The Sumerian King List: When Gods Ruled Earth for 241,200 Years

Once upon a time, gods ruled the Earth. Unlike we believed, they did not just  watch from the skies or issue commands   to mortals. They directly governed  humans for over 241,000 years! Who are these kings with such unbelievable  timelines? What was their reign like? We’ll find out together in this new  episode of Secret Origins... Welcome! In the early 1900s, the world was not ready  for what was coming. A team of archaeologists   found a clay prism buried under the ruins  of ancient Nippur. Led by a man named Herman   Hilprecht, this team made a startling  discovery in Nippur, present-day Iraq. The clay prism was made of fragments  not more than eight inches tall. But   the information on these tablets went  on to defy every logic known to man. On this prism called the Weld-Blundell Prism,  there was a list. And the list consisted of   the names of kings. You heard that right.  These kings were no myths or legend stories,   but actual rulers recorded in an official tone. What's more interesting, the Weld-Blundell  Prism had the names of dozens of rulers   stretching back thousands of years. In no  time, it was called ‘The Sumerian King List”. But it was not just the detailed  names and descriptions of the   kings that shocked scholars. It was the numbers. The tablets show that some of the earliest  kings reigned for tens of thousands of years   each. If the human lifespan averages  100 years, how was this possible? Does this mean the kings were  non-human? If yes, what were they? Look at this. According to the King List,   the first eight rulers governed Earth for  a combined 241,200 years. Some reigned for   28,800 years. Others for 43,200. One  king alone ruled for 36,000 years. But here’s the twist: the document  transitions smoothly from these   impossibly long reigns into names and  dates that modern historians can verify. Later kings, like Gilgamesh,   have human lifespans and archaeological  evidence of their rulership behind them. So.. if the second half is real and verifiable,   on what basis can we refute  the first part of the list? This points to one thing. Perhaps these  kings with longer lifespans were divine. But in case you missed it, and  you wonder who the Sumerians are,   they were one of the earliest  civilizations to emerge on Earth. They were said to have lived in the Sumer region   in Southern Mesopotamia. This  is present-day Iraq and Kuwait. Since they were an ancient advanced  civilization that reigned between   4100 and 1750 BCE, they had kings  who ruled for thousands of years.   But the timelines with which their kings  ruled come off as eerie. And this is why. For a long time, historians have tried  to portray the Sumerians as human-like.   Because of this suggestion, one would expect their  kings to also have a lifespan similar to humans. But with the Kings List coming to the surface in   the early 1900s, all we knew about  the Sumerians has been challenged. Why are the reigning years of the  first eight kings unbearably long? As a comeback, historians write off the  first eight kings as symbolic. That is,   those kings were just metaphorical storytelling  from an early civilization. But why would the   Sumerians use mathematically specific reigns  to describe fantasy? It makes no sense. It gets more puzzling. Not  only the Sumer civilization,   but other ancient civilizations—Babylonian, Hindu,   Egyptian—all mention rulers who lived for  thousands of years, before the great flood. That's right. The same great flood we all know. According to the King List, the great flood  happened at a conspicuous time. That is,   right after the eighth King's reign,   the global catastrophe struck. And with  the deluge, it wiped away the world. But the timing is interesting as well. At about  the same time that the global flood breached the   King's list, there is known geological sea-level  rise. Globally. And this was around 10,000 BCE. With such a solid alibi backing the king's list,   the question changes. Now, we  can’t ask: “Is this mythology?” Maybe the real question is: “Who truly ruled  Earth before us?” Let's dive into the King's List. Once upon a civilization…Before cities  rose, before written language came to be,   and before wheels were manufactured,  there was a city called Eridu. The Sumerians believed it was the very  first city ever built. What's more,   it was not established by wandering  tribes, but by order of the gods. And according to the Sumerian King List,   kingship itself didn’t evolve from human  systems. It “descended from heaven.” At the center of this divine order stood one name:   Alulim. He was the first king of Eridu.  But this was not all to King Alulim. The Sumerians dared to say this…  That he was the first king of Earth. Ancient tablets describe Alulim as neither a  tribal leader nor a warrior-chief. Instead,   he was portrayed as a figure of  extraordinary wisdom and stature,   elevated by celestial authority. He was  chosen, not born. Appointed, not elected. In Eridu, where temple foundations  now lie under sand and time,   legends say Alulim ruled from a  ziggurat that shimmered under the sky. This is a place where heaven touched Earth. His  kingship marked the dawn of recorded rule. And   perhaps this was the golden moment that  showed that humanity was no longer alone. If that made you heave a sigh,   brace yourself. The King List states  that Alulim ruled for 28,800 years. Wait, what? Yes. Not a hundred,  or a thousand. But 28,800 years. Modern scholars tried to call a bluff  and tag it symbolic. But the Sumerians   didn’t. They gave precise numbers rounded  to the nearest 3,600 years. These weren’t   exaggerated estimates—they were cycles. Patterns. Let's break it down… In Sumerian numerology, the number 3,600 was a   base unit called a “sar.” Alulim’s  reign equaled exactly eight sars. To the Sumerians, this wasn’t absurd at all.  