other Essays on Mesopotamian History and Culture| place= Cambridge, Massachusetts, US; and London, England| publisher= Harvard University Press| pages= 231–244| year= 1970}}</ref> The site contains 8 mounds:<ref name="Safar1981">{{cite book| last= Safar| first= Fuad| url= http://hdl.handle.net/11401/89029| title= Eridu| place= Baghdad| publisher= Ministry of Culture and Information, Iraq| year= 1981}}</ref>

*Mound 1 – Abū Šahrain, {{convert|580 x 540|m}} in area NW to WE, {{convert|25|m}} in height, Enki Temple, Ur III Ziggurat (É-u₆-nir{{which lang|date=December 2025}}) Sacred Area, Early Dynastic plano-convex bricks found, Ubaid Period cemetery
*Mound 2 – {{convert|350 x 350|m|sigfig=2}} in area, {{convert|4.3|m}} in height, {{cvt|1|km}} N of Abū Šahrain, Early Dynastic Palace, remnants of city wall built with [[Mudbrick#Ancient world|plano-convex brick]]s
*Mound 3 – {{convert|300 × 150|m|sigfig=2}} in area, {{cvt|2.5|m|ft|sigfig=2}} high, {{cvt|2.2|km|sigfig=2}} SSW of Abū Šahrain, Isin-Larsa pottery found
*Mound 4 – {{convert|600 × 300|m|sigfig=2}} in area, {{cvt|2.5|km|sigfig=2}} SW of Abū Šahrain, Kassite pottery found
*Mound 5 – {{convert|500 × 300|m|sigfig=2}} in area, {{cvt|3|m|ft}} high, {{cvt|1.5|km|sigfig=2}} SE of Abū Šahrain, Neo-Babylonian and Achaemenid periods
*Mound 6 – {{convert|300 × 200|m|sigfig=2}} in area, {{cvt|2|m|ft}} high, {{cvt|2.5|km|sigfig=2}} SW of Abū Šahrain
*Mound 7 – {{convert|400 × 200|m|sigfig=2}} in area, {{cvt|1.5|m|ft|sigfig=2}} high, {{cvt|3|km|sigfig=2}} E of Abū Šahrai
*Mound 8 – Usalla, flat area, {{cvt|8|km|sigfig=1}} NW of Abū Šahrain, Hajj Mohammed and later Ubaid

The site was initially excavated by [[John George Taylor]], the British Vice-counsel at Basra, in 1855.<ref name="Taylor1855">{{cite journal| url= https://archive.org/download/jstor-25228662/25228662.pdf| first= J. E.| last= Taylor| title= Notes on Abu Shahrein and Tell el Lahm| work= Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society| volume= 15| pages= 404–415| year= 1855}}</ref> Among the finds were inscribed bricks enabling the identification of the site as Eridu.<ref>{{cite journal| url= | last=Hilprecht| first= H. V.| title= First Successful Attempts In Babylonia| work= Explorations in Bible Lands During the 19th Century| place= Piscataway, New Jersey| publisher= Gorgias Press| pages= 138–186| year= 2004}}</ref> Excavation on the main tell next occurred by [[Reginald Campbell Thompson|R. Campbell Thompson]] from April 10 until May 8, 1918, and [[Henry Hall (Egyptologist)|H. R. Hall]] from April 21 until May 8, 1919, who also conducted a survey in the area around the tell.<ref>{{cite journal| authorlink= Henry Hall (Egyptologist)| last= Hall| first= H. R.| title= Recent Excavations of the British Museum at Tell el-Mukayyar (Ur 'of the Chaldees'), Tell Abu Shahrein (Eridu), and Tell el-Ma'abed or Tell el-'Obeid, near Ur| journal= Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries | volume= 32| pages= 22–44| year= 1920}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last= Thompson| first= Campbell| title= The British Museum Excavations at Abu Shahrain in Mesopotamia in 1918| work= Archaeologia| volume= 70| pages= 101–44| year= 1920}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last= Hall| first= H. R.| title= Notes on the Excavations of 1919 at Muqayyar, el-'Obeid, and Abu Shahrein| journal= Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |volume= 56| number= Centenary Supplement| pages= 103–115| year= 1924}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last= Hall| first= H. R.| title= The Excavations of 1919 at Ur, el-'Obeid, and Eridu, and the History of Early Babylonia| volume= 25| work= Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland| pages= 1–7| year= 1925}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last= Hall| first= H. R.| title= Ur and Eridu: The British Museum Excavations of 1919| work= The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology |volume= 9| pages= 177–95| year= 1923}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last= Hall| first= H. R.| title= A Season's Work at Ur, Al-ʻUbaid, Abu Shahrain (Eridu) and Elsewhere. Being an Unofficial Account of the British Museum Archaeological Mission to Babylonia, 1919| place= London| year= 1930}}</ref> An interesting find by Hall was a piece of manufactured blue glass which he dated to {{circa|2000&nbsp;BC}}. The blue color was achieved with [[cobalt]], long before this technique emerged in Egypt.<ref>{{cite journal| first1= Harry| last1= Garner |title= An Early Piece of Glass from Eridu| work= Iraq| volume= 18| number= 2| year= 1956| pages= 147–49| doi= 10.2307/4199608}}</ref>

This lump of glass is currently dated to the 21st century BC or even earlier, and is considered as perhaps the earliest such glass object in the world in the [[History of glass]]. It was produced during the [[Akkadian Empire]] or the early [[Ur III]] period.<ref>{{cite journal| first1= Gonca| last1= Dardeniz| first2= Julian| last2= Henderson| first3= Martin| last3= Roe| year= 2022| title= Primary Evidence for Glassmaking in Late Bronze Age Alalakh/Tell Atchana (Amuq Valley, Turkey| journal= Journal of Glass Studies| volume= 64 |pages= 11–32| publisher= Corning Museum of Glass| jstor= 10.2307/48703400}}</ref>

