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NARRATOR: The lost city of Kish
in modern day Iraq,

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the mysterious metropolis at
the heart of the cradle

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of civilization.

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Legends tell of the powerful
kings who ruled these lands.

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They are some of the first
kings in history.

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This is an incredible story.

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Kish changed the path of
history forever.

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NARRATOR: A saga of divine
power, war, and conquest.

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Why does this site have
such legendary status?

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What can these scorched ruins
reveal about

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the origins of royalty
as we know it?

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Kings write, "I have built
this, I have done this,

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I have conquered this,"
solidifying their right in

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stone and in clay.

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NARRATOR: Today, after decades
of conflict in this area,

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archaeologists have rare
access to investigate this

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lost city's buried secrets.

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They head deep
into ancient caves.

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This is probably
10,000 years at least.

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NARRATOR: Launch
a high-resolution drone.

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That's really interesting when
you see that with the drone.

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NARRATOR: And put ancient
technology to the test.

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To discover the truth
about Kish,

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we digitally rebuild
this revolutionary city,

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from its monumental ziggurats

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to its war-torn palaces.

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We unearth hundreds of
human skeletons

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and clues of
a shocking betrayal

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to explore the lost world of
the Sumerian kings.

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The Iraqi desert --
over 5,000 years ago,

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the world's first cities are
born here in Mesopotamia,

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the land between two rivers.

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Legends tell of
all-powerful kings

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ruling over
these vast lands,

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the kings of Kish.

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Now,
60 miles south of Baghdad,

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investigators head into
the desert to hunt for the ruins

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of the king's capital.

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Kish is described
as a mighty city.

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At its height,
it's a sprawling metropolis

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that spans 25 million
square feet.

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In the east sits
a fortified palace for

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the king's throne, and beside
it, a colossal temple complex.

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A labyrinth of streets
packed with mud

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brick houses encircles
these impressive landmarks.

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In the west is another
giant temple complex.

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Kish is a legendary
capital fit

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for some of history's
first kings.

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Do any of its impressive
structures survive?

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And can the ruins reveal
the truth

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about the legends of Kish?

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Decades of conflict have kept

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archaeologists away
from this region.

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But now, a pioneering team
is on a quest to

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explore enormous mounds
that could conceal

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the king's legendary capital.

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Investigators Jeff Allen
and Ammar al-Taee

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have rare access
to the site of Kish.

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Our cameras have been granted

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special permission
to follow them.

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Jeff has spent
27 years protecting

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ancient sites
in war-torn regions,

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and Ammar works for the Iraq
State Board of Antiquities.

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They search for clues
of ancient

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structures among
the sun-scorched ruins.

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The first step to
understanding the story of Kish

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is to look at the evidence
that's around us here.

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NARRATOR: This vast site is
made up of more than 40 mounds

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that sprawl across an area

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larger than the country
of Monaco.

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The only way to survey
every inch is from the air.

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Ammar launches a drone-mounted,
high-definition camera

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to capture the topography of
the landscape in

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digital detail.

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JEFF: Wow, this is an amazing
archaeological site.

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-It's enormous.
-AMMAR: Yeah.

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JEFF: And really what impresses
me are these mounds here.

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AMMAR: Yeah.

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NARRATOR: Two giant mounds,
each over 40 feet tall,

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stand out among the ruins.

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When I see these, I get
the impression that one of these

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could have been a ziggurat,
a pyramid-like structure

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rising towards a temple
at the top.

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NARRATOR: Ammar uses the drone
footage to create an accurate

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3D model of each mound
on the site.

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JEFF: Mm-hmm.

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NARRATOR: The first mound soars
46 feet high.

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It has a clear square shape
at its base

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and what looks like
a tower on top.

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NARRATOR: The distinctive
profile is proof

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this is once a ziggurat,

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an iconic temple monument
reaching up toward the heavens

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and visible for miles around.

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Mesopotamian cities typically
center around a ziggurat,

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like this one

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still visible in
the nearby city of Ur today.

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But the second mound in Kish
is more mysterious.

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Ammar and Jeff inspect
their 3D model.

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It's a staggered shape,
kind of steps down, yes.

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NARRATOR: This mound is 44 feet
tall, and its profile reveals

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a more gradual uneven slope,
which is also consistent with

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a ziggurat ruin,

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proof of a second ziggurat
in Kish.

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But right next to
this second ziggurat,

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they spot yet another
intriguing mound.

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NARRATOR:
It's 26 feet tall,

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with a similar
staggered profile.

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These adjacent mounds reveal
something extraordinary

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in Kish.

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NARRATOR: This discovery of
a double ziggurat is remarkable.

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It gives Kish a total of three
ziggurats, more than any usual

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Mesopotamian city.

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The enormous
size of the city,

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plus the fact that it had
three ziggurats, suggests to me

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that it was
an important place.

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NARRATOR: The evidence is
that Kish matches

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the legendary descriptions.

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These mounds are once
towering temples.

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Their cores
survive to this day.

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Jeff and Ammar
want to know how such

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a monumental city rises up in
the middle of the desert.

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Ammar uses experimental
archaeology to investigate.

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He wants to recreate
Kish's bricks.

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At a nearby site,

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his team experiments
with ancient techniques

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and materials.

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They combine mud and water

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and add straw
to thicken the mixture.

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Then they use a square mold to

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shape it and create bricks
with uniform dimensions.

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NARRATOR: They dry
in the hot desert air,

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and the result is
bricks that hold

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together just like
the ones that Kish.

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Each mud brick can bear
1,700 pounds of weight.

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That's strong enough to
support the towering ziggurats.

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But their ancient recipe
reveals the city's

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building blocks
require a lot of water.

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Ammar investigates where
the water could come from.

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He inspects some exposed
original bricks

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close up and spots
something strange.

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NARRATOR: It's a crucial clue
to how Kish grows

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so large and why it has
three towering ziggurats.

