Ziusudra, also known as Ṣíusudrá in Old Babylonian Akkadian and Ṣísudda in Neo-Assyrian Akkadian, is mentioned in the WB-62 version of the Sumerian King List as the final ruler of Sumer before the Great Flood. He is later described as the main character in the Eridu Genesis and is referred to as Xisuthros in the writings of Berossus.

Ziusudra is one of several important figures in ancient stories about a great flood. These stories include the tales of Atrahasis, Utnapishtim, and the biblical Noah. While each story has unique details, many parts of the stories are similar in two, three, or all four versions.

Literary and archaeological evidence

In the WB-62 version of the Sumerian king list, Ziusudra, also called Zin-Suddu of Shuruppak, is listed as the son of the last king of Sumer before a great flood. He is recorded as having ruled as both a king and a gudug priest for ten sars (periods of 3,600 years), though this number is likely a mistake by a copyist who meant ten years. In this version, Ziusudra inherited rulership from his father, Ubara-Tutu, who ruled for ten sars.

The text following Ziusudra’s name states: "Then the flood swept over. After the flood had swept over, and the kingship had descended from heaven, the kingship was in Kish."

The city of Kish became important during the Early Dynastic period, which began after a river flood. This flood is supported by layers of sediment found at Shuruppak (modern Tell Fara), Uruk, Kish, and other sites. These layers have been dated to about 2900 BC. Polychrome pottery from the Jemdet Nasr period (around the 30th century BC), which came before the Early Dynastic I period, was found directly below the flood layer at Shuruppak. Max Mallowan wrote that the Weld Blundell prism (WB-62) shows Ziusudra, the Sumerian "Noah," was king of Shuruppak when he received a warning about the flood. His role as a savior matches that of Utnapishtim in the Gilgamesh Epic. Archaeological and written evidence support the idea that Ziusudra was a real ruler of a known city, whose location has been identified.

The Gilgamesh XI tablet refers to Utnapishtim (the Akkadian name for Ziusudra) as "man of Shuruppak" at line 23.

The story of Ziusudra is found on a single broken tablet written in Sumerian, dated to the 17th century BC (Old Babylonian Empire), and published in 1914 by Arno Poebel. The tablet begins with the creation of humans and animals and the founding of cities like Eridu, Bad-tibira, Larak, Sippar, and Shuruppak. After a missing section, it describes the gods deciding to send a flood to destroy humanity. Enki, the god of the underworld and fresh water, warns Ziusudra, the ruler of Shuruppak, to build a large boat. Instructions for the boat are missing from the tablet. When the text resumes, it describes the flood, a storm lasting seven days, and Ziusudra’s boat being tossed on the water. After the storm, Ziusudra opens a window, bows, and sacrifices an ox and a sheep to Utu (the Sun). Later, the flood ends, and Ziusudra bows to An (Sky) and Enlil (Lord of Breath), who give him "eternal breath" and take him to live in Dilmun. The rest of the tablet is missing.

The Epic of Ziusudra adds that after the flood, "king Ziusudra … they caused to dwell in the KUR Dilmun, the place where the sun rises." The Sumerian word "KUR" means "mountain" and later came to mean "foreign land" or "land" in general. The phrase can be translated as "In the mountain of crossing, the mountain of Dilmun, the place where the sun rises."

A Sumerian text called the Instructions of Shuruppak, dated to about 2600 BC, mentions Ziusudra. By the middle of the third millennium BC, Ziusudra had become a respected figure in Sumerian literature.

Xisuthros (Ξίσουθρος) is the Greek version of the Sumerian name Ziusudra, recorded by Berossus, a Babylonian priest, who wrote about Mesopotamia. In this version, the Sumerian god Enki is compared to the Greek god Cronus, the father of Zeus. Berossus claimed that Xisuthros’s reed boat survived until his time and was located in the "Corcyrean Mountains" of Armenia. Xisuthros was listed as a king, the son of Ardates, and ruled for 18 saroi. One saros (or shar in Akkadian) equals 3,600 years, so 18 saroi equals 64,800 years. A saros is an astrological term meaning 222 lunar months, or about 18.5 lunar years, equal to 17.93 solar years.

Ziusudra is also mentioned in other ancient writings, including The Death of Gilgamesh, The Poem of Early Rulers, and a later version of The Instructions of Shuruppak.