Kish (Sumer)

This article is about the ancient Sumerian city. For the hypothesis about the culture of the city, see Kish civilization.

Not to be confused with Kesh (Sumer).

Kish

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Kish Shown within Iraq
Location	Tell al-Uhaymir, Babil Governorate, Iraq
Region	Mesopotamia
Coordinates	32°32′25″N 44°36′17″E
Type	Settlement
History
Founded	Ubaid period
Periods	Ubaid to Hellenistic
Site notes
Excavation dates	1852, 1912, 1923–1933, 1989, 2000–2001
Archaeologists	Austen Henry Layard, Julius Oppert, Henri de Genouillac, Stephen Langdon, Hideo Fuji, Ken Matsumoto

Kish (Sumerian: Kiš; Kiš^ki; cuneiform: 𒆧𒆠; Akkadian: Kiššatu, near modern Tell al-Uhaymir) is an important archaeological site in Babil Governorate (Iraq), located 80 km (50 mi) south of Baghdad and 12 km (7.5 mi) east of the ancient city of Babylon. The Ubaid period site of Ras al-Amiyah is 8 km (5.0 mi) away. It was occupied from the Ubaid period to the Hellenistic period. In Early Dynastic times the city's patron deity was Ishtar with her consort Ea. Her temple, at Tell Ingharra, was (E)-hursag-kalama. By Old Babylonian times the patron deities had become Zababa, along with his consort, the goddess Bau and Istar. His temple Emeteursag (later Ekišiba) was at Uhaimir.

History

The ancient cities of Sumer.

Kish was occupied from the Ubaid period (c.5300–4300 BC), gaining prominence as one of the pre-eminent powers in the region during the Early Dynastic Period when it reached its maximum extent of 230 hectares.

3rd Millennium BC

The Sumerian King List (SKL) states that Kish was the first city to have kings following the deluge. The 1st dynasty of Kish begins with Ĝushur. Ĝushur's successor is called Kullassina-bel, but this is actually a sentence in Akkadian meaning "All of them were lord". Thus, some scholars have suggested that this may have been intended to signify the absence of a central authority in Kish for a time. The names of the next nine kings of Kish preceding Etana are Nanĝišlišma, En-tarah-ana, Babum, Puannum, Kalibum, Kalumum, Zuqaqip, Aba, Mašda, and Arwium. Archaeological finds from the Uruk period indicate that the site was part of the Uruk Expansion and hence originally Sumerian language speaking. Ignace Gelb identified Kish as the center of the earliest East Semitic culture which he calls the Kish civilization, however the concept has been challenged by more recent scholarship.

Of the twenty-first king of Kish on the list, Enmebaragesi, who is said to have captured the weapons of Elam, is the first name confirmed by archaeological finds from his reign. He is also known through other literary references, in which he and his son Aga of Kish are portrayed as contemporary rivals of Dumuzid, the Fisherman, and Gilgamesh, early rulers of Uruk.

Some early kings of Kish are known through archaeology, but are not named on the SKL. It can be difficult to determine if these are actually rulers of Kish or had merely adopted the common appellation "King of Kish". This includes Mesilim, who built temples in Adab and Lagash, where he seems to have exercised some control. Two other examples were the sleeve of an Early Dynatic II bronze sword found at Girsu which read "Lugal-namni[r]-sum (is) king of Kis" and a statue fragment found at Nippur which read "Enna-il, king of Kis".

Mesannepada, Lugal Kish-ki (𒈩𒀭𒉌𒅆𒊒𒁕 𒈗 𒆧𒆠), "Mesannepada, King of Kish", on a seal impression found in the Royal Cemetery at Ur. The last column of characters, is thought to mean "his wife..." (𒁮𒉡𒍼, dam-nu-gig).

After its early supremacy, Kish declined economically and militarily, but retained a strong political and symbolic significance. Its influence reached as far west as the city of Ebla near the Mediterranean Sea, as shown by the Ebla tablets. According to the Ebla tablets, Kish was defeated in the time of Ebla ruler Ishar-Damu, probably by Uruk. Shortly afterward Kish joined Ebla in defeating Mari, followed by the marriage of the Eblan princess Keshdut to a king of Kish. Just as with Nippur to the south, control of Kish was a prime element in legitimizing dominance over the north of Mesopotamia. Because of the city's symbolic value, strong rulers later claimed the traditional title "King of Kish", even if they were from Akkad, Ur, Assyria, Isin, Larsa or Babylon. One of the earliest to adopt this title upon subjecting Kish to his empire was King Mesannepada of Ur.