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The first ziggurat
sits at the center of

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a small city on the northern
bank of the river.

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A mile away
on the southern bank,

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another city develops

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with a colossal double
ziggurat at its heart.

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Over hundreds of years,
these two small cities,

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each with their own religious
center, grow and merge into

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the powerful, mega metropolis
of Kish.

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Is it home
to legendary kings?

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Stephanie Dalley
looks for clues at

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the prestigious
Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

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She is one of just
a few people

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in the world who can
read cuneiform,

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the earliest writing system
ever discovered.

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This cuneiform-covered prism is
the 3,800-year-old

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Sumerian King List,

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a rare record of the world's
earliest cities

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and their rulers.

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Stephanie has special access
to examine

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the Sumerian King List
up close.

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She searches for evidence of
kings in Kish.

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STEPHANIE:
This is the first column,

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and then that's
the second column.

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In this list of kings here,

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you get the kingship
was in Kish.

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NARRATOR: The ancient text
identifies 39 kings of Kish.

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One stands out -- Etana.

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Here,
we've got Etana.

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So he's Etana the Shepherd,
who ascended

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to heaven and consolidated
all the foreign countries.

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NARRATOR: Legends written
in clay reveal

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further clues to
this divine intervention.

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According to these legends,

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the gods choose Etana to rule
as king of the earth,

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but his pregnant wife cannot
give birth to their royal heir.

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The one known remedy is
the birth plant,

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which Etana must
bring down from heaven.

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Instructed by
the solar god, Shamash,

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Etana rescues an enormous maimed
eagle languishing in a pit.

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The eagle carries Etana
into heaven to retrieve

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the birth plant
and secure his royal line.

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The Sumerian King List states

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Etana reigns
an impossible 1,500 years.

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Can an intriguing discovery
underneath

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Kish's double ziggurat
shed light

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on the truth
within these myths?

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And can hidden inscriptions
reveal if the king

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of Kish wields ultimate power
over neighboring city states?

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NARRATOR:
The ancient city of Kish,

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home to some of
the first kings in history.

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But their stories mix
fact and fiction.

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They do have
enormous inconsistencies.

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NARRATOR: Stephanie Dalley
discovers more potential

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mythmaking in
the Sumerian King List.

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It says the flood
came over the earth.

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Then kingship was in Kish.

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NARRATOR: Evidence of a great
flood in Kish would

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help establish the reliability
of the King List

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and bolster its claim about
the rise of royalty here.

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Archaeologists dig
beneath the remains

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of the twin ziggurats

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and unearth mysterious
buildings 20 feet down.

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They find a central street
lined with houses and alleyways

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and human skeletons
buried in the homes

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underneath the floor --
on top of these ruins lies

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a one-foot-thick layer
of sediment

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filled with pottery fragments
and fish bones.

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It's evidence of dramatic
destruction in Kish.

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Could this prove the flood
is real?

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Today, the ruins beneath
the ziggurats are protected.

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So now, archaeologists must
look for clues elsewhere.

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Iraqi-American Mark Altaweel
investigates

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a remote spot 180 miles away
in Iraqi Kurdistan.

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Modern conflicts have meant

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this area has often been
off-limits to archaeologists,

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but now, Mark has rare

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access to explore
its subterranean secrets.

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He examines a dark
and treacherous

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cave concealed beneath
the Zagros Mountains.

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Mark treks through the darkness
for over half a mile.

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This cave is a time capsule

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that may hold clues
to the flood myth.

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This is a speleothem.

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It is a kind of
growing stalagmite.

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If you can see,
there's water at the very top

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and it's dripping.

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NARRATOR: The dripping water
contains minerals, which

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gradually deposit
on the cave floor.

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Over time, they build up into
tall stacks called speleothems.

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Mark ventures
deeper into the cave.

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This is probably 10,000 years
at least, given the height.

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NARRATOR: The minerals inside
these speleothems contain

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secrets of the last
10,000 years.

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You can retrieve different
kinds of chemical data,

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which allows you to
reconstruct things

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like rainfall,
ancient rainfall.

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This is how we learn about
Iraq's ancient climates.

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NARRATOR:
More rain means more drips,

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but a drought means no drips.

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So speleothems are
an historic record of rainfall.

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Mark's team collects
samples from the speleothems

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and takes them
back to the lab.

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00:15:57,401 --> 00:15:59,199
Then they analyze
the minerals'

246
00:15:59,274 --> 00:16:02,039
molecular fingerprints
and turn them into data

247
00:16:02,961 --> 00:16:06,199
to reveal the rainfall levels
over time.

248
00:16:06,241 --> 00:16:09,879
So you had a very different
situation than you do today.

249
00:16:09,881 --> 00:16:11,719
NARRATOR:
The data shows that a lot of

250
00:16:11,721 --> 00:16:13,999
rain falls on ancient Iraq,

251
00:16:14,074 --> 00:16:15,519
but the level of rainfall

252
00:16:15,521 --> 00:16:18,719
indicated by these spikes
is inconsistent.

253
00:16:19,561 --> 00:16:21,999
The flood story
really is, in many ways,

254
00:16:22,074 --> 00:16:24,639
symbolic of the volatility
of water in Iraq.

255
00:16:24,714 --> 00:16:26,279
It is a region
that can be quite wet

256
00:16:26,354 --> 00:16:28,039
one year and quite dry
another year.

257
00:16:28,114 --> 00:16:30,279
So you can foresee
with this kind of data,

258
00:16:30,354 --> 00:16:31,959
for instance,
you have this all

259
00:16:32,001 --> 00:16:33,719
of a sudden spike of
rainfall occurring.

260
00:16:33,761 --> 00:16:35,319
Maybe it was this spike
that could have

261
00:16:35,361 --> 00:16:37,359
led to the inspiration
of the flood story.

262
00:16:38,161 --> 00:16:39,432
NARRATOR:
Mark's data adds to

263
00:16:39,434 --> 00:16:42,039
the destruction layer
beneath Kish's ziggurat.

