# Canonical recap data for Sumerian Flood Event Recorded (2900)
# Source: https://recap.at/2900/sumerian-flood-event
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: sumerian-flood-event
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/2900/sumerian-flood-event"
title: Sumerian Flood Event Recorded
aliases:
- Eridu Genesis
- Sumerian Flood Myth
- Sumerian Creation Myth
- Great Flood of Mesopotamia
subtitle: A catastrophic Mesopotamian inundation leaves archaeological evidence and shapes multiple ancient flood narratives across cultures.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 2900-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 2900
decade: 2900
country:
name: Iraq
slug: iraq
summaryShort: Eridu Genesis, also called the Sumerian Creation Myth or Sumerian Flood Myth, is a work of Sumerian religion offering a description of the story surrounding how humanity was created by the gods, the circumstances leading to the origins of the first cities in Mesopotamia, how the office of kingship appeared, and the glo
summaryLong: Eridu Genesis, also called the Sumerian Creation Myth or Sumerian Flood Myth, is a work of Sumerian religion offering a description of the story surrounding how humanity was created by the gods, the circumstances leading to the origins of the first cities in Mesopotamia, how the office of kingship appeared, and the global flood myth.
lede: Around 2900 BCE, Sumerian scribes recorded a catastrophic flood that inundated Mesopotamia, preserving the account in cuneiform texts like the Eridu Genesis. This narrative, among humanity's oldest written stories, blended mythological explanation with what may have been memories of actual environmental catastrophe, establishing a template for flood mythology that would echo through cultures for millennia.
heroImageUrl: "https://pixabay.com/get/gaf1a74f952cd1af8b1c0fc4df8dacd07332ba75b8f54a25a60bebe338ec73be6526b90384c2cd91b971a382dbd87bf27e1c20f81be444f813843698435cf794b_1280.jpg"
heroImageCredit: trilemedia on Pixabay
importance: 80
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Approximate date
  value: 2900 BCE
- label: Primary source
  value: Eridu Genesis cuneiform tablet
- label: Location
  value: Ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq)
- label: Writing system
  value: Cuneiform
- label: Narrative function
  value: Mythological explanation of origins and kingship
- label: Known copies
  value: Multiple Sumerian and later Akkadian versions
timeline:
- date: 1000-01-01
  title: Hebrew scripture incorporation
  description: Biblical flood account in Genesis exhibits structural and thematic similarities to Sumerian and Babylonian versions, suggesting cultural transmission through Mesopotamian contact.
- date: 1200-01-01
  title: Hittite versions appear
  description: Flood mythology spreads to Anatolia, with Hittite texts preserving variations of the Mesopotamian narrative.
- date: 1800-01-01
  title: Akkadian adaptation emerges
  description: Babylonian scribes incorporate flood narratives into the Epic of Gilgamesh, adapting Sumerian sources and spreading the archetype throughout Mesopotamian culture.
- date: 2900-01-01
  title: Eridu Genesis recorded
  description: Sumerian scribes document the flood narrative in cuneiform on clay tablets, blending creation mythology with accounts of divine judgment and catastrophic inundation.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eridu_Genesis"
  title: Sumerian flood
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The Sumerian flood accounts represent some of the earliest written evidence that civilizations attempted to make sense of environmental disaster through narrative. The story's survival in cuneiform established a foundational archetype—the divine judgment flood—that would reshape how subsequent cultures, from Babylon to ancient Israel, understood catastrophe and human vulnerability.
categories:
- disaster
taxonomy:
domain: religious
eventTypes:
- prophecy_event
- ideological_manifesto
canonicalClasses:
- creation
- discovery
impactRadius: civilizational
velocity: gradual
predictability: emergent
intentionality: natural
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
metaDescription: Sumerian flood myth recorded in cuneiform, 2900 BCE. Oldest written account of catastrophic disaster.
wikidataQid: Q10436112
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260123035224/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eridu_Genesis"
  capturedAt: 2026-01-23
  label: Sumerian flood
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eridu_Genesis"