[[File:Eridu mound4c.8.png|thumb|left|E-abzu temple of Eridu]]
Excavation there resumed from 1946 to 1949 under [[:fr:Fuad Safar|Fuad Safar]] and [[Seton Lloyd]] of the Iraqi Directorate General of Antiquities and Heritage. Among the finds were a Ubaid period terracotta boat model, complete with a socket amidship for a mast and hole for stays and rudder, [[Beveled rim bowl|bevel-rimmed bowls]], and a "lizard type" figurine like those found in a sounding under the Royal Cemetery of Ur. Soundings in the cemetery showed it to have about 1000 graves, all from the end of the Ubaid period (Temple levels VI and VII).<ref name="Safar1947">{{cite journal| url= https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763206&increment=41| last1= al Asil
| first1= Naji |last2= Lloyd| first2= Seton| last3= Safar| first3= Fuad| title= Eridu| work= Sumer| volume= 3| number= 2| pages= 84–111| date= July 1947}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| url= https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763210&increment=60 |last1= Lloyd| first1= Seton| last2= Safar| first2= Fuad| title= Eridu. A Preliminary Communication on the Second Season’s Excavations. 1947–1948| work= Sumer| volume= 4| number= 2| pages= 115–127| date= September 1948}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| url= |last= Safar| first= Fuad | title= The Third Season's Excavation at Eridu| work= Sumer| volume= 5| number= 2| pages=  159–174| year= 1949| language= Arabic}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| url= https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763216&increment=32 | first=Fuad| last= Safar| title= ERIDU A Preliminary Report on the Third Season's Excavation at Eridu, 1948–1949| journal= Sumer| volume= 6| number= 1| pages= 27–38| year= 1950}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| url= | last= Lloyd| first= Seton| title= Abu Shahrein: A Memorandum| journal= Iraq| volume= 36| pages= 129–38| year= 1974}}</ref> They found a sequence of 17 Ubaid Period superseding temples and an Ubaid Period graveyard with 1000 graves of mud-brick boxes oriented to the southeast. The temple began as a {{cvt|2|x|3|m}} mud brick square with a niche. At Level XI it was rebuilt and eventually reached its final tripartite form in Level VI. In Ur III times a 300 square meter platform was constructed as a base for a ziggurat.<ref>{{cite journal| last= Laneri| first= Nicola| title= From High to Low: Reflections about the Emplacement of Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia| journal= Naming and Mapping the Gods in the Ancient Mediterranean: Spaces, Mobilities, Imaginaries| editor= Corinne Bonnet, Thomas Galoppin, Elodie Guillon, Max Luaces, Asuman Lätzer-Lasar, Sylvain Lebreton, Fabio Porzia, Jörg Rüpke and Emiliano Rubens Urciuoli| place= Berlin, Boston| publisher= De Gruyter| pages= 371–386| year= 2022}}</ref> These archaeological investigations showed that, according to [[A. Leo Oppenheim]], "eventually the entire south lapsed into stagnation, abandoning the political initiative to the rulers of the northern cities", probably as a result of increasing [[salinity]] produced by continuous irrigation, and the city was abandoned in 600&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{cite book| url= https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/ancient_mesopotamia.pdf| first= A. Leo| last= Oppenheim| title= Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization| place= Chicago| publisher= University of Chicago Press| orig-year= 1964| year= 1977}}</ref> In 1990 the site was visited by [[Andrew M. T. Moore|A. M. T. Moore]] who found two areas of surface pottery kilns not noted by the earlier excavators.<ref>{{cite journal| authorlink= Andrew M. T. Moore| last= Moore| first= A. M. T.| title=Pottery Kiln Sites at al 'Ubaid and Eridu| journal= Iraq| volume= 64| pages= 69–77| year= 2002 |doi= 10.2307/4200519}}</ref>

In October 2014, Franco D’Agostino visited the site in preparation for the coming resumption of excavation, noting a number of inscribed [[Amar-Sin]] brick fragments on the surface.<ref>{{cite book |chapter= The Eridu Project (AMEr) and a Singular Brick-Inscription of Amar-Suena from Abū Šahrain |title= The First Ninety Years: A Sumerian Celebration in Honor of Miguel Civil |last= D’Agostino |first= Franco |editor-last1= Feliu |editor-first1= Lluís |editor-last2= Karahashi |editor-first2= Fumi |editor-last3= Rubio |editor-first3= Gonzalo |year= 2017 |publisher= De Gruyter |location= Berlin, Boston |pages= 70–79}}</ref> In 2019, excavations at Eridu were resumed by a joint Italian, French, and Iraqi effort which included the University of Rome La Sapienza and the University of Strasbourg.<ref>{{cite journal |title= The first campaign at Eridu |work= Rivista degli studi orientali |last1= D'Agostino |first1= Franco |last2= Rendu Loisel |first2= Anne-Caroline |last3= Quénet |first3= Philippe |date= April 2019 |pages= 65–90 |issue= 1/2 |volume= XCIII}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url= https://www.academia.edu/21315716/The_Iraqi_Italian_Archaeological_Mission_at_the_Seven_Mounds_of_Eridu_AMEr_ |title= The Iraqi-Italian Archaeological Mission at The Seven Mounds of Eridu (AMEr) |last= Ramazzotti |first= Marco |journal= The Iraqi-Italian Archaeological Mission at The Seven Mounds of Eridu |year= 2015 |publisher= |pages= 3–29}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title= Another brick (-stamp) in the wall: few remarks on Amar-Suena's bricks in Eridu |work= Oriens antiquus: rivista di studi sul Vicino Oriente Antico e il Mediterraneo orientale |last= Rendu Loisel |first= Anne-Caroline |year= 2020 |publisher=  |location= |pages= 81–98 |volume= II}}</ref> Work has included producing new detail topographic and photogrammetric maps and is mainly focused on the Ubaid period cemetery and its associated Ubaid residential area.<ref>{{cite journal |url= https://acta.imeko.org/index.php/acta-imeko/article/view/1824/3028 |title= Smart tools for archaeological survey in different frameworks and contexts: approaches, analysis, results |last= Brienza |first= Emanuele |year= 2024 |publisher= | work= Acta IMEKO |volume= 13| number= 3 |pages= 1–11}}</ref>