264
00:16:42,801 --> 00:16:47,039
Together, they suggest
a great flood at Kish.

265
00:16:47,921 --> 00:16:51,159
The data could explain
why the Sumerian King List

266
00:16:51,201 --> 00:16:54,719
claims that kingship in
Kish follows the flood.

267
00:16:56,161 --> 00:17:00,319
It reveals a dramatic
spike 5,500 years ago,

268
00:17:01,361 --> 00:17:05,359
exactly when the first cities
are founded in Mesopotamia.

269
00:17:06,521 --> 00:17:08,559
MARK: All of a sudden, you have
basically the wettest period

270
00:17:08,561 --> 00:17:10,032
in Iraq's history,

271
00:17:10,067 --> 00:17:13,199
and it so happens to coincide
with the rise of urbanism.

272
00:17:13,274 --> 00:17:18,199
It creates an opportunity,
effectively, to develop city.

273
00:17:18,241 --> 00:17:21,999
NARRATOR: But with this thriving
civilization comes a problem.

274
00:17:23,201 --> 00:17:24,879
MARK:
How do you deal with this sort

275
00:17:24,954 --> 00:17:28,199
of complex issue of organizing
people to manage

276
00:17:28,201 --> 00:17:30,839
years of plenty
and years of perhaps drought.

277
00:17:32,321 --> 00:17:35,279
NARRATOR: The Euphrates
floods so frequently

278
00:17:35,354 --> 00:17:37,879
that ancient Mesopotamians
develop an intricate

279
00:17:37,921 --> 00:17:41,119
irrigation system
to harness its immense power.

280
00:17:43,201 --> 00:17:45,399
During the yearly
summer flood,

281
00:17:45,441 --> 00:17:48,399
they channel water from
the river into farmland,

282
00:17:48,401 --> 00:17:51,159
where it helps produce
bountiful harvests.

283
00:17:54,001 --> 00:17:57,679
Mesopotamian farmers also
developed complex reservoir

284
00:17:57,754 --> 00:18:00,359
systems to regulate
water levels during

285
00:18:00,434 --> 00:18:03,639
the floods and store huge
quantities of water

286
00:18:03,681 --> 00:18:05,399
for the dry season.

287
00:18:05,441 --> 00:18:07,479
Control of water is the key

288
00:18:07,481 --> 00:18:09,439
to the growth
and success of cities.

289
00:18:09,441 --> 00:18:11,439
Leaders who do it well amass

290
00:18:11,474 --> 00:18:15,519
resources and power,
and royalty is born.

291
00:18:16,881 --> 00:18:19,639
MARK: So I think the flood story
makes a lot of sense.

292
00:18:19,674 --> 00:18:23,039
Certainly, I can see why
monarchy evolves out of this.

293
00:18:23,114 --> 00:18:25,399
NARRATOR: The kings of Kish
may owe their rise

294
00:18:25,441 --> 00:18:27,159
to the floodwaters,

295
00:18:27,201 --> 00:18:29,159
but the ancient King
List describes

296
00:18:29,161 --> 00:18:31,959
them ruling over other
Mesopotamian cities.

297
00:18:33,281 --> 00:18:35,439
Is there any truth
to this account?

298
00:18:36,921 --> 00:18:40,119
Could a discovery of military
propaganda in Kish's

299
00:18:40,154 --> 00:18:42,319
royal palace reveal clues?

300
00:18:54,601 --> 00:18:56,959
NARRATOR: The once flourishing
city of Kish

301
00:18:56,961 --> 00:19:00,639
and its powerful kings
rise out of dramatic floods.

302
00:19:01,881 --> 00:19:04,119
But the legends say
that the kings of

303
00:19:04,121 --> 00:19:08,559
Kish wield power far
beyond the city's borders.

304
00:19:08,634 --> 00:19:12,359
Quite often,
legends are based on truth,

305
00:19:12,361 --> 00:19:16,639
but over thousands of years,
they become twisted.

306
00:19:17,801 --> 00:19:19,239
NARRATOR:
Jeff and Ammar want to find

307
00:19:19,314 --> 00:19:21,599
out if there is truth to
the legends.

308
00:19:22,921 --> 00:19:26,999
They launch their drone and look
for clues of kings at Kish.

309
00:19:28,641 --> 00:19:32,119
Ammar identifies the faint
outline of a floor plan.

310
00:19:40,841 --> 00:19:42,839
NARRATOR: These are
the remarkable ruins

311
00:19:42,841 --> 00:19:44,319
of an ancient palace.

312
00:19:45,921 --> 00:19:47,439
Kish is home to one of

313
00:19:47,514 --> 00:19:50,639
the earliest royal palaces
ever discovered.

314
00:19:53,641 --> 00:19:57,159
Built around
4,600 years ago,

315
00:19:57,234 --> 00:19:59,199
the palace of Kish is

316
00:19:59,201 --> 00:20:02,199
a highly sophisticated
and fortified building.

317
00:20:04,401 --> 00:20:07,759
The archaeologists who uncover
its ruins imagine that

318
00:20:07,834 --> 00:20:09,559
the palace once has soaring

319
00:20:09,561 --> 00:20:13,439
layered defensive walls and
platforms from where soldiers

320
00:20:13,514 --> 00:20:16,199
can launch volleys
of projectiles.

321
00:20:19,561 --> 00:20:23,239
Inside the royal wing is
a mysterious limestone carving.

322
00:20:24,401 --> 00:20:26,799
It shows the king
wielding an ax

323
00:20:26,801 --> 00:20:28,639
and taking prisoners captive.

324
00:20:31,121 --> 00:20:33,279
Is this evidence of a powerful

325
00:20:33,354 --> 00:20:35,999
king of Kish dominating
his neighbors?

326
00:20:37,841 --> 00:20:40,039
Sebastien Rey is an expert

327
00:20:40,114 --> 00:20:43,599
on the intricate rivalries
of Mesopotamia.