Sargon of Akkad, the founder of the Akkadian Empire, came from the area near Kish, called Azupiranu according to a much later Neo-Assyrian text purporting to be an autobiography of Sargon.

Macehead inscription of Manishtushu, ruler of the Akkadian Empire: Manishtushu Lugal Kish, "Manishtushu King of Kish"

Old Babylonian period

By the early part of the First Dynasty of Babylon Kish was under the control of Babylon with the tenth year name of ruler Sumu-abum (c. 1897–1883 BC) being "Year in which (Sumu-abum) made for Kish its city wall (reaching) heaven" (repeated in following year). Not long afterward, Kish was conquered by Sumuel of Larsa as reflected in his eleventh year name "Year the army of Kisz was smitten by weapons", repeated in the following three year names. In the 13th year of Sumu-la-El he reports destroying Kish (repeated in following four years) and then destroying the city wall of Kish in his 19th year and in his 30th year "Year the temple of Zababa, the Emeteursag / the house, ornament of the heros (Zababa), was built". At this point Kish came under the control of the city-state of Eshnunna under rulers ^DIpiq-Adad II and ^DNaram-Sin. By the time of Babylon ruler Sin-Muballit (c. 1813–1792 BC), father of Hammurabi, Kish was firmly under the control of Babylon and would stay that way until the waning days of the First Dynasty of Babylon. The rulers of Babylon at its peak of power, Hammurabi and Samsu-iluna, are known to have done extensive construction at Kish, including rebuilding the city wall. By this time, the eastern settlement at Hursagkalama had become viewed as a distinct city, and it was probably not included in the walled area.

At some period or periods within the Old Babylonian period, Kish was under the control of a series of rulers generally called the Manana Dynasty. Most of what is known comes from two illicitly excavated archive thought to be from the town of Damrum, near Kish. These rulers include Iawian, Halium, Abdi-Erah, Manana, and four others. Several year names of Iawium are known including "Year Sumu-ditana died". Samsu-Ditana was the last ruler of the First Dynasty of Babylon. One ruler, Ashduniarim is known from a long inscription on a clay foundation cone found at Kish.

"Ašdũni-iarīm, the mighty man, beloved of Ištar, favored by Zababa, king of Kiš, when the world quarters four became hostile to me, for eight years battle I waged, and in the eighth year my opponent to clay indeed turned. ... "

Later history

The succeeding Kassite dynasty moved the capital from Babylon to Dur-Kurigalzu and Kish was diminished. There is some evidence of Kassite activity in Kish. Afterward Kish appears to have significantly declined in importance, as it is only mentioned in a few documents from the later second millennium BC. During the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian periods, Kish is mentioned more frequently in texts. However, by this time, Kish proper (Tell al-Uhaymir) had been almost completely abandoned, and the settlement which texts from this period call "Kish" was probably Hursagkalama (Tell Ingharra).

After the Achaemenid period, Kish completely disappears from the historical record; however, archaeological evidence indicates that the town remained in existence for a long time thereafter. Although the site at Tell al-Uhaymir was mostly abandoned, Tell Ingharra was revived during the Parthian period, growing into a sizeable town with a large mud-brick fortress. During the Sasanian period, the site of the old city was completely abandoned in favor of a string of connected settlements spread out along both sides of the Shatt en-Nil canal. This last incarnation of Kish prospered under Sasanian and then Islamic rule, before being finally abandoned during the later years of the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258).

Archaeology

Kish is located 12 km (7.5 mi) east of the ancient city of Babylon and 80 km (50 mi) south of modern Baghdad. The Kish archaeological site is an oval area roughly 8 by 3 km (5 by 2 mi), transected into east and west sections by the dry former bed of the Euphrates River, encompassing around 40 mounds scattered over an area of about 24 square kilometers, the largest being Uhaimir and Ingharra.

Iraq. Kish. (Tel-Uhaimir). Ruins of Kish at time of excavation

After irregularly excavated tablets began appearing at the beginning of the twentieth century, François Thureau-Dangin identified the site as being Kish. Those tablets ended up in a variety of museums. Because of its close proximity to Babylon (of which early explorers believed it was part) the site was visited by a number of explorers and travelers in the 19th century, some involving excavation, most notably by the foreman of Hormuzd Rassam who dug there with a crew of 20 men for a number of months. Austen Henry Layard and also Julius Oppert dug some trenches there in the early 1852 though the finds were lost in the Qurnah Disaster. None of this early work was published. The name of the site as Kish was determined by George Smith in 1872 based on an inscribed brick of Adad-apla-iddina which had been discovered 60 years before. A French archaeological team under Henri de Genouillac excavated at Tell Uhaimir for three months in January 1912, finding some 1,400 Old Babylonian tablets which were distributed to the Istanbul Archaeology Museum and the Louvre. He also excavated at a Neo-Babylonian monumental building on Tell Ingharra. At Tell Bander he uncovered Parthian materials.