===Artifacts===
[[File:Eridu temple 7.png|thumb|right|Large buildings, implying centralized government, started to be made. Eridu Temple, final [[Ubaid period]]]]
In March 2006, [[Giovanni Pettinato]] and S. Chiod from [[Sapienza University of Rome|Rome's La Sapienza University]] claimed to have discovered 500 Early Dynastic historical and literary cuneiform tablets on the surface at Eridu "disturbed by an explosion". The tablets were said to be from 2600 to 2100 BC (rulers Eannatum to Amar-Sin) and be part of a library. A team was sent to the site by Iraq's State Board of Antiquities and Heritage which found no tablets, only stamped bricks from Eridu and surrounding sites such as Ur. Nor was there a permit to excavate at the site issued to anyone.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Biggin |first1=S. |last2=Lawler |first2=A. |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/iraq-antiquities-find-sparks-controversy |title=Iraq Antiquities Find Sparks Controversy |work=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |date=10 April 2006 |access-date=22 August 2022}}</ref><ref>Curtis, John et al., "An Assessment of Archaeological Sites in June 2008: An Iraqi-British Project", Iraq,  vol. 70, pp. 215–237, 2008</ref> At this point Pettinato stated that they had actually found 70 inscribed bricks. This turned out to be stamped bricks used to build the modern Eridu dig-house. The dig-house had been built using bricks from the demolished Leonard Woolley's  expedition house at Ur (clearly spelled out in the 1981 Iraqi excavation report to avoid confusion to future archaeologists).<ref>Pettinato, Giovanni, "Eridu Texts", Time and History in the Ancient Near East: Proceedings of the 56th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Barcelona, July 26th–30th, 2010, edited by Lluis Feliu, J. Llop, A. Millet Albà and Joaquin Sanmartín, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 799–802, 2013</ref> Most of the bricks
in question were returned to Ur in 1962 for use in restoration efforts.<ref name="Safar1981" />

===Architecture===
====Temple and ziggurat====
The urban nucleus of Eridu was [[Enki]]'s temple, called House of the Aquifer ([[Cuneiform]]: {{lang|sux|{{cuneiform|4|𒂍𒍪𒀊}}}}, {{Transliteration|sux|E₂.ZU.AB}}; [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]]: {{Transliteration|sux|[[É (temple)|e₂]]-abzu}}; [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]]: {{Transliteration|akk|bītu apsû}}), which in later history was called House of the Waters ([[Cuneiform]]: {{lang|sux|{{cuneiform|4|𒂍𒇉}}}}, {{Transliteration|sux|E₂.LAGAB×HAL}}; [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]]: [[É (temple)|e₂]]-engur; [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]]: ''bītu engurru''). The name refers to Enki's realm.<ref>{{cite dissertation| last= Green| first= Margaret Whitney| title= Eridu in Sumerian Literature| place= Chicago| publisher= University of Chicago, Unpublished Ph.D dissertation| year= 1975}}</ref> His consort [[Ninhursag]] had a nearby temple at [[Ubaid period|Ubaid]].<ref>{{cite book| first= P.| last= Delougaz| title= A Short Investigation of the Temple at Al-'Ubaid, Iraq| volume= 5| pages= 1–11| year= 1938| publisher= }}</ref>

During the Ur III period, Ur-Nammu had a ziggurat built over the remains of previous temples. Aside from [[Enmerkar]] of Uruk (as mentioned in the ''Aratta'' epics), several later historical Sumerian kings are said in inscriptions found here to have worked on or renewed the ''e-abzu'' temple, including [[Elulu|Elili]] of Ur; [[Ur-Nammu]], [[Shulgi]] and [[Amar-Sin]] of [[Ur-III]], and [[Nur-Adad]] of [[Larsa]].<ref>{{cite book| first= AR| last= George| title=House most high: the temples of ancient Mesopotamia| publisher= Eisenbrauns| year= 2003 |isbn= 0-931464-80-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| editor-first= Fabrizio| editor-last= Serra| title= A new foundation clay-nail of Nūr-Adad from Eridu| work= Oriens antiquus : rivista di studi sul Vicino Oriente Antico e il Mediterraneo orientale |volume= I| pages= 191–196| year= 2019| publisher= }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Level !! Date (BC) !! Period !! Size (m) !! Note
|-
| XVIII || 5300 || – || 3×0.3 || [[Sleeper wall]]s
|-
| XVII || 5300–5000 || – || 2.8×2.8 || First cella
|-
| XVI || 5300–4500 || Early Ubaid || 3.5×3.5 ||
|-
| XV || 5000–4500  || Early Ubaid || 7.3×8.4 ||
|-
| XIV || 5000–4500  || Early Ubaid || – || No structure found
|-
| XIII || 5000–4500  || Early Ubaid || – || No structure found
|-
| XII || 5000–4500  || Early Ubaid || – || No structure found
|-
| XI || 4500–4000 || Ubaid || 4.5×12.6 || First platform
|-
| X || 4500–4000 || Ubaid || 5×13 ||
|-
| IX || 4500–4000 || Ubaid || 4×10 ||
|-
| VIII || 4500–4000 || Ubaid || 18×11 ||
|-
| VII || 4000–3800 || Ubaid || 17×12 ||
|-
| VI || 4000–3800 || Ubaid || 22×9 ||
|-
| V || 3800–3500|| Early Uruk || – || Only platform remains
|-
| IV || 3800–3500 || Early Uruk || – || Only platform remains
|-
| III || 3800–3500 || Early Uruk || – || Only platform remains
|-
| II || 3500–3200 || Early Uruk || – || Only platform remains
|-
| I || 3200 || Early Uruk || – || Only platform remains
|-
|}

