Eridu (or Eridug) was an ancient city in Sumer, southern Mesopotamia. It was probably founded close to the Persian Gulf near the mouth of the Euphrates river, but the remains of the city are now some distance from the gulf at Abu Shahrain in Iraq.

Archaeological investigations were carried out in the 1940s. It appears that the earliest settlement was around 5000 BC and the city abandoned in 600 BC.

In the Sumerian king list, Eridu is named as the city of the first kings:

After the kingship descended from heaven, the kingship was in Eridug. In Eridug, Alulim became king; he ruled for 28800 years. Alaljar ruled for 36000 years. 2 kings; they ruled for 64800 years. Then Eridug fell and the kingship was taken to Bad-tibira.

The king list assigned particularly long rules to the kings who preceded the "flood".

In Sumerian Mythology Eridu was the home of the god Enki.

External links and references

• The Sumerian king list: translation
• The History of the Ancient Near East