328
00:20:43,601 --> 00:20:46,159
He investigates Lagash,

329
00:20:46,234 --> 00:20:50,639
an ancient city state
130 miles southeast of Kish.

330
00:20:52,881 --> 00:20:56,199
He suspects this site
could unlock vital clues

331
00:20:56,274 --> 00:20:58,519
about the extent of
Kish's power.

332
00:21:00,441 --> 00:21:03,719
Over 100 years ago,
French archaeologists

333
00:21:03,721 --> 00:21:06,919
unearth a curious layer
of destruction here.

334
00:21:07,961 --> 00:21:10,079
The French pioneers,

335
00:21:10,154 --> 00:21:12,399
when they opened
their excavations,

336
00:21:12,474 --> 00:21:15,559
they found many relics,
many objects.

337
00:21:17,041 --> 00:21:20,359
NARRATOR: Now, at the same spot,
Sebastien's team

338
00:21:20,361 --> 00:21:23,519
is excavating the ruins of
a mysterious temple.

339
00:21:25,001 --> 00:21:27,919
This was the temple
dedicated to the main god,

340
00:21:27,921 --> 00:21:32,519
the chief god at the heart of
the sacred precinct of Lagash.

341
00:21:33,521 --> 00:21:36,999
NARRATOR: They dig deeper
for missing puzzle pieces

342
00:21:37,001 --> 00:21:39,599
that the previous
excavators did not find.

343
00:21:41,241 --> 00:21:44,199
New discoveries,
together with the objects

344
00:21:44,274 --> 00:21:46,159
uncovered 100 years ago,

345
00:21:46,234 --> 00:21:49,159
allow them to piece together
the full story

346
00:21:49,234 --> 00:21:50,759
of what happens here.

347
00:21:53,441 --> 00:21:55,999
Sebastien examines some of
the objects

348
00:21:56,001 --> 00:21:57,599
unearthed in Lagash.

349
00:21:59,001 --> 00:22:00,679
He has special access to

350
00:22:00,754 --> 00:22:04,359
the original report from
the 19th century excavations.

351
00:22:08,161 --> 00:22:11,559
This is one of the most
important objects.

352
00:22:11,561 --> 00:22:14,479
So the two pieces
of the stelae were

353
00:22:14,554 --> 00:22:18,279
broken off,
and we can see the impact.

354
00:22:18,281 --> 00:22:20,919
NARRATOR: This fragment
of stela shows a God

355
00:22:20,921 --> 00:22:23,839
holding a net full of
enemy soldiers.

356
00:22:25,161 --> 00:22:29,719
The destruction line literally
breaks the area

357
00:22:29,761 --> 00:22:32,199
where the God
is holding the net,

358
00:22:32,274 --> 00:22:35,999
and this was done in
a symbolic way to free

359
00:22:36,074 --> 00:22:38,399
the soldiers trapped
inside the net.

360
00:22:39,401 --> 00:22:41,919
NARRATOR:
This break is no accident.

361
00:22:41,921 --> 00:22:45,319
It's carefully crafted
by an enemy of Lagash

362
00:22:45,321 --> 00:22:47,599
who wants to cut
their soldiers loose.

363
00:22:49,761 --> 00:22:52,799
Sebastien thinks the identity
of Lagash's enemy

364
00:22:52,874 --> 00:22:56,319
could be revealed by another
intriguing object.

365
00:22:59,441 --> 00:23:01,919
This ancient text is
an historical

366
00:23:01,994 --> 00:23:04,359
account of a war
in Mesopotamia

367
00:23:05,321 --> 00:23:08,639
that rages from around
2600 BCE.

368
00:23:10,481 --> 00:23:14,799
The text tells of
this conflict, going back

369
00:23:14,874 --> 00:23:18,519
to the time of a king of
Kish, Mesilim.

370
00:23:20,641 --> 00:23:22,679
NARRATOR:
King Mesilim of Kish brokers

371
00:23:22,721 --> 00:23:25,599
an agreement between
Lagash and Umma,

372
00:23:25,601 --> 00:23:28,119
neighboring city states
who are fighting over

373
00:23:28,154 --> 00:23:29,599
disputed territory.

374
00:23:32,201 --> 00:23:35,959
King Mesilim erects a stone
stela to mark a new border.

375
00:23:37,481 --> 00:23:41,799
But Mesilim's peace plan takes
a strip of land away from Umma.

376
00:23:43,561 --> 00:23:47,879
Feeling short-changed,
Umma breaches the agreement

377
00:23:47,881 --> 00:23:49,399
and blocks the canals

378
00:23:49,441 --> 00:23:51,919
that provide water
to Lagash downstream.

379
00:23:54,121 --> 00:23:57,359
Unable to reconcile
the dispute,

380
00:23:57,361 --> 00:24:01,119
the cities slip into a war
that spans many decades.

381
00:24:04,041 --> 00:24:06,239
The Umma-Lagash border
conflict is

382
00:24:06,241 --> 00:24:09,119
the very first conflict
known in history.

383
00:24:10,161 --> 00:24:11,719
NARRATOR:
Throughout the long war,

384
00:24:11,721 --> 00:24:14,119
both cities claim
they are enforcing

385
00:24:14,194 --> 00:24:15,959
the will of King Mesilim.

386
00:24:17,441 --> 00:24:19,679
The reverence
paid to Mesilim is

387
00:24:19,754 --> 00:24:22,919
vital evidence of Kish's
far-reaching power.

388
00:24:23,881 --> 00:24:27,079
SEBASTIEN: It seems indeed that
at the very beginning of

389
00:24:27,154 --> 00:24:31,839
the 3rd millennium, Kish
exercised a form of control over

390
00:24:31,841 --> 00:24:33,799
most of Mesopotamia.

391
00:24:35,401 --> 00:24:38,319
We believe that
the Sumerian cities

392
00:24:38,321 --> 00:24:40,799
at that time formed a league.

