Larak (Sumer)
𒆷𒊏𒀝𒆠 | |
| Alternative name | Larag |
|---|---|
| Location | Uncertain; somewhere in the Dhi Qar, Wasit, or Al-Qādisiyyah governorates of the Republic of Iraq |
| Region | Lower Mesopotamia |
| Coordinates | 32°18′45.9″N 45°39′39.6″E / 32.312750°N 45.661000°E |
| Type | City |
| History | |
| Periods | Ubaid, Uruk, Jemdet Nasr, Early Dynastic I, II, and III, Akkadian, Ur III, Isin-Larsa, Old Babylonian, Middle Babylonian, Neo-Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian |
| Cultures | Sumer |
| Associated with | Sumerians |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Lost city |
Larak was an ancient Iraqi city in Sumer that appears in some versions of the Sumerian King List (SKL) said to have been the third among the five cities to hold the kingship over Sumer during the antediluvian era. Its patron deity was Pabilsag, a Ninurta-like warrior god additionally associated with judgment, medicine and the underworld, usually portrayed as the husband of Ninisina. Gasan-aste ("Lady (of) the Throne"), a version of the healing goddess Ninisina was worshiped at Larak.
There is no archaeological or textual support for the actual existence of the Early Dynastic city of Larak unlike the other four cities from "before the flood", it being only known from much later literary compositions. The Iron Age city of Larak, in the same general area, is supported by Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian texts. It is unclear if this was the Early Dynastic city being re-established or a completely different and unrelated city.