Later, a joint Field Museum and University of Oxford team under Stephen Langdon excavated from 1923 to 1933, with the recovered materials split between Chicago and the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. Seventeen different mounds were excavated but the main focus of the excavations was at Tell Ingharra and Tell Uhaimir. The actual excavations at Tell Uhaimir were led initially by E. MacKay and later by L. C. Watelin. Work on the faunal and flora remains was conducted by Henry Field. Even by the standards of the day, the documentation of this excavation (findspots provenance etc.), were sorely lacking. This was compounded by the death of the principals within a few years and the beginning of World War II. In recent decades there has been a major effort to recreate the data from all the old field notes and finds. A bone awl from Phase 2 in the YWN area, the transition between Early Dynastic and Akkadian periods, was accelerator radiocarbon dated to 2471–2299 BC (3905 ± 27 C14 years BP).

A surface survey of Kish and the area around it was conducted in 1966–1967. It showed that there were villages at Uhaimir and Ingharra in the Ubaid and Protoliterate periods. These expanded into two cites in ED I and reached a peak in Ed III with Ingharra becoming the larger city at that time. The site was lightly occupied in the Akkadian period with modest towns on Ingharra and Mound W. During Ur III, Isin-Larsa, and Old Babylonian times there was a revival mostly centered around Uhaimir. The later half of the 2nd millennium BC showed light occupation, all on Mound W. In the Neo-Babylonian period the rivercourse shifted from north to west, with Uhaimir having a large temple with associated fort, a major temple on Ingharra, and a major town on Mound W. The Achaemenid/Seleucid settlement was limited to the western end of Uhaimir. The Parthian and Sassanian periods showed light occupation, except for Tell Bandar. As part of this survey soundings were made at Umm-el-Jir (the site named Umm el-Jerab that Oriental Institute had found Old Akkadian tablets in 1932) 27 kilometers from Kish.

More recently, a Japanese team from the Kokushikan University led by Hideo Fuji and Ken Matsumoto excavated at Tell Uhaimir in 1989–89, 2000, and 2001. The final season lasted only one week. Work was focused mainly on Tell A with some time spent at the plano-convex building.

In February 2022 Iraqi archaeaologists conducted Ground Penetrating Radar and Electrical Resistivity scans of a test 30 meter by 30 meter section at Kish.

In the Chicago expedition to Kish in 1923–1933, several other sections are included:

• Tell Ingharra – Twin ziggurats and Neo-Babylonian Temple Complex.
• Area P: Located in the Northern part of Kish which the Plano-convex Building resided
• Mound A, which includes a palace and a cemetery
• Tell H, identified roughly as "The Sasanian Settlement"

Tell Uhaimir

This site consists of three subtells (T, X, and Z). Tell Z was the location of one of the main ziggurats and where temples had been built and rebuilt from the Old Babylonian to the Neo-Babylonian periods. At Tell X a 1st Millennium BC fort was uncovered and at Tell T some Old Babylonian structures were found. Between Uhaimir and Ingharra are three smaller tells and further east Tell W where Neo-Assyrian tablets as well as an entire Neo-Babylonian archive was found consisting of about 1000 tablets.

Tell Ingharra

Located in the eastern side of the ancient Kish, Tell Ingharra was extensively explored during the Chicago excavation and provided the best known archaeological sequence in the 3rd millennium BC site. The site consists of several subtells (A, B, D, E, F, G, H, and Tell Bandar which is made up of Tells C and V). In particular, the 1923 excavation concentrated heavily on mound E with its twin ziggurats, while the roughly 130 meter square Neo-Babylonian temple, built on an Early Dynastic plano-copnvex platform, was one of the two buildings that was properly described in a published report.

The twin ziggurats were built of small plano-convex bricks in a herringbone fashion on the summit of Tell Ingharra. The larger one is located on the south-west side of the temple and the smaller one on the south-east side. The excavation report mainly focused on the larger ziggurat while there had been only one report on the smaller one by Mackay. Based on the findings from the larger ziggurat, it is suggested that the structures were built at the end of the Early Dynastic IIIa period to commemorate the city. The fascination of the ziggurats was interesting to the excavators as it was the only Early Dynastic structure that was not destroyed or obscured by later reconstructions, which was why it provided valuable evidence of that time period.