==Lament for Eridu==
The fall of early Mesopotamia cities and empires was typically believed to be the result of falling out of favor with the gods. A genre called [[City Lament]]s developed during the [[Isin-Larsa period]], of which the [[Lament for Ur]] is the most famous. These laments had a number of sections (kirugu) of which only fragments have been recovered. The [[Lament for Eridu]] describes the fall of that city.<ref>Green, M. W., "The Eridu Lament.", JCS 30, pp. 127–67, 1978</ref><ref>{{cite journal| first= Ilan| last= Peled| title= A New Manuscript of the Lament for Eridu| work= Journal of Cuneiform Studies| volume= 67| pages= 39–43| year= 2015 |doi= 10.5615/jcunestud.67.2015.0039}}</ref>
{{Blockquote|Its king stayed outside his city as if it were an alien city. He wept bitter tears. Father Enki stayed outside his city as if it were an alien city. He wept bitter tears. For the sake of his harmed city, he wept bitter tears. Its lady, like a flying bird, left her city. The mother of [[É (temple)|E-maḫ]], holy [[Damgalnuna]], left her city. The divine powers of the city of holiest divine powers were overturned. The divine powers of the rites of the greatest divine powers were altered. In Eridug everything was reduced to ruin, was wrought with confusion.<ref>{{cite journal| url= https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.2.2.6# |title= The lament for Eridug ETSCL| website= ox.ac.uk | publisher= | date= | access-date= }}</ref>
}}

==History==
[[File:Painted pottery vessel (jug or ewer). From Eridu (Tell Abu Shahrain), Iraq. 3500-2800 BCE. Iraq Museum, Baghdad.jpg|thumb|left|Painted pottery vessel from Eridu (Tell Abu Shahrain), Iraq. 3500–2800 BCE. Iraq Museum, Baghdad]]
Eridu is one of the earliest settlements in the region, founded [[6th millennium BC|{{circa|5400&nbsp;BC}}]] during the early [[Ubaid period]], at that time close to the [[Persian Gulf]] near the mouth of the [[Euphrates]], although in modern times it is about 90 miles inland. Excavation has shown that the city was founded on a virgin sand dune site with no previous habitation. According to the excavators, construction of the [[Third Dynasty of Ur|Ur III]] ziggurat and associated buildings was preceded by the destruction of preceding construction and its use as leveling fill so no remains from that time were found. At a small mound 1 kilometer north of Eridu two Early Dynastic III palaces were found, with an enclosure wall. The palaces measured 45 meters by 65 meters with 2.6 meter wide walls and were constructed in the standard Early Dynastic period method of plano-convex bricks laid in a herringbone fashion.<ref name="Safar1947"/>

[[File:Bowl MET DP104228 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Bowl excavated in the Ubaid Cemetery at Eridu (Grave 134)]]
With possible breaks in occupation in the [[Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|Early Dynastic III]] and [[Akkadian Empire]] periods, the city was inhabited until the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]], though in later times it was primarily a cultic site.

[[File:Bowl MET DP104229.jpg|thumb|left|Bowl; mid 6th–5th millennium BC; [[ceramic]]; 6.99 cm; Tell Abu Shahrain; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]]]
During the [[Ubaid period]] the site extended out to an area of about 12 hectares (about 30 acres). Twelve neolithic clay tokens, the precursor to [[Proto-cuneiform]], were found in the Ubaid levels of the site.<ref>Schmandt-Besserat, Denise. ''Before writing: From counting to cuneiform'', Vol. II, University of Texas Press, 1992</ref><ref>Overmann, Karenleigh A., ''The Material Origin of Numbers: Insights from the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East'', Piscataway, NJ, USA: Gorgias Press, Table 9.2, pp. 169–170, 2019</ref><ref>[https://isac.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/shared/docs/heartland_of_cities.pdf] Wright, H. T., "Appendix: The Southern Margins of Sumer. Archaeological Survey of the Area of Eridu and Ur", In: R. M. Adams (ed.), The Heartland of Cities: Survey of Ancient Settlement and Land Use on the Central Flood Plain of the Euphrates (Chicago-London), pp. 295–345, 1981</ref> Eighteen superimposed mudbrick temples at the site underlie the unfinished [[ziggurat]] of [[Amar-Sin]] (c. 2047–2039 BC). Levels XIX to VI were from the Ubaid period and Levels V to I were dated to the [[Uruk period]].<ref>Quenet, Philippe, "Eridu: Note on the Decoration of the Uruk ‘Temples.’", Proceedings of the 11th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East: Vol. 2: Field Reports. Islamic Archaeology, edited by Adelheid Otto et al., 1st ed., Harrassowitz Verlag, pp. 341–48, 2020</ref> Significant habitation was found from the Uruk period with "non-secular" buildings being found in soundings. Uruk finds included decorative terracotta cones topped with copper, copper nails topped with gold, a pair of basalt stone lion statues, columns several meters in diameter coated with cones and gypsum, and extensive Uruk period pottery.<ref>{{cite journal| url= https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763208&increment=41| last=Lloyd| first= S.| title= Uruk Pottery: A Comparative Study in relation to recent Finds at Eridu| journal= Sumer| volume= 4| number= 1| pages= 39–51| year= 1948}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last= Van Buren| first= E. Douglas| title= Excavations at Eridu| work= Orientalia| volume= 17| number= 1| pages= 115–19| year= 1948}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last= Becker| first= A.| title= Uruk Kleinfunde I| publisher= Stein| work= Ausgrabungen in Uruk-Warka Endberichte 6| place= Mainz| year= 1993}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| url= https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/resources/alsoof/files/10213436.pdf| last= al-Soof| first= A. B.| title=Uruk Pottery from Eridu, Ur, and al-Ubaid| journal= Sumer| volume= 20| number= 1–2| pages= 17–22| year= 1973}}</ref> Occupation increased in the Early Dynastic period with a monumental {{cvt|100|x|100|m}} palace being constructed.<ref>{{cite book| last= Adams| first= Robert McCormick| title= The Evolution of Urban Society: Early Mesopotamia and Prehistoric Mexico| location= Chicago| publisher= University of Chicago Press| year = 1966}}</ref> An inscription of [[Elulu]], a ruler of the [[First Dynasty of Ur]] ({{circa|2600&nbsp;BC}}), was found at Eridu.<ref>Sollberger, Edmond, and Jean-Robert Kupper, "Inscriptions royales sumeriennese akkadiennes", Littératures Anciennes du Proche-Orient 3, Paris: Les Éditions du Cerf, 1971</ref> On a statue of the Early Dynastic ruler of [[Lagash]] named [[Entemena]] ({{circa|2400&nbsp;BC}}), it reads, "he built Ab-zupasira for Enki, king of Eridu  ...",<ref>Schmandt-Besserat, Denise, "Six Votive and Dedicatory Inscriptions", When Writing Met Art: From Symbol to Story, New York, USA: University of Texas Press, pp. 71–86, 2007</ref>