393
00:24:40,874 --> 00:24:46,159
Kish was the overlord
of this league.

394
00:24:46,234 --> 00:24:48,999
NARRATOR: Legends of another
king of Kish could shed

395
00:24:49,074 --> 00:24:52,759
light on how Kish rises
to this overlord status.

396
00:24:56,721 --> 00:24:58,879
According to
ancient inscriptions,

397
00:24:58,954 --> 00:25:02,919
King Enmebaragesi of Kish
conquers neighboring Elam.

398
00:25:08,161 --> 00:25:12,079
Then, in a city far to
the south of Kish, Nippur,

399
00:25:12,154 --> 00:25:14,679
Enmebaragesi builds
a temple dedicated

400
00:25:14,721 --> 00:25:16,239
to the God, Enlil.

401
00:25:18,961 --> 00:25:22,599
Enlil is the most powerful
god in the Sumerian pantheon,

402
00:25:24,441 --> 00:25:27,199
the supreme embodiment
of authority.

403
00:25:29,641 --> 00:25:32,919
By building this temple,
Enmebaragesi claims

404
00:25:32,961 --> 00:25:34,719
divine authority, not

405
00:25:34,721 --> 00:25:36,839
just as king
of the city of Kish,

406
00:25:36,841 --> 00:25:39,039
but over the entire region.

407
00:25:41,241 --> 00:25:44,919
The tales of Enmebaragesi
and Mesilim showed

408
00:25:44,961 --> 00:25:46,519
that the early kings of Kish

409
00:25:46,521 --> 00:25:49,159
exert military
and diplomatic power

410
00:25:49,234 --> 00:25:51,119
over a huge area.

411
00:25:53,081 --> 00:25:56,999
This marks a turning point
in Mesopotamian history.

412
00:25:57,074 --> 00:26:02,559
Now, one king, the king of Kish,
is the king of kings.

413
00:26:04,881 --> 00:26:07,599
Can a groundbreaking
discovery in Kish

414
00:26:07,674 --> 00:26:10,399
reveal the true influence
of these kings?

415
00:26:12,921 --> 00:26:15,399
And can macabre graves
shed light

416
00:26:15,401 --> 00:26:17,719
on a threat to Kish's power?

417
00:26:29,561 --> 00:26:32,079
NARRATOR: Discoveries
in the ancient city of Kish

418
00:26:32,154 --> 00:26:35,239
are shedding light on how
their pioneering kings

419
00:26:35,314 --> 00:26:36,999
change our world.

420
00:26:37,074 --> 00:26:40,159
JEFF: Kish changed the path
of history forever,

421
00:26:40,234 --> 00:26:43,319
like no city state
had ever done before.

422
00:26:43,361 --> 00:26:46,839
NARRATOR: 30 feet below ground,
archaeologists make

423
00:26:46,881 --> 00:26:49,239
an extraordinary discovery
in Kish,

424
00:26:49,241 --> 00:26:53,919
a two-wheeled wooden chariot,
preserved for millennia by

425
00:26:53,921 --> 00:26:55,039
the desert sand.

426
00:26:56,481 --> 00:26:57,799
Surrounding it,

427
00:26:57,874 --> 00:27:00,319
the skeletons of
oxen and people.

428
00:27:02,881 --> 00:27:05,719
The excavators
also unearth a four-wheeled

429
00:27:05,721 --> 00:27:09,199
chariot with donkey
and human skeletons.

430
00:27:10,641 --> 00:27:13,039
The remains of a sentry
guard the tomb.

431
00:27:14,241 --> 00:27:16,719
They are some of the earliest
wheeled vehicles

432
00:27:16,794 --> 00:27:17,992
ever discovered.

433
00:27:18,067 --> 00:27:21,119
They date to the era of
Kish's great kings.

434
00:27:21,121 --> 00:27:24,519
Who are the people
buried here?

435
00:27:29,361 --> 00:27:33,599
Paul Collins is an expert
in Mesopotamian burials.

436
00:27:33,601 --> 00:27:36,399
There's no other find in
Mesopotamia

437
00:27:36,401 --> 00:27:38,559
that compares with them.

438
00:27:39,521 --> 00:27:43,879
The early excavators, when they
were discovered in the 1920s,

439
00:27:43,954 --> 00:27:48,799
imagine that they might belong
to the princes of Kish,

440
00:27:48,874 --> 00:27:52,279
but it remains a debated
question of exactly

441
00:27:52,321 --> 00:27:54,279
what these graves represent.

442
00:27:54,281 --> 00:27:56,799
NARRATOR: Paul is on a mission
to find out what

443
00:27:56,801 --> 00:28:01,519
these unique chariot burials
can reveal about kings in Kish.

444
00:28:02,561 --> 00:28:05,439
He has special access
to analyze a precious

445
00:28:05,514 --> 00:28:07,999
clay model of
a chariot unearthed

446
00:28:08,074 --> 00:28:09,799
in Kish's royal palace.

447
00:28:11,121 --> 00:28:14,439
This perfect miniature,
handcrafted around

448
00:28:14,514 --> 00:28:16,679
4,400 years ago,

449
00:28:16,754 --> 00:28:21,159
reveals how these early chariots
are used by Kish's kings.

450
00:28:21,234 --> 00:28:25,559
PAUL: At the very front is
a container for the spears,

451
00:28:25,601 --> 00:28:28,319
which you would then hurl at
the enemy as the vehicle

452
00:28:28,321 --> 00:28:30,759
trundled over the land.

453
00:28:30,834 --> 00:28:32,839
NARRATOR: Chariots
are the chosen weapon

454
00:28:32,914 --> 00:28:34,919
of kings for thousands
of years,

455
00:28:34,994 --> 00:28:37,319
and they are buried
with them, too.

456
00:28:39,121 --> 00:28:41,399
Kish's kings
are quick to adopt

457
00:28:41,401 --> 00:28:45,999
another great innovation of
this era -- writing.