As for the temple complex, the findings of the temple had determined that the mound was part of the city of Hursagkalama. It was used as an active religious centre until after 482 BC. They also had identified the builder as Nabonidus or Nebuchadnezzar II based on the bricks with inscriptions and barrel cylinder fragments reported in the temple.

An Early Dynastic I/IIIa cemetery extended to the south towards Mound A with a number of high status graves containing multiple burials and carts drawn by equids or bovids and are considered as predecessors to the royal burials at Ur.

Area P

3-D reconstruction of the Plano-convex building (north-east view) by Hmlam

This area, north of tell W, was unearthed during the second excavation season (1923–1924) led by Mackay, which uncovered the 'Plano-convex building' (PCB). But outstanding discoveries in Palace A rapidly overshadowed the contemporary excavation here, and the building remained partially uncovered.

Revealed by its stratigraphy and pottery assemblage was the existence of three distinct architectural phases. The earliest archaeological occupation dates back to the ED II period. Above it, rested the massive ED III construction – the PCB. Multiple rooms in the PCB exhibited layers of ashes and charcoals with arrowheads and copper blades, attested that the PCB suffered significant destruction twice during the late ED III period. After its destruction, the PCB was abandoned. Located above later floors of the PCB were scattered burials during the Akkadian period.

The 'Plano-convex building'

3-D reconstruction of the Plano-convex building (bird's eye view) by Hmlam

The Plano-convex building was a fortified construction built extensively with plano-convex bricks. It displayed the socio-economic dynamics at Kish during the ED III period. No characteristic linking the building to a religious construct. Instead, the Plano-convex building is recognized as a public building associated with the economical production of beer, textile and oil. The PCB might have also housed the administrative center powered by the elites. First recognized by Margueron, scholars have divided the building into four main sectors based on the architectural layout:

• Sector A: Production area
• Sector B: Inconclusive but arguably an administration area
• Sector C: Unknown but exhibit a high degree of segregation
• Sector D: Private, domestic area for housing activities

Mound A

Mound A, which includes a cemetery and an Early Dynastic III palace, was discovered during 1922–1925 excavations conducted by Ernest Mackay, under the Field Museum and Oxford University. Although it was earlier a part of the Ingharra mounds lying about 70 meters to the north, it is now separated by an alluvial valley. The seals and other artifacts found in the graves, dating back to a later age than the palace, show that the site was used as a cemetery from the end of the Early Dynastic period until the early Akkadian Empire period.

The Sumerian Palace

The palace, which was unearthed beneath the mound, had fallen into decay and was used as a burial ground during Early Dynastic III. It comprises three sections – the original building, the eastern wing and stairway, and the annex. The original building, which was composed of unbaked plano-convex bricks (23 × 15 × 3.5–6 cm), had extremely thick walls, while the annex, which was added later to the south of the building, had comparatively thinner walls. A 2.30 m wide passage was constructed within the outer wall of the original building to prevent invaders from entering the structure.

The archaeological findings within the palace lack pottery items, the most remarkable among them was a fragment of slate and limestone inlay work, which represents the scene of a king punishing a prisoner.

3-D reconstruction of Sumerian Palace (Mound A) by Pahuna/ Pahuna99

3-D reconstruction of Sumerian Palace (Mound A) by Pahuna/ Pahuna99

Tell H

3-D reconstruction of Tell H, SP-2 by OceanOwll

In the 1923–1933 Expedition, Tell H became the focus of its final three seasons (1930–1933). For personal reasons of the excavators, the Kish material in this section remained selective, mainly yielding Sasanian pottery, coins, incantation bowls and so on. The dating of this section crossed a range of periods, with layer upon layer built on the site. Evidence shows that in the Early Dynastic III Period, there once even existed a twin city. Therefore, the city occupies a relatively unsettled presence in chronology. But from the excavation, eight buildings were identified as from the Sasanian period, thus making this place primarily identified as the Sasanian Settlement. Researchers suspect that some of the buildings might function together as a complex serving different purposes, including royal residence, storage, and administration.

3-D reconstruction of Tell H, SP-3 by OceanOwll

The most prominent finding is the stucco decoration in the first two buildings, while the 1923–1933 team also figured out the floor plan and architectural structure of others. It was partly through these stucco decorations that researchers identified the royal resident to be Bahram V (420–438 AD)—Sasanian kings had their distinctive crowns separately, and the unique crown pattern on stucco served as evidence to support this argument. In Kish, which once functioned as a transfer station between Ctesiphon and Hira, Bahram V built palaces for summer entertainment, which explains why one of the buildings has a huge water tank in the middle, probably functioning to cool down the court in summers. Around Bahram V's palaces, a group of Sasanian people also took residence and developed a system of settlement and commercial activities.

