Cuneiform documents of the early 2nd millennium BC in southern Mesopotamia which contain historical and mythical summaries of the ruling dynasties. It does not include many important dynasties. The list lacks all mention of the 1st dynasty of Lagash and the florescence of Uruk at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. The list seems to have a political purpose rather than a truly documentary one. This literary composition, dating from Old Babylonian times, that describes kingship in Mesopotamia from primeval times to the end of the 1st dynasty of Isin. The Sumerian king list is a compilation of names, places, and wholly fabulous dates and exploits, apparently edited to show and promote time-hallowed oneness of kingship in the face of the splintered city-states of the period.