Sumu-la-El (also Sumulael or Sumu-la-ilu) was a King in the First Dynasty of Babylon. He reigned c. 1881–1845 BC (MC). He was a contemporary of Sîn-kāšid of Uruk and with Sūmu-El and Nur-Adad or Larsa.Hershkovitz, Yehonatan, "The Adaptation Process of Cuneiform in the Old Babylonian Period", Dissertation, Harvard University, 2023During this period Babylon contested with the city-state of Isin for control of the local region.Goetze, Albrecht, "Sin-Iddinam of Larsa. New Tablets from His Reign", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 83–118, 1950 He subjugated and conquered nearby cities like Kish and built a string of fortresses around his territory.Boer, Rients de., "Beginnings of Old Babylonian Babylon: Sumu-abum and Sumu-la-El", Journal of Cuneiform Studies 70.1, pp. 53-86, 2018De Boer, Rients, "Two early Old Babylonian 'Mananâ' archives dated to the last years of Sumu-la-El", Revue d'assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale, vol. 111, pp. 25–64, 2017 He is known to have conquered the city of Sippar.Charpin, Dominique and Ziegler, Nele, "Masters of Time: Old Babylonian Kings and Calendars", Time and History in the Ancient Near East: Proceedings of the 56th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Barcelona, July 26th–30th, 2010, edited by Lluis Feliu, J. Llop, A. Millet Albà and Joaquin Sanmartín, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 57–68, 2013 Economic ties extended as far north as Tilmen Hoyuk.Marchesi, G./N. Marchetti, "A Babylonian Official at Tilmen Höyük in the Time of King Sumu-la-el of Babylon", Or. 88, 1–36, 2019 His daughter, Šallurtum, married Sîn-kāšid, the king of Uruk.Michalowski, Piotr, "The Amorites in Ur III Times", The Correspondence of the Kings of Ur: An Epistolary History of an Ancient Mesopotamian Kingdom, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 82-121, 2011 Because the Old Babylonian period archaeological levels at the city of Babylon were below the water table and not excavated what is known about Sumu-la-el is from other sites like Sippar and Marad which Babylon controlled. In the first half of Sumu-la-el's reign Marad had an independent kingdom which also controlled Dilbat.Al-Hussainy, Abbas Ali, and Rients de Boer. "Epigraphic finds of the 2023 Iraqi-Dutch excavations at Marad". Revue d'assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale 119.1, pp. 41-66, 2025Pomponio, Francesco, "The Governors of Irisaĝrig When It Was a Province of the Ur III State", New Perspectives on the History of Early Mesopotamia: The Region of Irisagrig and Malgum, edited by Manuel Molina and Palmiro Notizia, De Gruyter, pp. 141-150, 2026S. G. Koshurnikov, and N. Yoffee, "Old Babylonian Tablets from Dilbat in the Ashmolean Museum", Iraq, vol. 48, pp. 117–30, 1986
About 36 year names of Sumu-la-el are known, notably :Year Names of Sumu-la-el at CDLI Year Sumu-la-el built the city wall of Dilbat Year Alumbiumu (Kazallu) was smitten by weapons Year the great city wall of Babylon was built Year the temple of Adad was built Year Kish was destroyed Year Iahzir-el was driven out of Kazallu Year the city wall of Kazallu was destroyed and his army was smitten by weapons Year the city walls of Kutha and Anzagar-urgi were built Year in which Sumu-la-el entered Borsippa Year Sumu-la-el the king built the city wall of Sippar Year the temple of Zababa (the Emeteursag) was built by Sumu-la-el Year the great city wall of Habuz was built
In a text from the time of later Babylon ruler Apil-Sîn, found at Sippar, a case was recorded adjudicated by Apil-Sin " ... the houses which Sumulael had given them, Nur-ilisu laid claim, but they obtained an audience with King Apil-Sin and he returned their houses to them.". One of the witnesses was Ayyalatum, daughter of earlier ruler Sumu-la-el.K. A. Al-’Adami, "King Apil-Sîn Confirms the Judgment of Sumulael", Iraq, vol. 59, pp. 73–75, 1997
See also List of Mesopotamian dynasties Chronology of the ancient Near East
References
Further reading Charpin, Dominique, "En marge d'EcritUr, 16: une offrande du roi de Babylone Sumu-la-El à Ur?", Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires 2020.2, pp. 125-126, 2020 Leemans, Wilhelmus Francois, "King Alumbiumu." Journal of Cuneiform Studies 20.1, pp. 48-49, 1966