King Lists

Genealogies that chain rulers back to gods or first ancestors, making political order look like cosmic order.

Core Themes

• Legitimacy by descent: a throne is strongest when its line begins in heaven.
• History arranged as a single unbroken succession from the world's beginning.

Notable Examples

• The Sumerian King List with its antediluvian reigns, the Turin King List of Egypt.
• The Kojiki and Nihon Shoki imperial genealogies, and Geoffrey of Monmouth's British line from Brutus.

Related Concepts & Sources

Divine Lineage, Divine Kingship, Sumerian King List