Instead, they viewed it as a cosmic pattern. And when cross-referenced with ancient Hindu,   Egyptian, and even biblical genealogies,  similar thousand-year lifespans appear   with uncanny frequency. And they always  do, before a great global catastrophe. Whether symbolic or literal, these figures reflect  a time when rulers were seen as something more.   Not fully immortal, no. But they were definitely  operating on different biological laws. King Alulim was the first of such bizarre breeds. However, in the 1970s, an author  named Zecharia Sitchin introduced   a radical idea. Alulim may  not have been human at all. Based on his translations of Sumerian texts,  Sitchin proposed that kings like Alulim were part   of an extraterrestrial race known as the Anunnaki,  who came from a distant planet called Nibiru. He   argued that these beings started civilization and  ruled over humans for tens of thousands of years. Of course, mainstream scholars dismiss  his work. But Sitchin’s theory still   resonated with those who saw too many  myths overlapping across cultures. If true, Alulim wasn’t just a  king… He was our first overlord. After the end of King Alulim’s reign, kingship did   not return to the sky. It passed to  Alalgar, the second ruler of Eridu. According to the Weld-Blundell Prism, Alalgar  governed the Earth for an astonishing 36,000   years. This surpassed Alulim's tenure,  extending the legacy of divine rule. King Alalgar's reign marked a continuation of  an era when kings were not seen as mortals but   as caretakers appointed by forces beyond.  But what was King Alalgar's rule like? Ancient Sumerian texts describe Alalgar  as a figure of immense power and vision.   He’s credited with shaping early governance,  spiritual order, and city-building. Although there is little info about  his life in the archaeological record,   his name endures in multiple King List variants. However, one thing was certain.  Eridu prospered under Alalgar.   The city wasn’t just a spiritual capital, but  it evolved into a center of urban and sacred   design. Structures aligned with celestial  bodies. Temples mirrored constellations. If you think Alulim ignited kingship,  Alalgar made an institution of it.   King Alalgar didn’t descend from Heaven. He  built heaven on Earth, starting with Eridu. But there was a problem  with the great king’s rule. Upon research, Archaeologists uncovered ancient  foundations in Eridu dating back to 5,400 BCE,   including the remains of what  may be the world’s oldest temple. But what’s strange is the sudden  sophistication of it all. The layout,   the engineering, the alignment—it  suggests prior knowledge. This fuels the theory that Eridu, under  kings like Alalgar, may have functioned   as a staging post, or even a colonial  outpost, for non-human intelligence. If you wonder why, you are not  alone. Astronaut theorists argue   that the architecture, the astronomical  placement, and the sheer antiquity of   Eridu imply intentional settlement, not  evolutionary development like we thought. If Alalgar’s 36,000-year reign was  real, then what kind of being could   live that long… and still have time  to build a city? An alien, perhaps? If Alalgar institutionalized  divine rule, then Enmenluanna,   the third pre-flood king, expanded it. And  he did so both in duration and influence. According to the Sumerian King List, Enmenluanna  ruled for a whopping 43,200 years. That’s twelve   sars, a precise Sumerian numeral cycle.  This… this is too deliberate to be fiction. Also, his reign is not recorded in Eridu, but in  Bad-Tibira, a city equally drenched in mystery. Bad-Tibira was said to be the city of the sacred   forge. This is the place where divine  metalwork and heavenly materials were   first introduced to Earth. Enmenluanna’s  reign is linked with metallurgy, order,   and production. This hints that his role may  have been more industrial than spiritual. Unlike the previous kings, there is no  deep mythos around his deeds. However,   his name suggests power through crafting. How about his seat of rule? Word carries that  it connects directly to the Anunnaki, who,   according to ancient lore, used Bad-Tibira as  one of their key operational centers on Earth. There is no doubt— King Enmenluanna was  the industrial king no Sumerian saw coming. Let's talk about his niche for a moment. In many cultures, metallurgy is divine.  The act of forging metal and transforming   earth into a tool or weapon…this  was a gift only gods could give. In Sumerian myth, the gods who  taught mankind how to shape metal   were not just artisans. They were  beings of fire, star, and stone.   