But Kish returned to prominence once more with Kubaba's son, Puzer-Suen, and grandson, Ur-Zababa, who served as the first two rulers in the city’s fourth and final dynasty. Before Kubaba, the lone member of the Third Dynasty of Kish, the kingship rested in Mari for more than a century. It shifts from place to place, bestowed by the gods upon one city and then, at their pleasure, transferred elsewhere after a few generations. In the Sumerian tradition, kingship isn’t tied to a permanent capital. Alongside her name it reads, “the woman tavern-keeper, who made firm the foundations of Kish.” Her epithet is longer than most, which suggests that ancient scribes found her especially noteworthy.

Kubaba’s reign is more plausible, but she’s still credited with an unlikely 100 years at Sumer’s helm. Enmen-lu-ana, for example, allegedly ruled for 43,200 years. The little we know about her comes from this list, a chronicle of rulers that frequently blurs the line between history and legend. She is the only woman to bear this title. The King List refers to her as lugal (king), not as eresh (queen consort). To be clear, she was a true monarch - a queen regnant who ruled in her own right, rather than a queen consort, who is simply the wife of the monarch. But Kubaba ascended to the throne of Sumer long before them all, likely around 2400 B.C. The story of powerful ancient women often centers on Egypt, where Sobekneferu, Hatshepsut and Cleopatra reigned as pharaohs. But alongside its male monarchs, the world’s first known civilization also produced the first known female ruler: Kubaba (also Kug-Bau or Ku-Baba) who brewed and sold beer in the ancient city of Kish in Mesopotamia. The Sumerian King List is unsurprisingly filled with the names of men: Alulim, Hadanish and Zizi.

Female rulers in history