Kubaba (in the ''Weidner'' or ''
Esagila Chronicle''), sux, , , is the
only queen on the ''
Sumerian King List
The ''Sumerian King List'' (abbreviated ''SKL'') or ''Chronicle of the One Monarchy'' is an ancient literary composition written in Sumerian that was likely created and redacted to legitimize the claims to power of various city-states and king ...
'', which states she reigned for 100 years – roughly in the Early Dynastic III period (ca. 2500–2330 BC) of
Sumerian history
The history of Sumer spans the 5th to 3rd millennia BCE in southern Mesopotamia, and is taken to include the prehistoric Ubaid and Uruk periods. Sumer was the region's earliest known civilization and ended with the downfall of the Third Dynasty o ...
. A connection between her and a goddess known from
Hurro-
Hittite and later
Luwian sources cannot be established on the account of spatial and temporal differences.
[J. D. Hawkins, ]
Kubaba A. Philologisch · Kubaba A. Philological
' n:''Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie
The ''Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie'' (RlA), formerly ''Reallexikon der Assyriologie'', is a multi-language (English, German, and French) encyclopedia on the Ancient Near East. It was founded by Bruno Meissner i ...
'' vol. 6, 1983, p. 257
History
Kubaba is one of very few women to have ever ruled in their own right in Mesopotamian history. Most versions of the king list place her alone in her own dynasty, the 3rd Dynasty of
Kish, following the defeat of Sharrumiter of
Mari, but other versions combine her with the 4th dynasty, that followed the primacy of the king of
Akshak
Akshak ( Sumerian: , akšak) was a city of ancient Sumer, situated on the northern boundary of Akkad, sometimes identified with Babylonian Upi (Greek Opis).
History
Akshak first appears in records of ca. 2500 BC. In the Sumerian text ''Dumuzid' ...
. Before becoming monarch, the king list says she was an
alewife.
The ''Weidner Chronicle'' is a propagandistic letter, attempting to date the shrine of
Marduk
Marduk (Cuneiform: dAMAR.UTU; Sumerian: ''amar utu.k'' "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) was a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon. When Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of ...
at
Babylon
''Bābili(m)''
* sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠
* arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel''
* syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel''
* grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn''
* he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel''
* peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru''
* elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
to an early period, and purporting to show that each of the kings who had neglected its proper rites had lost the primacy of Sumer. It contains a brief account of the rise of "the house of Kubaba" occurring in the reign of
Puzur-Nirah of Akshak:
"In the reign of Puzur-Nirah, king of Akšak, the freshwater fishermen of Esagila were catching fish for the meal of the great lord Marduk; the officers of the king took away the fish. The fisherman was fishing when 7 (or 8) days had passed ..in the house of Kubaba, the tavern-keeper ..they brought to Esagila. At that time BROKEN anew for Esagila ..Kubaba gave bread to the fisherman and gave water, she made him offer the fish to Esagila. Marduk, the king, the prince of the Apsû, favored her and said: "Let it be so!" He entrusted to Kubaba, the tavern-keeper, sovereignty over the whole world."
Her son
Puzur-Suen and grandson
Ur-Zababa followed her on the throne of Sumer as the fourth Kish dynasty on the king list, in some copies as her direct successors, in others with the Akshak dynasty intervening. Ur-Zababa is also known as the king said to be reigning in Sumer during the youth of
Sargon the Great of
Akkad, who militarily brought much of the Near East under his control shortly afterward.
Notes
References
"The Weidner 'Chronicle' mentioning Kubaba" From Grayson, A. K. (1975). ''Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles''.
{{Authority control
25th-century BC Sumerian kings
25th-century BC women rulers
Kings of Kish
Sumerian rulers
Ancient queens regnant
Ancient Mesopotamian women
Businesspeople in brewing
Ancient businesswomen