458
00:28:46,074 --> 00:28:48,079
Lara Bampfield is
an expert

459
00:28:48,154 --> 00:28:50,519
in ancient
Mesopotamian inscriptions.

460
00:28:51,521 --> 00:28:54,319
She investigates
how writing develops.

461
00:28:56,601 --> 00:28:58,879
She draws the sign "ki."

462
00:28:58,954 --> 00:29:02,799
It represents the word "place"
in the Sumerian language.

463
00:29:03,761 --> 00:29:05,759
It's all pictographic
at this point.

464
00:29:05,834 --> 00:29:09,119
It's a very rudimentary
form of a sign.

465
00:29:10,561 --> 00:29:13,239
NARRATOR: Lara thinks that
kings drive the development

466
00:29:13,281 --> 00:29:16,719
of these basic signs into
something revolutionary.

467
00:29:18,801 --> 00:29:23,119
She draws to later versions of
the "ki" sign in cuneiform.

468
00:29:24,361 --> 00:29:29,799
LARA: These inside four lines
have become the inside wedges.

469
00:29:29,801 --> 00:29:32,879
As we move into later
variations of the script,

470
00:29:32,881 --> 00:29:36,679
we have a much clearer
impressed version on the clay.

471
00:29:36,754 --> 00:29:40,199
NARRATOR: Lara's drawings reveal
these pictographic signs

472
00:29:40,321 --> 00:29:44,519
evolved into the world's first
writing script, cuneiform.

473
00:29:46,681 --> 00:29:49,799
Lara thinks it develops
for political reasons.

474
00:29:50,921 --> 00:29:54,839
Writing is definitely a form
of power, and this is very

475
00:29:54,881 --> 00:29:59,159
much seen in Mesopotamia,
where kings write scripts

476
00:29:59,161 --> 00:30:01,919
across monumental structures.

477
00:30:01,994 --> 00:30:05,039
"I have built this,
I have done this,

478
00:30:05,041 --> 00:30:09,799
I have conquered this," almost
highlighting and solidifying

479
00:30:09,874 --> 00:30:12,599
their right in stone
and in clay.

480
00:30:13,761 --> 00:30:16,119
NARRATOR:
Under the influence of kings,

481
00:30:16,121 --> 00:30:18,679
writing develops
into complex literature

482
00:30:18,721 --> 00:30:22,599
that records victory, legend,
and the world's first history.

483
00:30:23,761 --> 00:30:26,319
Innovations like writing
and chariots are

484
00:30:26,321 --> 00:30:28,559
at the heart of
the kings' success,

485
00:30:29,721 --> 00:30:32,439
and the huge reach of
the kings of Kish

486
00:30:32,441 --> 00:30:35,719
allows writing to be rolled
out across the region.

487
00:30:39,801 --> 00:30:42,079
The ancient
Mesopotamians developed

488
00:30:42,154 --> 00:30:43,679
writing and arithmetic.

489
00:30:43,681 --> 00:30:46,039
They're the first
to divide the circle into

490
00:30:46,081 --> 00:30:51,239
360 degrees and invent the hour,
minute, and the second.

491
00:30:52,921 --> 00:30:55,879
These innovations allow
their kings to organize their

492
00:30:55,954 --> 00:30:59,999
work force and mass produce
at an unprecedented scale.

493
00:31:03,121 --> 00:31:06,479
Mesopotamians are among
the first civilizations to

494
00:31:06,554 --> 00:31:08,799
harness wheel technology.

495
00:31:08,874 --> 00:31:11,519
Kish's kings
used chariots to fight wars

496
00:31:11,594 --> 00:31:13,599
and parade their power.

497
00:31:15,761 --> 00:31:18,199
These kings adorn
their capital with

498
00:31:18,241 --> 00:31:21,679
new, impressive styles
of art and writing,

499
00:31:21,754 --> 00:31:23,439
immortalizing their rule.

500
00:31:25,161 --> 00:31:27,519
Many of
these Mesopotamian technologies

501
00:31:27,521 --> 00:31:30,039
are cornerstones of
modern civilization.

502
00:31:31,041 --> 00:31:33,599
The kings of Kish
use all their tools to

503
00:31:33,674 --> 00:31:37,399
create and secure a society
bent to their rule.

504
00:31:38,761 --> 00:31:41,479
But a macabre discovery
in Kish may be

505
00:31:41,554 --> 00:31:44,759
a sign of trouble ahead
for these early kings.

506
00:31:46,241 --> 00:31:47,519
What can the ruins of

507
00:31:47,521 --> 00:31:50,599
the royal palace reveal
about Kish's fate?

508
00:32:00,721 --> 00:32:02,039
NARRATOR: Kish --

509
00:32:02,081 --> 00:32:03,679
the ruins of the city's

510
00:32:03,681 --> 00:32:06,919
three enormous ziggurats
still tower over the desert.

511
00:32:08,521 --> 00:32:11,159
But Ammar al-Taee's
investigation of the city

512
00:32:11,161 --> 00:32:14,719
reveals that other landmarks
are almost completely missing.

513
00:32:15,801 --> 00:32:17,959
Only a handful of
bricks remain.

514
00:32:25,401 --> 00:32:28,279
NARRATOR: He heads to the spot
where Kish's royal palace

515
00:32:28,314 --> 00:32:32,599
once stands and sees only
desert sand and shrubs.

516
00:32:34,041 --> 00:32:37,119
Excavations inside
the palace's footprint shed

517
00:32:37,121 --> 00:32:39,639
light on why
so little survives.

518
00:32:43,881 --> 00:32:46,199
15 feet below ground,

519
00:32:47,201 --> 00:32:51,759
archaeologists discover
162 human skeletons.

520
00:32:53,081 --> 00:32:55,919
They are all buried
in a half fetal position,

521
00:32:55,994 --> 00:32:59,079
with grave goods
scattered around them.

