KISH
![](635px-Iraq._Kish._(Tel-Uhaimir)._The_ruling_city_immediately_after_the_deluge._The_ancient_ruins_showing_extensive_remains_LOC_matpc.16176.jpg)
Ruins
of Kish at time of excavation
Kish
(Sumerian: Kiš; Akkadian: kiššatu, modern Tell al-Uhaymir)
is an important archaeological site in Babil Governorate (Iraq).
It was occupied from the Ubaid to Hellenistic periods.
History
:
![](640px-Cities_of_Sumer_(en).svg.png)
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.
First
Dynasty of Kish :
The Sumerian king list states that Kish was the first city to have
kings following the deluge, beginning with Jushur. Jushur'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 Nanjiclicma, En-tarah-ana,
Babum, Puannum, Kalibum, Kalumum, Zuqaqip, Aba, Macda, and Arwium.
These names are all Akkadian words for animals, e.g. Zuqaqip "scorpion".
The East Semitic nature of these and other early names associated
with Kish reveals that its population had a strong Semitic (Akkadian
speaking) component from the dawn of recorded history. Ignace Gelb
identified Kish as the center of the earliest East Semitic culture
which he calls the Kish civilization. After the twelve kings a massive
flood devastated Mesopotamia. According to the Sumerians, after
the flood Ishtar gave the kingship to Etana. Ancient Sumerian sources
describe Etana as 'the shepherd who ascended to Heaven and made
firm all the lands'. This implies that the historical Etana stabilized
the kingdom by bringing peace and order to the area after the Flood.
Etana is also sometimes credited with the founding of Kish.
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 King list. These include Utug or Uhub, said to have defeated
Hamazi in the earliest days, and Mesilim, who built temples in Adab
and Lagash, where he seems to have exercised some control.
Third
Dynasty of Kish (c. 2500 - 2330 BC) :
![](640px-Mesannepada,_Lugal_Kish-ki_(with_seal_impression).jpg)
Mesannepada,
Lugal Kish-ki, "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..." (dam-nu-gig)
The Third Dynasty of Kish is unique in that it begins with a woman,
previously a tavern keeper, Kubau, as "king". She was
later deified as the goddess Kheba.
Afterwards,
although its military and economic power was diminished, Kish retained
a strong political and symbolic significance. Just as with Nippur
to the south, control of Kish was a prime element in legitimizing
dominance over the north of Mesopotamia (Assyria, Subartu). 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, as well as Mesilim. A few governors of Kish for other powers
in later times are also known, including Ashduniarim and Iawium.
Sargon
of Akkad, the founder of the Akkadian Empire, came from the area
near Kish, called Azupiranu. He would later declare himself the
king of Kish, as an attempt to signify his connection to the religiously
important area. In Akkadian times the city's patron deity was Zababa
(or Zamama).
Later
history :
![](640px-Manishtushu_Lugal_Kish.jpg)
Macehead
inscription of Manishtushu, ruler of the Akkadian Empire: Manishtushu
Lugal Kish, "Manishtushu King of Kish"
After the fall of the Akkadian Empire, Kish became the capital of
a small independent kingdom. One king, named Ashduniarim, ruled
around the same time as Lipit-Ishtar of Isin. By the early part
of the First Dynasty of Babylon, during the reigns of Subahu
/ Sumu-abum and Atithi
/ Sumu-la-El, Kish appears to have come under the rule of another
city-state, possibly Kutha. Iawium, king of Kish around this time,
ruled as a vassal of kings named Halium and Manana. Sumu-la-El conquered
Kish and, later, subjugated Halium and Manana, bringing their territories
into the expanding Babylonian Empire. The First Dynasty kings Hammurabi
and Samsu-iluna undertook construction at Kish, with the former
restoring the city's ziggurat and the latter building a wall around
Kish. 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.
After
the Old Babylonian period, however, Kish appears to have declined
in importance; it is only mentioned in a few documents from the
later second millennium BCE. 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 that 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 finally abandoned during the later years of
the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258).