List of rulers

The Sumerian King List (SKL) lists only 39 rulers among four dynasties of Kish. A fifth dynasty is known and it was an Amorite dynasty unnamed on the SKL. The following list should not be considered complete:

#	Depiction	Ruler	Succession	Epithet	Approx. dates	Notes
Early Dynastic I period (c. 2900 – c. 2650 BC)
First dynasty of Kish / Kish I dynasty (c. 2900 – c. 2650 BC)
"After the flood had swept over, and the kingship had descended from heaven, the kingship was in Kish." — Sumerian King List (SKL)
1st		Jushur 𒄑𒃡			fl. c. 2900 BC (1,200 years)	Names before Etana do not appear in any other known source, and their existence is archaeologically unverified Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Historicity uncertain
2nd		Kullassina-bel 𒄢𒆷𒍣𒈾𒁁𒂖𒃻			Uncertain (960 years)	The name is believed to be a Kishite phrase meaning, "All of them (were) lord", which may denote a period of no central authority in the early period of Kish Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Historicity uncertain
3rd		Nangishlishma 𒄢𒆷𒍣𒈾𒁁𒂖			Uncertain (670 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
4th		En-tarah-ana 𒂗𒁰𒀭𒈾			Uncertain (420 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
5th		Babum 𒁀𒁍𒌝			Uncertain (300 years)	The name is believed to be a Kishite word for "gate" Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Historicity uncertain
6th		Puannum 𒁍𒀭𒉡𒌝			Uncertain (840 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Historicity uncertain
7th		Kalibum 𒂵𒉌𒁍𒌝			Uncertain (960 years)	The name is believed to be a Kishite word for "hound" Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Historicity uncertain
8th		Kalumum 𒅗𒇻𒈬𒌝			Uncertain (840 years)	The name is believed to be a Kishite word for "lamb" Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Historicity uncertain
9th		Zuqaqip 𒅗𒂵𒄄𒅁			Uncertain (900 years)	The name is believed to be a Kishite word for "scorpion" Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Historicity uncertain
10th		Atab 𒀉𒋰			Uncertain (600 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
11th		Mashda 𒈦𒆕𒆤	Son of Atab		Uncertain (840 years)	The name is believed to be a Kishite word for "gazelle" Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Historicity uncertain
12th		Arwium 𒅈𒉿𒌑𒌝	Son of Mashda		Uncertain (720 years)	The name is believed to be a Kishite word for "male gazelle" Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Historicity uncertain
13th		Etana 𒂊𒋫𒈾		"the shepherd, who ascended to heaven and consolidated all the foreign countries"	reigned c. 2800 BC (1,500 years)	Known from the Babylonian Myth of Etana Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Historicity uncertain
14th		Balih 𒁀𒇷𒄴	Son of Etana		Uncertain (400 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
15th		En-me-nuna 𒂗𒈨𒉣𒈾			Uncertain (660 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
16th		Melem-Kish 𒈨𒉈𒆧𒆠	Son of En-me-nuna		Uncertain (900 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
"1,560 are the years of the dynasty of En-me-nuna." — SKL
17th		Barsal-nuna 𒁇𒊩𒉣𒈾	Son of En-me-nuna		Uncertain (1,200 years)	His name may have meant sheep of the prince. Barsal means sheep Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Historicity uncertain
18th		Zamug 𒁾	Son of Barsal-nuna		Uncertain (140 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
19th		Tizqar 𒋾𒄑𒃼	Son of Zamug		Uncertain (305 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
20th		Ilku 𒅋𒆪𒌑			Uncertain (900 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
21st		Iltasadum 𒅋𒋫𒊓𒁺𒌝			Uncertain (1,200 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
22nd		En-me-barage-si 𒂗𒈨𒁈𒄄𒋛		"who made the land of Elam submit"	r. c. 2750 BC (900 years)	Historicity certain The earliest ruler on the SKL confirmed independently from epigraphical evidence and can be historically verified with archaeology temp. of Dumuzid of Uruk
23rd		Aga 𒀝𒂵	Son of En-me-barage-si		r. c. 2700 BC (625 years)	Son of En-me-barage-si Historicity certain temp. of Gilgamesh of Uruk
"1,525 are the years of the dynasty of En-me-barage-si. 23 kings; they ruled for 24,510 years, 3 months, and 3½ days. Then Kish was defeated and the kingship was taken to Eanna (Uruk)." — SKL
#	Depiction	Ruler	Succession	Epithet	Approx. dates	Notes
Early Dynastic II period (c. 2650 – c. 2550 BC)
		Munushushumgal 𒊩𒃲𒁔			Uncertain; this ruler may have fl. c. 2900 – c. 2500 BC sometime during the ED I, II, and/or IIIa period(s)	Historicity certain Father of a king Possibly a king himself
Early Dynastic IIIa period (c. 2550 – c. 2500 BC)
		Lugalmen			Uncertain; this ruler may have fl. c. 2700 – c. 2500 BC sometime during the ED II and/or IIIa period(s)	Historicity certain
		Lugalutu 𒈗𒌓			Uncertain; this ruler may have fl. c. 2600 – c. 2500 BC sometime during the ED IIIa period	Historicity certain A king of Kish
