The Legend of Ea-Naṣir: How a Babylonian Businessman Became an Internet Meme.

This article examines the "complaint tablet to Ea-Naṣir," a cuneiform clay tablet from ca. 1750 BC discovered at Ur, which records a customer's grievance against Ea-Naṣir, an ancient Babylonian copper merchant accused of selling substandard goods. The tablet gained viral popularity starting in 2015 on social media platforms like Reddit and Tumblr, evolving into a long-lasting internet meme that portrays Ea-Naṣir as an archetypal trickster figure and symbol of fraud. The study analyzes the meme's multimodal nature, its cultural resonance, and its role as an in-joke within online communities, while also addressing orientalist stereotypes embedded in some representations of Ea-Naṣir as a Middle Eastern male. Additionally, the article explores the meme's manifestations in fan fiction, merchandise, and museum engagement, situating it within broader discussions of digital folklore, reception studies, and public archaeology.