[[File:Fired clay brick stamped with the name of Amar-Sin, Ur III, from Eridu, currently housed in the British Museum.jpg|thumb|right|Fired clay brick stamped with the name of Amar-Sin, Ur III, from Eridu, currently housed in the British Museum]]

Eridu was active during the [[Third Dynasty of Ur]] (22nd to 21st century BC) and royal building activity is known from inscribed bricks notably those of [[Ur-Nammu]] from his ziggurat marked "Ur-Nammu, king of Ur, the one who built the temple of the god Enki in Eridu."<ref>Frayne, Douglas, "Ur-Nammu E3/2.1.1", Ur III Period (2112–2004 BC), Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 5–90, 1997</ref> Three Third Dynasty rulers designated Year Names based on the appointment of an ''en(tu)''-priestess (high priestess) of the temple of Enki in Eridu, the highest religious office in the land at that time. In each the first two cases it was also used as the succeeding Year Name.

*[[Sulgi]] Year 28 – "Year the szita-priest-who-intercedes-for-Szulgi, the son of Szulgi, the strong man, the king of Ur, the king of the four corners of the universe, was installed as en-priest of Enki in Eridu"
*[[Amar-Sin]] Year 8 – "Year (Ennune-kiag-Amar-Sin) Ennune-the beloved (of Amar-Sin, was installed as en-priestess of Enki in Eridu)"
*[[Ibbi-Sin]] Year 11 – "Year the szita-priest who prays piously for Ibbi-Sin was chosen by means of the omens as en-priest of Enki in Eridu"

[[File:Bowl MET DP104227.jpg|thumb|left|Bowl; mid 6th–5th millennium BC; ceramic; Tell Abu Shahrain; Metropolitan Museum of Art]]
After the fall of Ur III the site was occupied and active during the [[Isin-Larsa]] period  (early 2nd Millennium BC) as evidenced by a Year Name of [[Nur-Adad]], ruler of Larsa "Year the temple of Enki in Eridu was built" and prior texts of Isin rulers [[Ishbi-Erra]] and [[Ishme-Dagan]] showing control over Eridu.<ref>De Graef, Katrien. "Bad Moon Rising: The Changing Fortunes of Early Second-Millennium BCE Ur", Ur in the Twenty-First Century CE: Proceedings of the 62nd Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale at Philadelåpåphia, July 11–15, 2016, edited by Grant Frame, Joshua Jeffers and Holly Pittman, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 49–88, 2021</ref> Inscribed construction bricks of Nur-Adad have also been found at Eridu.<ref>“RIME 4.02.08.05, Ex. 01 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2023. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). June 15, 2023. https://cdli.ucla.edu/P345487.</ref> This continued in the [[Old Babylonian period]] with Hammurabi stating in his 33rd Year Name "Year Hammu-rabi the king dug the canal (called) 'Hammu-rabi is abundance to the people', the beloved of An and Enlil, established the everlasting waters of plentifulness for Nippur, Eridu, Ur, Larsa, Uruk and Isin, restored Sumer and Akkad which had been scattered, overthrew in battle the army of Mari and Malgium and caused Mari and its territory and the various cities of Subartu to dwell under his authority in friendship"

[[File:Cup MET ME49 133 5.jpg|thumb|right|Cup; mid 6th–5th millennium BC; ceramic; 8.56 cm; Tell Abu Shahrain; Metropolitan Museum of Art]]
In an inscription of [[Kurigalzu I]] ({{circa|1375&nbsp;BC}}), a ruler of the [[Kassite dynasty]] one of his epitaphs is "[he  one  who  ke]eps  the  sanctuary  in  Eridu  in  order".<ref>Oshima, Takayoshi, "Another Attempt at Two Kassite Royal Inscriptions: The Agum-Kakrime Inscription and the Inscription of Kurigalzu the Son of Kadashmanharbe", Babel und Bibel 6, edited by Leonid E. Kogan, N. Koslova, S. Loesov and S. Tishchenko, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 225–268, 2012</ref>

An inscription of the [[List of kings of Babylon#Dynasty V (2nd Sealand), 1021–1001 BC|Second Sealand Dynastic]] ruler [[Simbar-shipak]] (c. 1021–1004 BCE) mentions a priest of Eridu.<ref>[https://archive.org/download/babylonianbounda00brituoft/babylonianbounda00brituoft.pdf] L.W. King, "Babylonian Boundary Stones and Memorial Tablets in the British Museum (BBSt)", London: Trustees of the British Museum, 1912</ref>

The [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|Neo-Assyrian emperor]] [[Sargon II]] (722–705 BCE) awarded ''andurāru''-status (described as "a periodic reinstatement of goods and persons, alienated because of want, to their original status") to Eridu.<ref>Frazer, Mary and Adalı, Selim Ferruh, "“The just judgements that Ḫammu-rāpi, a former king, rendered”: A New Royal Inscription in the Istanbul Archaeological Museums", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 111, no. 2, pp. 231–262, 2021</ref>

The Neo-Babylonian ruler [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] (605–562 BC) built at Eridu as evidenced by inscribed bricks found there.<ref>BMHBA 94, 17 05 artifact entry (No. P283716). (2005, November 15). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.ucla.edu/P283716</ref>

