CM 41 (Fragmentary Chronicle on Ancient Kings)

The Chronicle of Early Kings (ABC 20) is a historiographical text from ancient Babylonia. Although it purports to offer information about the oldest period and the Old-Babylonian empire, it was probably written much later. One anachronism is the reference to Babylon during the reign of king Sargon of Akkad. However, in outline, much information is more or less correct. Go here for the text. The second of the two fragments that are known as CM 41, a tablet from the library of the Assyrian king Aššurbanipal, treats more or less the same subject matter.

For a very brief introduction to the literary genre of chronicles, go here. The translation on this webpage was adapted from Jean-Jacques Glassner, Mesopotamian Chronicles (Atlanta, 2004).