Ubara-tutu (or Ubartutu) of Shuruppak was the last antediluvian king of Sumer, according to some versions of the Sumerian King List. He was said to have reigned for 18,600 years (5 sars and 1 ner). He was the son of En-men-dur-ana, a Sumerian mythological figure often compared to Enoch, as he entered heaven without dying. Ubara-Tutu was the king of Sumer until a flood swept over his land.[4]

Ubara-Tutu
The Weld-Blundell Prism is among the oldest, most well-preserved, and better-known versions of the Sumerian King List, and includes the inscription for Ubara-Tutu.[1]
High King of Sumer
PredecessorEn-men-dur-ana[2]
SuccessorJushur
King of Shuruppak
PredecessorUnknown
SuccessorZiusudra
BornShuruppak
Sumerian𒁛𒁺𒁺[3]
DynastyDynasty of Shuruppak

Ubara-tutu is briefly mentioned in tablet XI of the Epic of Gilgamesh. He is identified as the father of Utnapishtim, a character who is instructed by the god Ea to build a boat in order to survive the coming flood.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Ashmolean 2017.
  2. ^ Black et al. 2006.
  3. ^ Sjöberg, Leichty & Tinney 2021.
  4. ^ Pritchard, James B. (ed.), Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1955, 1969). 1950 1st edition at Google Books. p.44: "...a flood [will sweep] over the cult-centers; to destroy the seed of mankind; is the decision, the word of the assembly [of the gods]."
  5. ^ George, Andrew R. (2003). The Epic of Gilgamesh: The Babylonian Epic Poem and Other Texts in Akkadian and Sumerian. Penguin Classics. ISBN 9780241289907.

Bibliography

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