===Mythology===
In some, but not all, versions of the [[Sumerian King List]], Eridu is the first of five cities where kingship was received before a flood came over the land. The list mentions two rulers of Eridu from the Early Dynastic period, [[Alulim]] and [[Alalngar]].<ref>G. Marchesi, "The Sumerian King List and the Early History of Mesopotamia", in:ana turri gimilli, studi dedicati alPadre Werner R. Mayer, S.J. da amici e allievi, Vicino Oriente Quader-no5, Rome: Università di Roma, pp. 231–248, 2010</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.2.1.1&charenc=gcirc# | title=The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature }}</ref>
{{Verse translation
|''[nam]-[[lugal]] [[Anu|an]]-[[Ta (cuneiform)|ta]] èd-dè-a-ba''
''[eri]du<sup>[[Ki (cuneiform)|ki]]</sup> [[:wikt:𒈗#Akkadian|nam-lugal-la]]''
''eridug<sup>ki</sup> a₂-lu-lim lugal''
''mu 28800 i₃-ak''
''a₂-lal₃-ĝar mu 36000 i₃-ak''
|When kingship from heaven was lowered,
the kingship was in Eridu
In Eridug, Alulim became king;
he ruled
for 28800 years.
Alaljar ruled for 36000 years<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Sumerian king list: translation|url=https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section2/tr211.htm|access-date=2021-07-04|website=etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk}}</ref>}}

[[File:Jar MET ME49 133 13.jpg|thumb|right|Jar; mid 6th–5th millennium BC; ceramic; 15.24 cm; Tell Abu Shahrain; Metropolitan Museum of Art]]
In Sumerian mythology, Eridu was the home of the [[Abzu]] temple of the god [[Enki]], the Sumerian counterpart of the [[Akkadian Empire|Akkad]]ian god Ea, god of deep waters, wisdom and magic. Like all the Sumerian and Babylonian gods, Enki/Ea began as a local god who, according to the later cosmology, came to share the rule of the cosmos with [[Anu]] and [[Enlil]]. His kingdom was the sweet waters that lay below earth (Sumerian ''ab''=water; ''zu''=far).<ref>Jacobsen, Thorkild, "The Eridu Genesis", Journal of Biblical Literature, vol. 100, no. 4, pp. 513–29, 1981</ref>
The bright star Canopus was known to the ancient Mesopotamians and represented the city of Eridu in the ''Three Stars Each'' [[Babylonian star catalogues]] and later around 1100 BC on the [[MUL.APIN]] tablets.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Rogers | first = John H. | date = 1998 | title = Origins of the Ancient Constellations: I. The Mesopotamian Traditions | journal = Journal of the British Astronomical Association | volume = 108 | issue = 1 | pages = 9–28 | bibcode = 1998JBAA..108....9R}}</ref> Canopus was called MUL.NUN<sup>KI</sup> by the Babylonians, which translates as "star of the city of Eridu". From most southern city of Mesopotamia, Eridu, there is a good view to the south, so that about 6000 years ago due to the [[Axial precession|precession of the Earth's axis]] the first rising of the star Canopus in Mesopotamia could be observed only from there at the southern meridian at midnight. In the city of [[Ur]] this was the case only 60 years later.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bautsch |first1=Markus  |author2-link=Friedhelm Pedde |last2=Pedde |first2=Friedhelm |title=Canopus, der "Stern der Stadt Eridu" |url=https://wfs.berlin/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/BROplanet-juni2023ff_www.pdf |journal=Dem Himmel Nahe |issue=17 |pages=8–9 |issn=2940-9330|language=de}}</ref>

In the flood myth tablet<ref>UET 6, 61 + UET 6, 503 + UET 6, 691 (+) UET 6, 701 or [https://cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts/346146 CDLI Literary 000357, ex. 003 (P346146)]</ref> found in Ur, how Eridu and Alulim were chosen by gods as first city and first priest-king is described in more detail.<ref>Ansky, S., "The Eridu Genesis", The Harps that Once..., edited by David G. Roskies, New Haven: Yale University Press, pp. 145–150, 1992</ref> The following is the English translation of the tablet:<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Peterson |first1=Jeremiah |title=The Divine Appointment of the First Antediluvian King: Newly Recovered Content from the Ur Version of the Sumerian Flood Story |journal=Journal of Cuneiform Studies |date=January 2018 |volume=70 |issue=1 |pages=37–51 |url=https://www.academia.edu/37013183 |doi=10.5615/jcunestud.70.2018.0037}}</ref>
{{Verse translation
|(Obverse)
1 They (the chief deities) created humanity
2 After the [animals/vermin?] were proliferating below/from the earth in unison
3 They made livestock and quadrupeds as fitting things in the steppe(eden-na)
4 In the high steppe ... joyous plants broadly
5 At that time, the canal was not dug ...
6 The dike and ditch [were not dredged(?) ...]
7 The ox ... the plow/farmer/furrow(?) ...
8 The lands ... a single track ...
9 Humanity ... their eyes/faces ... [rain?]
10 Šakkan/Šumugan [did not go out(?)] in the desert ...
11 Weaving the cap/headcloth(?) ...
12 Humanity ...
13 At that time, the snake was not present, [the scorpion was not present ...]
14 The lion was not present, [the hyena was not present ...]
15 The dog and wolf were not present ...
16 Humanity [had no opponent ...]
17 Fear and [gooseflesh(?) were not present ...]
18 ... 
19 The king ...
20 ...

|(Reverse)
1 First ... were giving [Eridu or Ku’ara?] to Asalluhi,
2 Second ... were giving [Bad-tibira to the nugig midwife?],
3 Third ... were giving [Larak[ to Pabilsaĝ,
4 Fourth ... were giving [Sippar to Utu?]
5 Fifth ... were giving Š[uruppak?] to [Sud?].
6 Those cities .. their settlements ...
7 An, Enlil, [Enki?] and Ninhursaĝ
8 Among(?) those cities, Eridu .. they established at the front/as the leader(?)
9 They led(?) a man who was lying(?) among its vast and many people ...
10 An, Enlil, and Enki, the father(s) of the gods(?)
11 They chose Alulim/the "seed of the red deer" for the shepherdship of the entirety of the many people
12 They named him(!) Alulim/named the "seed of the red deer" ...
13 After they served according to the command to check thusly/forever after(?)
14 [So that?] humanity, whoever possessed a name, were grasping his feet (in submission)/following his path(?)
15 They put both (capital) offense and sin(?) in his hand
16 was giving ... to him
17 ...
18 ...
}}