		Menunesi			Uncertain; this ruler may have fl. c. 2600 – c. 2500 BC sometime during the EDIIIa period	Historicity certain temp. of Lumma
		Uhub 𒌑𒄸			r. c. 2570 BC	Historicity certain Known from vase fragments bearing the title "Governor of Kish"
		Mesilim 𒈨𒁲			r. c. 2550 BC	Historicity certain temp. of Lugalshaengur of Lagash
#	Depiction	Ruler	Succession	Epithet	Approx. dates	Notes
Early Dynastic IIIb period (c. 2500 – c. 2350 BC)
Second dynasty of Kish / Kish II dynasty (c. 2500 – c. 2430 BC)
"Then Awan was defeated and the kingship was taken to Kish." — SKL
1st		Susuda 𒁻𒋢𒆳𒊒𒁕		"the fuller"	r. c. 2500 BC (201 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
		Aya'anzud 𒀀𒀭𒅎𒂂𒄷			Uncertain; these two rulers may have fl. c. 2500 – c. 2470 BC sometime during the EDIIIb period.	Historicity certain. temp. of Ur-Nanshe of Lagash
		Ennail 𒂗𒈾𒅋				Historicity certain temp. of Akurgal of Lagash
		Zuzu 𒍪𒍪			r. c. 2470 BC	Historicity certain Originally from Akshak temp. of Eannatum of Lagash
2nd		Dadasig 𒁕𒁕𒋝			Uncertain (81 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
3rd		Mamagal 𒈣𒈣𒃲		"the boatman"	Uncertain (360 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
4th		Kalbum 𒅗𒀠𒁍𒌝	Son of Mamagal		Uncertain (195 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
5th		Tuge 𒌆𒂊			Uncertain (300 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
6th		Men-nuna 𒃞𒉣𒈾	Son of Tuge		Uncertain (180 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
7th		Lugalngu 𒂗𒉈𒀹𒁯			r. c. 2450 BC (290 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
		Ibbi-Ea 𒂗𒉈𒀹𒁯			r. c. 2430 BC (420 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
"8 kings; they ruled for 3,195 years. Then Kish was defeated and the kingship was taken to Hamazi." — SKL
#	Depiction	Ruler	Succession	Epithet	Approx. dates	Notes
Third dynasty of Kish / Kish III dynasty (c. 2430 – c. 2360 BC)
"Then Mari was defeated and the kingship was taken to Kish." — SKL
1st		Kug-Bau 𒆬𒀭𒁀𒌑		"the woman tavern-keeper, who made firm the foundations of Kish"	r. c. 2400 BC (100 years)	Historicity uncertain The only known woman in the SKL; said to have gained independence from En-anna-tum I of Lagash and En-shag-kush-ana of Uruk; contemporary with Puzur-Nirah of Akshak, according to the later Chronicle of the É-sagila Known from the SKL; very little otherwise
"1 king; she ruled for 100 years. Then Kish was defeated and the kingship was taken to Akshak." — SKL
#	Depiction	Ruler	Succession	Epithet	Approx. dates	Notes
Proto-Imperial period (c. 2350 – c. 2334 BC)
Fourth dynasty of Kish / Kish IV dynasty (c. 2360 – c. 1897 BC)
8th		Enbi-Ishtar 𒂗𒉈𒀹𒁯			Uncertain (290 years)	Historicity certain Appears on a version of the SKL as one of the last kings of the Kish II dynasty; however, his reign may have immediately preceded that of Ur-Zababa from the Kish III and/or IV dynasty Said on the SKL to have held the title of "king" of not just Kish; but, all of Sumer
"Then the reign of Akshak was abolished and the kingship was taken to Kish." — SKL
1st		Puzur-Suen 𒅤𒊭𒀭𒂗𒍪	Son of Kug-bau		r. c. 2360 BC (25 years)	Son of Kug-bau Appears on a version of the SKL as one of the last kings of the Kish III dynasty Said on the SKL to have held the title of "king" of not just Kish; but, all of Sumer
2nd		Ur-Zababa 𒌨𒀭𒍝𒂷𒂷	Son of Puzur-Suen		r. c. 2340 BC (6 years)	Appears on a version of the SKL as one of the last kings of the Kish III dynasty Said on the SKL to have held the title of "king" of not just Kish; but, all of Sumer According to the SKL: Sargon of Akkad was his cup-bearer
Akkadian period (c. 2334 – c. 2154 BC)
3rd		Zimudar 𒍣𒈬𒁯			Uncertain (30 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
4th		Usi-watar 𒌑𒍣𒉿𒁯	Son of Zimudar		Uncertain (7 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
5th		Eshtar-muti 𒁹𒁯𒈬𒋾			Uncertain (11 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
6th		Ishme-Shamash 𒅖𒈨𒀭𒌓			Uncertain (11 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
7th		Shu-ilishu 𒋗𒉌𒉌𒋗			Uncertain (15 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
8th		Nanniya 𒈾𒀭𒉌𒅀		"the jeweller"	Uncertain (7 years)	Said on the SKL to have held the title of, "King" of not just Kish; but, to have held the "Kingship" over all of Sumer Known from the SKL; very little otherwise Historicity uncertain
"8 kings; they ruled for 485 years. Then the reign of Kish was abolished and the kingship was returned a third time to Uruk." — SKL
		Iphur-Kish			r. c. 2254 BC	Historicity certain temp. of Naram-Suen of Akkad A ruler of Kish who led a northern coalition of ten city-states during the Great Revolt against Naram-Suen
#	Depiction	Ruler	Succession	Epithet	Approx. dates	Notes
Isin-Larsa period (c. 2025 – c. 1763 BC)
Manana dynasty (c. 1897 – c. 1847 BC)
		Iawian			r. c. 1897 BC
		Manana			r. c. 1888 BC
		Halium			Uncertain
		Abdi-Erah			Uncertain
		Ahi-marasy			Uncertain
		Naqimum			r. c. 1872 BC
		Sumu-iamutbala			r. c. 1855 BC
		Ashduniarim			r. c. 1847 BC

