Bryan McAllister’s personal reference notebook
August 1, 2026Short & citedBlog
Civic Viewpoint.
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Kept by Bryan McAllister — short guides, clear facts, and the Canadian angle when it matters.
People File • Historical

Ea-Nasir

Ea-Nasir was a Mesopotamian copper merchant from Ur in the Bronze Age.

Updated August 1, 20261 min readCited sources

Ea-Nasir was a Mesopotamian copper merchant from Ur in the Bronze Age, best known as the recipient of what is often called the oldest surviving written customer complaint.

Who he was

Ea-Nasir lived in Ur during the reign of Rim-Sîn I of Larsa, around 1750 BC. He traded copper ingots from Magan and was part of a merchant network based in Dilmun. His name appears in several cuneiform tablets, but he is most famous for a single complaint.

The complaint tablet

A clay tablet from a customer named Nanni objects to poor-quality copper and rude treatment of Nanni's servant. The tablet is widely described as the oldest known written customer complaint and has made Ea-Nasir a symbol of bad service.

Modern legacy

Ea-Nasir's name has become an internet meme and shorthand for poor customer service. His fame rests almost entirely on the survival of that one complaint tablet, not on a broad historical record.

In short

  • Ea-Nasir was a copper merchant in Ur, active around 1750 BC.
  • He is known for a complaint tablet from Nanni about poor copper quality.
  • The tablet is often cited as the oldest customer complaint.
  • His name is now a meme for bad customer service.
Canadian angle

Ea-Nasir has no known direct connection to Canada, but he is widely referenced in Canadian and global internet culture as an early example of a complaint about customer service.

Quick questions

Who was Ea-Nasir?
He was a Mesopotamian copper merchant from Ur in the Bronze Age, known mainly from a surviving complaint tablet.
Why is Ea-Nasir famous?
He is famous because a customer named Nanni wrote a complaint about him around 1750 BC, often described as the oldest known customer complaint.
What did the complaint say?
The complaint said the copper was poor in quality and that Ea-Nasir treated the customer’s servant badly during the transaction.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ea-n%C4%81%E1%B9%A3ir
    Supports: Basic identification as a Mesopotamian copper merchant from Ur; association with Dilmun merchants; activity during Rim-Sîn I; oldest known written complaint by Nanni
  2. National Geographic — https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/ea-nasir-copper-merchant-ur
    Supports: General historical context; popular description of Ea-Nasir as a shady ancient merchant; complaint letter and modern reputation
  3. IFLScience — https://www.iflscience.com/ea-nasir-how-an-ancient-copper-merchant-became-an-internet-star-82254
    Supports: Modern internet fame; complaint letter as oldest complaint; meme status