522
00:32:59,081 --> 00:33:03,999
Weapons lie by their side --
axes, knives, and blades.

523
00:33:07,521 --> 00:33:09,959
Hidden beneath
these graves,

524
00:33:09,961 --> 00:33:13,199
excavators find the shocking
ruins of the palace.

525
00:33:15,281 --> 00:33:17,599
Burn marks
on the walls suggest

526
00:33:17,674 --> 00:33:19,639
it has been razed
to the ground.

527
00:33:21,241 --> 00:33:24,239
Is this evidence
of a catastrophe at Kish?

528
00:33:27,281 --> 00:33:31,039
Paul Collins wants to find out
why people are buried here.

529
00:33:32,481 --> 00:33:34,599
He has special access
to examine

530
00:33:34,674 --> 00:33:37,919
a weapon unearthed
in these graves.

531
00:33:37,954 --> 00:33:40,639
Paul instantly
recognizes the shape.

532
00:33:41,641 --> 00:33:45,479
So this is an ax head,
very typical in shape,

533
00:33:45,481 --> 00:33:48,759
where you have
the cutting blade

534
00:33:48,761 --> 00:33:53,279
emerging out of this cylinder
of metal, which was

535
00:33:53,354 --> 00:33:56,319
hafted onto
a wooden stick.

536
00:33:58,241 --> 00:34:00,359
NARRATOR: But this ax head
is a miniature,

537
00:34:00,361 --> 00:34:04,359
much smaller than the axes
used as weapons at this time.

538
00:34:06,281 --> 00:34:09,239
It could be
it was intended for use on

539
00:34:09,281 --> 00:34:12,519
the journey by the dead person
to the next world.

540
00:34:13,601 --> 00:34:16,959
NARRATOR: Ancient Mesopotamians
are buried with symbolic weapons

541
00:34:16,961 --> 00:34:20,039
like this so they are
armed in the afterlife.

542
00:34:21,241 --> 00:34:23,199
Their burial location
on top of

543
00:34:23,201 --> 00:34:26,319
the palace site is
deeply meaningful.

544
00:34:26,321 --> 00:34:28,959
These people are honoring
the great heritage of

545
00:34:29,034 --> 00:34:30,399
Kish's kings.

546
00:34:32,281 --> 00:34:35,319
Long abandoned,
but the memory of this great

547
00:34:35,361 --> 00:34:39,359
palace continued to echo
down through the generations.

548
00:34:39,434 --> 00:34:41,279
NARRATOR:
The burials spanned decades

549
00:34:41,354 --> 00:34:43,119
after the palace is abandoned.

550
00:34:44,281 --> 00:34:46,759
Stephanie Dalley
investigates what happens at

551
00:34:46,761 --> 00:34:49,159
Kish to lead
to this tragic scene.

552
00:34:51,041 --> 00:34:54,919
She examines the Sumerian King
List again for answers

553
00:34:54,994 --> 00:34:59,119
and spots a strange detail
about a man named Sargon.

554
00:35:00,041 --> 00:35:03,359
STEPHANIE: With Sargon,
who comes into the King List,

555
00:35:03,434 --> 00:35:08,279
it says that he's a cup bearer
to a king in Kish.

556
00:35:08,321 --> 00:35:10,639
NARRATOR: He is entrusted
with serving wine

557
00:35:10,641 --> 00:35:11,999
at the king's table.

558
00:35:13,881 --> 00:35:16,399
But later on the list,
Sargon is named

559
00:35:16,401 --> 00:35:18,399
as a king himself.

560
00:35:19,601 --> 00:35:22,839
This reveals a shocking
twist in Kish's story

561
00:35:24,201 --> 00:35:26,919
in around 2350 BCE.

562
00:35:28,801 --> 00:35:30,879
King Ur-zababa of Kish

563
00:35:30,954 --> 00:35:33,079
sends his cup bearer,
Sargon,

564
00:35:33,121 --> 00:35:36,399
to broker a peace deal with
Lugal-zage-si,

565
00:35:36,474 --> 00:35:38,839
an ambitious young king
from the south,

566
00:35:39,881 --> 00:35:42,559
but Sargon betrays Ur-zababa.

567
00:35:42,561 --> 00:35:45,359
He forms a new alliance
with Lugal-zage-si.

568
00:35:45,434 --> 00:35:51,079
Together, they conquer Kish and
burn the palace to the ground.

569
00:35:51,081 --> 00:35:54,839
Sargon is emboldened by
his rise to power and rebels

570
00:35:54,881 --> 00:35:57,479
again --
he amasses an army,

571
00:35:57,481 --> 00:35:59,759
defeats Lugal-zage-si
in battle,

572
00:35:59,834 --> 00:36:01,439
and conquers
his territories.

573
00:36:03,001 --> 00:36:06,719
Sargon declares himself
the ruler of a new superpower,

574
00:36:06,794 --> 00:36:08,359
the Acadian empire.

575
00:36:08,434 --> 00:36:11,039
He is the first emperor
in history.

576
00:36:12,641 --> 00:36:15,959
Sargon's new imperial rule
is brutal and bloody.

577
00:36:17,641 --> 00:36:22,479
The surviving citizens of Kish
memorialized their great kings

578
00:36:22,554 --> 00:36:24,599
and buried their dead
on the remains

579
00:36:24,641 --> 00:36:26,039
of the destroyed palace.

580
00:36:27,881 --> 00:36:30,759
The burials prove
that Sargon's takeover

581
00:36:30,834 --> 00:36:32,799
and the destruction
of the palace

582
00:36:32,801 --> 00:36:36,239
do not erase the memory
of Kish's powerful kings.

583
00:36:38,481 --> 00:36:42,239
But if the mighty city of Kish
is razed to the ground,

584
00:36:42,241 --> 00:36:46,839
what are these buildings that
still stand on the site today?

585
00:36:46,881 --> 00:36:50,159
And why does the title
"King of Kish" live on?

