Near East Kingdoms

Kesh / Keš (City) (Sumer)

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The city states of Sumer formed one of the first great civilisations in human history (see feature link). This Near Eastern civilisation emerged a little way ahead of that of Africa's ancient Egypt, and up to a millennium before that of the Indus Valley culture. It developed out of the end of the Pottery Neolithic across the Fertile Crescent, a period which had seen Neolithic Farmer practices spread far and wide across the Near East and beyond.

As irrigation improved so the more southerly reaches of the Euphrates could at last be occupied by humans and their animals. Southern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq and the western edge of Iran) was subjected to permanent settlement, initially in the form of pastoralists but soon as farmers too. Cultures around the edges of this progression included the Hassuna and Samarra which began this settlement process, and perhaps elements of the Hissar culture in the Iranian highlands were also involved.

By the late fourth millennium BC, Sumer was divided into approximately a dozen city states which were independent of one another and which used local canals and boundary stones to mark their borders. Many early historical events in the region are found only in the Sumerian king list, which notates the rulers of the city states (and see feature link), but archaeology has also uncovered a wealth of detail.

The city of Kesh or Keš (sometimes translated as Keši, and often shown at 'Kes' without the accented 'š' and its important 'sh' sound) has yet to be definitively linked to a modern archaeological site, while the modern archaeological site of Abu Salabikh cannot be matched to any known ancient names. Some have been proposed for it, including Kesh and Gišgi (a name which so far seems not to have been pinned to any location), but identifying it as Eresh remains the most popular theory.

As for Kesh, apart from being linked to Abu Salabikh its name has also been proposed for the archaeological sites of al-Ubaid, close to Ur, or Tell al-Wilayah, which lies close to Adab, or perhaps Tell Jidr. General scholarly opinion now prefers linking Kesh with Tell al-Wilayah or Tulul al-Baqarat. Of these, Tell al-Wilayah is the favourite, amounting to a site which is about 4.5 hectares in size and with an elevation of 5.2 metres above the plain.

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from History of the Ancient Near East c.3000-323 BC, Marc van der Mieroop (Blackwell Publishing, 2004, 2007), from The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character, Samuel Noah Kramer ('List 1' of Sumerian rulers, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1963), from Historical Atlas of the Ancient World, 4,000,000 to 500 BC, John Heywood (Barnes & Noble, 2000), from The Ancient Near East, c.3000-330 BC, Amélie Kuhrt (Routledge, 2000, Vol I & II), from Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East, Michael Road (Facts on File, 2000), from Mesopotamia: Assyrians, Sumerians, Babylonians, Enrico Ascalone (Dictionaries of Civilizations 1, University of California Press, 2007), from Early Mesopotamia: Society and Economy at the Dawn of History, J N Postgate (Routledge, 1994), and from External Links: Evolution of Sumerian kingship (Ancient World Magazine), and New cuneiform texts from Tell Al-Wilaya (ancient Kesh?) kept in the Iraqi Museum, Abather Rahi Saadoon (Sumerian Studies State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH), and available as a PDF via ResearchGate).)

c.3100 - 2900 BC

The Uruk IV influence suddenly fades around 3100 BC (or 3200 BC in some modern sources) for reasons unknown. Local traditions re-emerge in places which had previously taken on board Uruk influences. Elam's advanced city of Susa experiences an influx of immigrants who introduce great changes there.

The Uruk III or Jemdet Nasr period in Sumer is one of comparative isolation. A new social structure is built which will become a fundamental part of the successive 'Early Dynastic' period. A host of early cities are mentioned at this time, on seals which are discovered at Jemdet Nasr itself. These cities include Kesh, Kish, Larsa, Nippur, Ur, Uruk, and Zabalam.

c.2900 BC

The Jemdet Nasr period fades in favour of a new, outward-looking 'Early Dynastic' period. True writing now blossoms as it moves closer to spoken Sumerian, archives explode with mercantile records and administrative acts, and the first kings begin to appear as leading city figures take on more duties and increasing power, ostensibly as deputies of the gods themselves.

Nippur becomes the focus of Sumer's unified cult practices, in favour of Ur. Positioned centrally in Sumer, perhaps this location is more satisfactory for the region's cities. All of them seem to be joined together when it comes to paying homage to the Sumerian pantheon of gods, headed by Enlil who is Nippur's patron (another good reason for making this city the religious centre).

This unique status lasts until the eighteenth century BC (which witnesses the rise of Babylon). Seals mention it frequently, even when they are found in small or obscure Sumerian cities such as Abu Salabikh, Arina, Kesh, Urum, and Zabalam, while Kesh's neighbour, the city of Urusagrig, also becomes important around this time.

c.1740s BC

The third official year name to be selected by Rim-Sin II of Larsa is the 'Year in which Ninmah raised greatly in the Kesz temple, the foundation of heaven and earth, [Rim-Sin] to kingship over the land, [king] having no enemy, no hostile [king], opposing him in all foreign lands'.

The name Ninmah is a variant of Ninhursag, patron goddess of the city of Kesh. Rim-Sin declares in another letter that 'In order to bring light to Yamutbalum and to gather its scattered people, the great gods established the foundations of my throne in Keš, the city of my creatress'. This suggests a capital at Kesh rather than Larsa.

c.1741 - 1736 BC

An adventurer who opposed Babylon from Larsa.

1736 BC

Along with many others at the time of Hammurabi's death, Rim-Sin II sees an opportunity to lead a revolt against the rule of Samsu-iluna's Babylonian empire. The two fight for five years, with Rim-Sin's Larsa state allied to Eshnunna, and most battles taking place on the Elam/Sumer border. Eventually Rim-Sin is captured and executed, and Samsu-iluna 'destroyed Kesh and Ninhursag's Gate'.

556 - 539 BC

Nabonidus rules the Neo-Babylonian empire, with an early rebellion forcing him to enter Cilicia to quell hostilities there. Not much farther into his reign he moves his capital to Teima, deep in Kedarite territory, where he feels safe, but he also finds time to mention the temple at Kesh, which apparently remains occupied for at least a while longer.