Gallery

• 
  Ruins of a ziggurat at the Sumerian city of Kish. Babel Governorate, Iraq.
• 
  An ancient mound at Kish, Babel Governorate, Iraq
• 
  An ancient mound at the city of Kish, Mesopotamia, Babel Governorate, Iraq
• 
  Pottery fragments, illegal exavations at the ancient city of Kish, Tell al-Uhaymir, Iraq
• 
  Ancient mound at the city of Kish, Mesopotamia, Babil Governorate, Iraq
• 
  Ruins near the ziggurat of Kish at Tell al-Uhaymir, Mesopotamia, Babel Governorate, Iraq
• 
  Ruins near the ziggurat of Kish, Tell al-Uhaymir, Babylon Governorate, Iraq
• 
  Ruins near the ziggurat of the city of Kish at Tell al-Uhaymir, Babel Governorate, Iraq
• 
  Ruins of the ziggurat of the ancient city of Kish, Tell al-Uhaymir, Mesopotamia, Iraq
• 
  Indus Valley civilisation "Unicorn" seal excavated in Kish, early Sumerian period, c. 3000 BC. An example of ancient Indus-Mesopotamia relations.

See also

• Cities of the Ancient Near East
• Short chronology timeline

Further reading

• [16]al-Ruwayshdi, S., "A Comparison Between the Palace at Kish and Later Palaces", Sumer 30, p. 47-49, 1974
• Algaze, G., "Private Houses and Graves at Ingharra. A Reconsideration", Mesopotamia 18–19, pp. 135–195, 1983–84
• Charvat, Petr, "The Kish Evidence and the Emergence of States in Mesopotamia."., Current Anthropology, vol. 22, no. 6, pp. 686–88, 1981
• Charvát, Petr, "Thresher of the Goddess Sud. An Early Dynastic Sealing from Kish", Pearls, Politics and Pistachios. Essays in Anthropology and Memories on the Occasion of Susan Pollock's 65th Birthday, hrsg. v. Aydin Abar, pp. 143-150, 2021
• Charvat, Petr, "Earliest History of the Kingdom of Kiš", P. Charvát and P.M. Vlčková (eds.), Who Was King? Who Was Not King? The Rulers and the Ruled in the Ancient Near East, Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences, Prague, pp. 16–23, 2010
• Couturaud, Barbara, "Some inlays, a stone mace and an engraved plaque: Elements for a short note on Kish iconography of war", Ash-sharq: Bulletin of the Ancient Near East–Archaeological, Historical and Societal Studies 6.2, pp. 127-141, 2022
• Dalley, Stephanie, "Old Babylonian Prophecies at Uruk and Kish" Opening the Tablet Box. Near Eastern Studies in Honor of Benjamin R. Foster, hrsg. v. Sarah C. Melville, Alice L. Slotsky (Culture and History of the Ancient Near East 42), pp. 85-98, 2010
• [17] I. J. Gelb, "Sargonic Texts in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford", Materials for the Assyrian Dictionary 5, University of Chicago Press, 1970 ISBN 0-226-62309-2
• McGuire Gibson, "The Archaeological uses of Cuneiform Documents: Patterns of Occupation at the City of Kish", Iraq, vol. 34, iss. 2, pp. 113–123, Autumn 1972
• Harper, Prudence O., "Tomorrow We Dig! Excerpts from Vaughn E. Crawford’s Letters and Newsletters from al-Hiba", in Leaving No Stones Unturned: Essays on the Ancient Near East and Egypt in Honor of Donald P. Hansen, edited by Erica Ehrenberg, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 89–102, 2002