586
00:37:00,681 --> 00:37:03,039
NARRATOR:
Kish's royal palace is razed to

587
00:37:03,041 --> 00:37:06,119
the ground and the king of
Kish usurped.

588
00:37:07,321 --> 00:37:09,719
But Ammar's investigation
shows that life in

589
00:37:09,721 --> 00:37:13,439
the city continues into
the 2nd millennium BCE.

590
00:37:14,721 --> 00:37:17,159
Ammar hunts for clues
of what happens to

591
00:37:17,234 --> 00:37:20,639
Kish and its kings after
the palace is destroyed.

592
00:37:21,641 --> 00:37:25,359
The 46-foot ziggurat ruin
is a bold red color,

593
00:37:26,241 --> 00:37:28,439
but the surrounding land
and the ruins

594
00:37:28,474 --> 00:37:31,519
of the other ziggurats are
earthy brown.

595
00:37:31,521 --> 00:37:34,479
Ammar believes the discovery
of this ancient kiln

596
00:37:34,554 --> 00:37:37,599
nearby could explain
this stark difference.

597
00:37:46,601 --> 00:37:48,759
NARRATOR: Ammar suspects
the red bricks for

598
00:37:48,801 --> 00:37:51,719
the ziggurat could be made in
kilns like these.

599
00:37:52,921 --> 00:37:56,239
He works with
a brickmaker, Achmed Hamza,

600
00:37:56,314 --> 00:37:58,039
to put his theory
to the test.

601
00:37:59,241 --> 00:38:00,719
They build
their own miniature

602
00:38:00,721 --> 00:38:02,999
kiln based on
the ancient design.

603
00:38:04,201 --> 00:38:06,599
The 30 mud bricks inside
have been baked

604
00:38:06,674 --> 00:38:09,319
for seven hours
and then left to cool.

605
00:38:34,881 --> 00:38:36,759
NARRATOR: The kiln-baked
red bricks are

606
00:38:36,801 --> 00:38:38,559
stronger than
the simple mud bricks

607
00:38:38,634 --> 00:38:40,199
across most of Kish.

608
00:38:42,401 --> 00:38:45,399
Their presence on the ziggurat
is striking evidence

609
00:38:45,441 --> 00:38:48,599
that a later civilization
rebuilds this monument.

610
00:38:51,921 --> 00:38:56,519
Ammar finds more evidence of
a later reconstruction at Kish.

611
00:39:05,441 --> 00:39:09,839
NARRATOR: Ammar searches for
clues of the new builders.

612
00:39:09,841 --> 00:39:12,439
He finds evidence
that the temple ruin next

613
00:39:12,481 --> 00:39:16,039
to the crumbling ziggurat is
also a later construction.

614
00:39:26,001 --> 00:39:29,039
[speaking foreign language]

615
00:39:34,201 --> 00:39:36,959
[speaking foreign language]

616
00:39:41,001 --> 00:39:43,959
NARRATOR: King Nebuchadnezzar
rules a mighty empire

617
00:39:43,961 --> 00:39:45,839
from his capital, Babylon,

618
00:39:45,914 --> 00:39:49,759
once the greatest city of
the ancient world, with its own

619
00:39:49,834 --> 00:39:53,319
mighty ziggurat and
the legendary hanging gardens.

620
00:39:54,281 --> 00:39:56,999
He rules from 605 BCE,

621
00:39:57,001 --> 00:39:59,319
long after Kish
is abandoned.

622
00:40:02,041 --> 00:40:05,399
Stephanie Dalley believes
King Nebuchadnezzar is attracted

623
00:40:05,401 --> 00:40:08,719
to the ruins of Kish
for a very particular reason.

624
00:40:10,001 --> 00:40:14,199
The patron god of Kish
was the war god Zababa.

625
00:40:14,201 --> 00:40:17,639
Now, the oracles of a war god
are specially useful,

626
00:40:17,641 --> 00:40:19,639
because when you're
setting off for battle,

627
00:40:19,681 --> 00:40:21,839
you need to know
if it's safe to do so.

628
00:40:21,914 --> 00:40:26,279
And so the oracle was very
much sought after.

629
00:40:26,354 --> 00:40:29,519
NARRATOR: King Nebuchadnezzar
honors Zababa by rebuilding

630
00:40:29,594 --> 00:40:31,439
his ziggurat,

631
00:40:31,514 --> 00:40:33,999
and Kish becomes
a vital accessory

632
00:40:34,001 --> 00:40:36,599
to the mighty
Babylonian Empire.

633
00:40:36,681 --> 00:40:40,959
STEPHANIE: Kish became
a military base for Babylon.

634
00:40:40,961 --> 00:40:42,839
NARRATOR:
Kish and its kings become

635
00:40:42,881 --> 00:40:45,959
a symbol of ultimate rule
in Mesopotamia.

636
00:40:46,921 --> 00:40:49,319
The legendary capital of
Kish rises

637
00:40:49,321 --> 00:40:52,319
from the riverbeds of
the mighty Euphrates

638
00:40:52,394 --> 00:40:55,599
to become one of the first
cities in the world.

639
00:40:57,961 --> 00:41:01,519
The kings of Kish are among
the world's first kings.

640
00:41:03,041 --> 00:41:05,519
They embody an idea
of monarchy

641
00:41:05,554 --> 00:41:09,239
that reverberates through
millennia to today.

642
00:41:09,241 --> 00:41:13,599
They build one of the earliest
royal palaces ever discovered

643
00:41:13,754 --> 00:41:19,039
and conquer foreign lands to
create the world's first empire.

644
00:41:19,881 --> 00:41:22,559
And with writing
and arithmetic,

645
00:41:22,634 --> 00:41:26,479
they create a legacy for us
5,000 years

646
00:41:26,554 --> 00:41:30,559
after the civilization
they build returns to dust.

647
00:41:32,041 --> 00:41:35,799
[dramatic music playing]