Archaeology
:
Kish is located east of Babylon and 80 km (50 mi) south of Baghdad.
The Kish archaeological site is an oval area roughly 8 by 3 km (5
by 2 mi), transected by the dry former bed of the Euphrates River,
encompassing around 40 mounds, the largest being Uhaimir and Ingharra.
The most notable mounds are :
Particulars |
• |
Tell
Uhaimir – believed to be the location of the
city of Kish. It means "the red" after
the red bricks of the ziggurat there. |
• |
Tell
Ingharra – believed to be the location of
Hursagkalamma, east of Kish home of a temple of
Inanna. |
• |
Tell
Khazneh. |
• |
Tell
el-Bender – held Parthian material. |
• |
Mound
W – where a number of Neo-Assyrian tablets were
discovered. |
|
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 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. None of this early work
was published. A French archaeological team under Henri de Genouillac
excavated at Tell Uhaimir between 1912 and 1914, finding some 1,400
Old Babylonian tablets which were distributed to the Istanbul Archaeology
Museum and the Louvre. 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.
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.
More
recently, a Japanese team from the Kokushikan University led by
Ken Matsumoto excavated at Tell Uhaimir in 1988, 2000, and 2001.
The final season lasted only one week.
Gallery
:
![](640px-Ruins_of_a_ziggurat_at_the_Sumerian_city_of_Kish._Babel_Governorate,_Iraq..jpg)
Ruins
of a ziggurat at the Sumerian city of Kish. Babel Governorate, Iraq
![](640px-An_ancient_mound_at_Kish,_Babel_Governorate,_Iraq.jpg)
An
ancient mound at Kish, Babel Governorate, Iraq
![](640px-An_ancient_mound_at_the_city_of_Kish,_Mesopotamia,_Babel_Governorate,_Iraq.jpg)
An
ancient mound at the city of Kish, Mesopotamia, Babel Governorate,
Iraq
![](640px-Pottery_fragments,_illegal_excavations_at_the_ancient_city_of_Kish,_Tell_al-Uhaymir,_Iraq.jpg)
Pottery
fragments, illegal exavations at the ancient city of Kish, Tell
al-Uhaymir, Iraq
![](640px-Ancient_mound_at_the_city_of_Kish,_Mesopotamia,_Babil_Governorate,_Iraq.jpg)
Ancient
mound at the city of Kish, Mesopotamia, Babil Governorate, Iraq
![](640px-Ruins_near_the_ziggurat_of_Kish_at_Tell_al-Uhaymir,_Mesopotamia,_Babel_Governorate,_Iraq.jpg)
Ruins
near the ziggurat of Kish at Tell al-Uhaymir, Mesopotamia, Babel
Governorate, Iraq
![](640px-Ruins_near_the_ziggurat_of_Kish,_Tell_al-Uhaymir,_Babylon_Governorate,_Iraq.jpg)
Ruins
near the ziggurat of Kish, Tell al-Uhaymir, Babylon Governorate,
Iraq
![](640px-Ruins_near_the_ziggurat_of_the_city_of_Kish_at_Tell_al-Uhaymir,_Babel_Governorate,_Iraq.jpg)
Ruins
near the ziggurat of the city of Kish at Tell al-Uhaymir, Babel
Governorate, Iraq
![](640px-Ruins_of_the_ziggurat_of_the_ancient_city_of_Kish,_Tell_al-Uhaymir,_Mesopotamia,_Iraq.jpg)
Ruins
of the ziggurat of the ancient city of Kish, Tell al-Uhaymir, Mesopotamia,
Iraq
![](Indus_seal_excavated_in_Kish,_Mesopotamia,_early_Sumerian_period.jpg)
Indus
Valley Civilisation "Unicorn" seal excavated in Kish,
early Sumerian period, circa 3000 BCE. An example of ancient Indus-Mesopotamia
relations
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Kish_(Sumer)