• Harden, D.B, "A Typological Examination of Sumerian Pottery from Jamdat Nasr and kish.", Iraq 1, pp. 30–44, 1934
• Langdon, S.H., "Tablets from Kiš", Proceedings of the Society of Babylonian Archaeology, vol. 33, pp. 185–96, 232–42, 1911
• Molleson, Theya, and Joel Blondiaux., "Riders' bones from Kish, Iraq.", Cambridge Archaeological Journal 4.2, pp. 312–316, 1994
• P. R. S. Moorey, "A Re-Consideration of the Excavations on Tell Ingharra (East Kish) 1923-33", Iraq, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 18–51, 1966
• P. R. S. Moorey, "The Terracotta Plaques from Kish and Hursagkalama, c. 1850 to 1650 B.C.", Iraq, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 79–99, 1975
• P. R. S. Moorey, "Kish Excavation 1923–1933", Oxford: Oxford Press, 1978 ISBN 9780198131915
• P. R. S. Moorey, "Cemetery A at Kish: Grave Groups and Chronology", Iraq, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 86–128, 1970
• Nissen, Hans "The early history of the ancient Near East, 9000–2000 B.C." Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press, 1988. ISBN 0-226-58656-1, ISBN 0-226-58658-8) Elizabeth Lutzeir, trans.
• Steinkeller, Piotr, "A Campaign of Southern City-States against Kiš as Documented in the ED IIIa Sources from Šuruppak (Fara)", Journal of Cuneiform Studies 76.1, pp. 3-26, 2024
• Watelin, L.Ch., "Rapport sur les Fouilles de kish", Journal Asiatique 215, pp. 103–116, 1929
• Watelin, L.Ch., "Note sur l'Industrie Lithique de kish", L'Anthropologie 39, pp. 65–76, 1929
• Yoffee, Norman, "Towards a Biography of Kish: Notes on Urbanism and Comparison", in Literature as Politics, Politics as Literature: Essays on the Ancient Near East in Honor of Peter Machinist, edited by David S. Vanderhooft and Abraham Winitzer, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 527–544, 2013
• [18] Norman Yoffee, "The Economics of Ritual at Late Old Babylonian Kish", Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 312–343, 1998
• Westenholz, Aage, "Was Kish the Center of a Territorial State in the Third Millennium?—and Other Thorny Questions", The Third Millennium, Brill, 686-715, 2020
• Zaina, F., "Il sondaggio Y a Kiš. Cronologia, stratigrafia ed architettura", in G. Guarducci, S. Valentini (eds.), Il futuro dell’archeologia. Il Contributo dei Giovani Ricercatori. Atti del IV Convegno nazionale dei giovani archeologi, Tuscania (VT) 12-15 maggio 2011, Roma, pp. 195-204, 2011
• Zaina, Federico, "Delving into Archaeological Archives, a Single-researcher Approach. The Case Study of Ancient Kish (Central Iraq)", Mesopotamia, vol. 000, no. 053, pp. 1-14, 2018

External links

• Early Dynastic "prisoner plaque" from Kish (Uhaimir) at CDLI
• Online Kish Collection at the Field Museum
• Field Museum 'reuniting' scattered collections from ancient Iraq site - ScienceDaily - 25-Oct-2004
• YouTube video on Field Museum Kish effort
• Kish Site photographs at Oriental Institute of Chicago