Enmenluanna’s role as ruler of Bad-Tibira  puts him at the center of that story. And he is not alone. The Greek  Hephaestus, the Egyptian Ptah,   and even the Hindu Vishvakarman—they  all share uncanny similarities with   the extraterrestrial archetype  Enmenluanna seems to represent. One thing was consistent. His forging craft wasn’t   just physical. It was sacred.  Just like his 43,200-year reign. King Enmengalanna was the fourth king  of the antediluvian era. Yet another   ruler from Bad-Tibira, his name was found  etched into the ancient Weld-Blundell Prism. The king list recorded his reign as 28,800 years,  mirroring the earlier king Alulim. But while   Alulim symbolized divine authority and Alalgar  symbolized structure, Enmengalanna was different. And it starts with his name. Enmengalanna is  translated to mean “lord of the celestial me.”   This linked him directly to heavenly  knowledge. In Sumerian tradition,   “me” refers to divine decrees gifted by the gods. Does this mean that  Enmengalanna had something more? Yes, he did. Enmengalanna was a guardian of this sacred  information handed over by the gods. This was an intellectual king, one  not focused on war or construction,   but on interfacing with the heavens. His reign at Bad-Tibira continues the  city’s mystical significance. For this king,   ruling was not just about forging metals. No wonder researchers argue that under  Enmengalanna’s rule, humanity first tracked   celestial cycles and began to understand the  rhythms of the universe. He was THAT king. So when you think about the origin of  astronomy, remember that this king,   whose reign spanned 28,800  years, this was his forte. Whether you are a Scorpio or a Sagittarius, there  is a chance the art came from King Enmengalanna.   This wasn’t a king counting seasons. This  was a king who read the sky like scripture. It doesn't end there. The idea that Enmengalanna ruled with  celestial awareness led some theorists   to suggest he was more than a scholar. They  say he was a representative of the stars. Historians point to the possibility that  such early rulers were not just influenced   by extraterrestrial beings. Instead,  they were a combination of both human   and divine. And their goal was to maintain  balance on Earth. When you think about it,   King Enmengalanna’s connection  to the “me” supports this theory. Perhaps, in modern terms, he might  be compared to a data administrator   operating across time. His rule was not  about governance in the human sense,   no. It was about maintaining  resonance between heaven and Earth. This led scholars to name him ‘The  celestial engineer’. Isn't this accurate? But if you'd like to learn about a King  who went overboard in his spirituality,   King Dumuzid is that man…or well, that god. After Enmengalanna, the next  in the antediluvian line was   Dumuzid. Also known as Dumuzi the Shepherd,   his name appears not only on the Sumerian  King List but in later Mesopotamian myths. According to the list, he ruled for 36,000 years,   reigning from the city of Bad-Tibira,  like his predecessor Enmengalanna. However, Dumuzid’s story blurs the line  between ruler and deity. ‘How so?’ You ask. King Dumuzid wasn’t remembered as a  king of war or infrastructure. Instead,   this king was remembered for his  relationship with the goddess Inanna,   and his symbolic death and  rebirth. You heard that right. He was the king who was said to die  and be born again. This earned him   the title “Shepherd” as he was viewed  as a strong and sacrificial leader. Another thing that makes Dumuzid unusual  is that he transcends the King List. He   shows up in the Epic of Gilgamesh,  Inanna’s Descent to the Underworld,   and in numerous hymns. Unlike other kings, he  was absorbed into the divine pool over time. His legacy was more than  political—it was too good to be true. In no time, Dumuzid was no  longer regarded as a man.   The Sumerians began to view him  as a god of vegetation, cycles,   and the dying Earth. His story echoed in later  myths like Osiris, Tammuz, and even Jesus. In the myths, Inanna’s descent to  the underworld ends with Dumuzid   being chosen to replace her. His  punishment? Death for half the   year to symbolize seasonal decay. But he  always found a way to return every spring. The resurrection factor represents an  archetype for most religions today. What do you think? Is King  Dumuzid just being glorified   after death? Or was he always something more? King Dumuzid reigned for an auspicious  36,000 years. This is a number too exact   and symbolic to ignore. What's more,  his transformation from being respected   as a king to being a god marked a  turning point in the King's list. After each rebirth, the Sumerians  knew… they weren't dealing with   a mortal anymore. This was  a different kind of ruler. King Dumuzid ruled, died,   and returned through rebirths. And just like  his mystical reign, his legacy never left. The next king on the Sumerian King List  ruled not from Eridu or Bad-Tibira,   but from a city called Larak. This is  a city that, to this day, remains lost. His name was Ensipadzidana,  and like others before him,   his reign lasted 28,800  years—a perfect eight sars. Little is known about the king himself.  He left behind no legends, no myths,   no hymns. And yet, his presence on  the King List was precisely recorded. So what was special about this king? What sets Ensipadzidana apart  is not what we know about him,   but where he ruled. The lost city, Larak. Larak is one of the five antediluvian  cities, listed in Sumerian myth as existing   before the Flood. But no physical  trace of it has ever been found.   