[[File:Cup MET ME49 133 6.jpg|thumb|left|Cup; mid 6th–5th millennium BC; ceramic; 9.53 cm; Tell Abu Shahrain; Metropolitan Museum of Art]]
[[Adapa]], a man of Eridu, is depicted as an early culture hero. Although earlier tradition, Me-Turan/Tell-Haddad tablet, describes [[Adapa]] as postdiluvian ruler of Eridu,<ref>Cavigneaux, Antoine. “Une version Sumérienne de la légende d’Adapa (Textes de Tell Haddad X) : Zeitschrift Für Assyriologie104 (2014): 1–41.</ref> in late tradition, [[Adapa]] came to be viewed as Alulim's vizier,{{sfn|Peterson|2018|p=40}} and he was considered to have brought civilization to the city as the sage of King [[Alulim]].<ref>Brandon, S. G. F., "The Origin of Death in Some Ancient Near Eastern Religions", Religious Studies, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 217–28, 1966</ref><ref>Milstein, Sara J., "The “Magic” of Adapa", Texts and Contexts: The Circulation and Transmission of Cuneiform Texts in Social Space, edited by Paul Delnero and Jacob Lauinger, Berlin, München, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 191–213, 2015</ref>

[[File:Statue of a standing lion from Eridu, Iraq, c. mid-3rd millennium BCE. Iraq Museum.jpg|thumb|Statue of a standing lion from Eridu, Iraq, c. mid-3rd millennium BC]]
The stories of [[Inanna]], goddess of [[Uruk]], describe how she had to go to Eridu in order to receive the [[me (mythology)|gifts of civilization]]. At first Enki, the god of Eridu, attempted to retrieve these sources of his power but later willingly accepted that Uruk now was the centre of the land.<ref>Gertrud  Farber-Fliigge, "Der Mythos 'Inanna und Enki' unter  besonderer   Berücksichti-gung der Liste der me", Rome, St Pohl 10, 1973</ref><ref>Alster, Bendt, "On the Interpretation of the Sumerian Myth 'Inanna and Enki'", vol. 64, no. 1, pp. 20–34, 1974</ref>

====List of rulers====
The following list should not be considered complete:
{|class="wikitable"border="1"style="width:100%;text-align:center"
|-
!width="1%"|#
!width="16.5%"|Depiction
!width="16.5%"|Ruler
!width="16.5%"|Succession
!width="16.5%"|[[Akkadian royal titulary|Title]]
!width="16.5%"|{{abbr|Approx.|approximately}} dates
!width="16.5%"|Notes
|-
|colspan="7"align="center"style="background-color:palegoldenrod"|'''[[Early Dynastic I|Early Dynastic I period]] ({{circa|2900|2700 BC|lk=yes}})'''
|-
!colspan="7"|[[Pre-dynastic period of Sumer|Predynastic Sumer]] ({{circa|2900|2700 BC}})
|-
|colspan="7"align="left"|{{blockquote|''"After the [[Throne|kingship]] descended from [[Anu|heaven]], the kingship was in Eridu."''|''[[Sumerian King List]] (SKL)''}}
|-
|1
|[[File:Lista Reale Sumerica.jpg|128px]]
|[[Alulim]]<br>𒀉𒇻𒅆
|
|[[King of Sumer]]<hr>[[Lugal|King]] of Eridu
|{{fl.|{{c.|2874 BC}}}}<br><small>(28800–67200 years)</small>
|
*Is mentioned in the ''[[Weld-Blundell Prism]] (W-B 44)'' version of the ''SKL'' (this version of the ''SKL'' was most likely written ''[[tempore|temp.]]'' of [[Suen-magir]] {{circa|1800 BC}})
*Said on the ''SKL'' to have held the title of, ''"[[lugal|King]]"'' of not just Eridu; but, to have held the ''"[[Hegemony|Kingship]]"'' over ''all'' of Sumer
*The ''Uruk List of Kings and Sages (ULKS)'' version of the ''SKL'' pairs him up with an [[apkallu]] (an apkallu was a [[Sage (philosophy)|sage]] in [[Sumerian literature]] and [[Sumerian religion|religion]]—the first apkallu was named [[Adapa]] and he was paired up with Alulim; additionally, Adapa has been compared with the [[Biblical]] figure [[Adam]])
|-
|2
|[[File:Initial paragraph about rule of Alulim in Eridu for 28800 years (photograph, transcription and translation).jpg|128px]]
|[[Alalngar]]<br>𒀉𒋭𒃻
|Brother of Alulim (?)
|King of Sumer<hr>King of Eridu
|{{reign|single=c. 2866 BC|show=lword}}<br><small>(36000 years)</small>
|
*Historicity uncertain
*Is mentioned in the ''[[Dynastic Chronicle]]'' version of the ''SKL'' (this version of the ''SKL'' was most likely written ''temp.'' of [[Nabonassar]] {{circa|740 BC}})
*The ''ULKS'' (written {{circa|165 BC}}) pairs him up with an apkallu (Uanduga)
|-
|colspan="7"align="left"|{{blockquote|''"2 kings; they ruled for 64800 years. Then Eridu fell and the kingship was taken to [[Bad-tibira#List of rulers|Bad-tibira]]."''|''SKL''}}
|-
|3
|
|Amelon<br>𒁹𒄠𒈨𒇻𒀭𒈾
|
|King of Sumer<hr>King of Eridu
|{{reign|single=c. 2900|era=BC}}<br><small>(46800 years)</small>
|
*Historicity uncertain
*Is mentioned in [[Berossus]]’ version of the ''SKL'' (the ''[[Babyloniaca (Berossus)|Babyloniaca]]'' was written {{circa|290 BC}})
*The ''ULKS'' pairs him up with an apkallu (Enmeduga)
|}