This stark absence only deepens the queries. If the Sumerians revered these cities as holy,   and Larak was one of them, what  could have made it so important? Let's talk about Larak for a moment. Ancient texts mention Larak only  in passing—rare, brief references.   One time, it was described as  a city of healing and judgment,   possibly linked to the deity Ninurta,  god of war, agriculture, and law. On other grounds, scholars suggest Larak  might have existed in the north of Sumer,   possibly near the Tigris River.  Others claim it could’ve been entirely   metaphorical. Maybe it's a spiritual  “stronghold,” not a geographical one. But it goes deeper than that. Some  researchers dared to propose something bolder:   that Larak, like Eridu, was a  functional part of a global grid. That's to say that Larak was an  ancient energy system established   by the gods to regulate natural and  spiritual energies across the land. In that system, Ensipadzidana wasn’t  a king in the modern sense. Instead,   he was a guardian of balance. His reign wasn’t forgotten. Maybe it was just   hidden along with the city he  governed. Suspicious, right? The Sumerian Kings List gets more interesting. Right after King Ensipadzidana came Enmenduranna,  ruler of Sippar—another of the five antediluvian   cities said to exist before the Great Flood.  His reign, according to the King List, lasted   21,000 years, a number that aligns with Sumer’s  divine math system of sars and sacred cycles. Enmenduranna is known for more than just  his years on the throne. Ancient texts   refer to him as a king who had a special  relationship with the gods. They called   him the ruler who received divine  wisdom directly from the heavens. Imagine communicating directly with  the heavens. How supreme is that? If you think that is very  intriguing, brace yourself. The most intriguing claim  tied to King Enmenduranna   is that he was “taken to heaven without dying.” This phrase echoes another ancient figure:  Enoch, from the Hebrew Book of Genesis. Do you remember him? Enoch was  said to have “walked with God”   and was taken without experiencing  death. The parallels have led many   researchers to draw direct  comparisons between the two. Whose story is the truth? Or did  one myth copy from the other? Maybe we will never know. In Mesopotamian texts, Enmenduranna  is referred to as the one who was   “initiated into the secrets of the gods.”  He is said to have learned divination,   astronomy, and celestial patterns  while communing with divine beings. If you wonder how possible this was, King  Enmenduranna was said to have communicated   with these beings through a literal craft  that took him high into the heavens. When you look at it, his ascension may  not have been a mere metaphor. It could   mean physical removal, or perhaps a dimensional  shift, placing him beyond normal human reach. This was no ordinary king. He was a bridge  between the terrestrial and the divine. The next king on the Sumerian List had a  different ball to play. Unlike Enmenduranna,   he did not ascend into heaven without returning. This was a different Sumerian king,   and what made him special is that he  was the last king before the flood. Enter King Ubara-Tutu. This is the last  of the eight antediluvian kings recorded   in the Sumerian King List, and he was  the ruler of the city of Shuruppak. His reign spanned a whopping  18,600 years—a duration that,   while still far beyond human capabilities,  is the shortest of the pre-flood kings. To   the surprise of many, his rule marked a  dramatic turning point in the narrative. His city, Shuruppak, was located  on the banks of the Euphrates and   has been excavated by modern archaeologists.   It was real. And at some point around 3000  BCE, it was devastated by a massive flood. According to Mesopotamian texts, including  the Eridu Genesis, Ubara-Tutu was the father   of Ziusudra, the Sumerian counterpart of  Noah. Like the Bible story, when the gods   decided to flood the Earth, Ziusudra was  warned by the god Enki to build a boat. This elevates King Ubara-Tutu to  more than a name on a list. King   Tutu was the patriarch of the last  generation before the great reset. This made him the end of an era, and the  link between myth and memory. How surreal! But after King Ubara-Tutu’s reign, something  devastating happened. The Great Flood. The Eridu Genesis places the Great  Flood immediately after Ubara-Tutu’s   reign. The King List even includes a sharp  division: “Then the Flood swept over.” Unlike the earlier kings, Ubara-Tutu is  tied directly to this catastrophe that   cuts across global mythologies. From the  Biblical flood of Noah to the Greek story   of Deucalion and Hindu tales of Manu, there  was one huge flood sent to destroy the Earth.   And along with it went the great king, Ubara-Tutu. What do you think about these eight kings on the  Sumerian King List? Tell us in the comments. And   if you’re ready to dive deeper into the mysteries  of the ancient Gods who once ruled Earth,   tap the next video on your screen now. Don’t  forget to like this video and subscribe. Keep your minds open, and until we meet again!