==See also==
*[[Abzu]]
*[[Cities of the Ancient Near East]]
*[[Eridu Genesis]]
*[[Lake Hammar]]
*[[Tepe Gawra]]
{{Clear}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*Espak, Peeter, "Was Eridu The First City in Sumerian Mythology", Studia in Honorem Tarmo Kulmar. When Gods Spoke: Researches and Reflections on Religious Artefacts, pp.&nbsp;53–70, 2015
*Seton Lloyd, "Ur-al 'Ubaid, 'Uqair and Eridu. An Interpretation of Some Evidence from the Flood-Pit", Iraq, British Institute for the Study of Iraq, vol. 22, Ur in Retrospect. In Memory of Sir C. Leonard Woolley, pp.&nbsp;23–31, (Spring – Autumn, 1960)
*Lloyd, S., "The Oldest City of Sumeria: Establishing the origins of Eridu.", Illustrated London News Sept 11, pp.&nbsp;303–5, 1948.
*{{cite journal| first= Joan| last= Oates| title=Ur and Eridu: the Prehistory| work= Iraq| volume= 22| pages=32–50| year= 1960}}
*{{cite journal| first= Joan| last= Oates| title=Ur in Retrospect: In Memory of Sir C. Leonard Woolley| work= Iraq| volume= 22| editor1= Max Edgar| editor2= Lucien Mallowan| editor3= Donald John Wiseman| publisher= School of Archaeology in Iraq| pages= 32–50| year= 1960}}
*Mahan, Muhammed Seiab. "Topography of Eridu and its defensive fortifications", ISIN Journal 3, pp.&nbsp;75–94, 2022
*Margueron, Jean, "Notes d’archéologie et d’architecture Orientales: 3: Du Nouveau Concernant Le Palais d’Eridu?", Syria, vol. 60, no. 3/4, pp.&nbsp;225–31, 1983
*Quenet, Philippe, and Anne-Caroline Rendu Loisel, "La campagne du printemps 2022 à Eridu, Irak du Sud", Les Chroniques d'ARCHIMEDE 3, pp.&nbsp;5–8, 2022
*Reisman, Daniel, "Ninurta’s Journey to Eridu", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 24, no. 1/2, pp.&nbsp;3–10, 1971
*{{cite journal| last= Van Buren| first= E. Douglas| title= Discoveries at Eridu| work= Orientalia| volume= 18| number= 1| pages= 123–24| year= 1949}}
*{{cite journal| url= https://jart.utq.edu.iq/index.php/main/article/download/409/484| last= Yassin| first= Ali Majeed| title= Gully erosion model of the archaeological site of Eridu Ziggurat in the southern plateau of Iraq using RS-GIS technology| work= Thi Qar Arts Journal |volume= 3| number= 41| pages= 1–20| year= 2023| language= Arabic}}
*{{cite magazine| title= The Ruins of Eridu, 2400 B.C.| work= [[Scientific American]]| volume= 83| number= 20| pages= 308–309| year= 1900}}

==External links==
*{{Citation|url=http://www-etcsl.orient.ox.ac.uk/section2/tr211.htm |title=The Sumerian king list: translation |publisher=Oxford |place=UK}}
*{{Citation | url = http://oi.uchicago.edu/gallery/asp_meso_eridu/ | title = Archaeological Photographs from Eridu | publisher = Oriental Institute, University of Chicago | place = IL, USA}}
*[https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/x32505 Eridu object held at the British Museum]
*[http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.1.3.1# Inana and Enki], The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, Oxford UK, JAB, editor: translation
*[https://almashareq.com/en_GB/articles/cnmi_am/features/2021/09/24/feature-02 Iraq launches campaign to secure archaeological sites in Dhi Qar] Al-Mashareq 2021-09-24

===Language===
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite web|last1=Black|first1=Jeremy Allen|author-link=Jeremy Black (assyriologist)|last2=Baines|first2=John Robert|author-link2= John Baines (Egyptologist)|last3=Dahl|first3=Jacob L.|last4=Van De Mieroop|first4=Marc|author-link4=Marc Van De Mieroop|editor-last= Cunningham|editor-first=Graham|editor-last2=Ebeling|editor-first2=Jarle|editor-last3=Flückiger-Hawker|editor-first3= Esther| editor-last4=Robson|editor-first4=Eleanor|editor-link4=Eleanor Robson|editor-last5=Taylor|editor-first5=Jon|editor-last6= Zólyomi |editor-first6=Gábor|location= UK|department=[[Faculty of Oriental Studies]]|title=ETCSL: The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature|url=https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/|edition=revised|access-date=2022-09-23|quote=The [[Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature]] (ETCSL), a project of the [[University of Oxford]], comprises a selection of nearly 400 literary compositions recorded on sources which come from ancient Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) and date to the late third and early second millennia BCE.}}
*{{cite web|url=https://cdli.ucla.edu/|title=CDLI: Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative|date=2022|orig-year=1998|publication-date=1998–2022|access-date=2022-09-23|last1=Renn|first1=Jürgen|author-link=Jürgen Renn|last2=Dahl|first2=Jacob L.|last3=Lafont|first3=Bertrand|last4=Pagé-Perron|first4=Émilie|quote=Images presented online by the research project [[Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative]] (CDLI) are for the non-commercial use of students, scholars, and the public. Support for the project has been generously provided by the [[Mellon Foundation]], the [[National Science Foundation]] (NSF), the [[National Endowment for the Humanities]] (NEH), the [[Institute of Museum and Library Services]] (ILMS), and by the [[Max Planck Society]] (MPS), Oxford and [[University of California, Los Angeles]] (UCLA); network services are from UCLA's Center for Digital Humanities.}}
*{{cite web|url=http://psd.museum.upenn.edu/|title=PSD: The Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary|date=2022|orig-year=2003|publication-date= 2003–2022|access-date=2022-09-23|last1=Sjöberg|first1=Åke Waldemar|author-link=Åke W. Sjöberg| last2=Leichty| first2=Erle| last3= Tinney |first3=Steve|quote=The [[Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary Project]] (PSD) is carried out in the Babylonian Section of the [[University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology|University of Pennsylvania Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology]]. It is funded by the NEH and private contributions. [They] work with several other projects in the development of tools and corpora. [Two] of these have useful websites: the CDLI and the ETCSL.}}
{{refend}}
{{Near East Neolithic}}
{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Populated places established in the 6th millennium BC]]
[[Category:Populated places disestablished in the 6th century BC]]
[[Category:1855 archaeological discoveries]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Iraq]]
[[Category:History of Dhi Qar Governorate]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Iraq]]
[[Category:Sumerian cities]]
[[Category:Ubaid period]]
[[Category:Uruk period]]