4. 4000-1000 BCE Women in the First City-States
Emerging hierarchies in the city-states changed women's roles forever, but city-states were not all the same. Some gave women greater social respect than others. It's important to dive into these nuances and the roles that women did play in the city-states.
How to cite this source?
Remedial Herstory Project Editors. "4000-1000 BCE - WOMEN IN THE FIRST CITY-STATES." The Remedial Herstory Project. November 1, 2025. www.remedialherstory.com.
The earliest cities appeared around 3500 BCE in Mesopotamia, modern day Iraq. This was the first of many river valley civilizations that would appear across the world, including the Nile, Indus, and Yellow River Valleys. These new complex societies led to more sophisticated urban life and bureaucracy in emerging city-states. Thousands of people lived in the cities, and class and gender distinctions arose. The need to account for ownership of resources led to the rise of written language, and therefore recorded history (a history to which women were central!).
The establishment of hierarchies in some societies led to the erosion of equality and a decline in women’s status. Surplus allowed some people to generate large amounts of excess food and other items, and as a result, class differences emerged, rank became normal and natural, enslaved laborers performed many back-breaking tasks, and women and their work diminished in value. Surplus grain also led to the rise of property and therefore property rights, which in most places were bestowed to men.
The status of women plummeted as a result of societies becoming more complex leading to the rise of the “patriarchal ideal” which “regarded men as superior to women and sons preferable to daughters." In many cases, women were considered a variety of property. Women, because of increased fertility, labored longer in domestic life, which eventually resulted in women’s domesticity becoming the norm. Women were defined through their relationships, and men regulated the social and sexual lives of the women in their families.
Gender and gender expression remained a significant part of how a person lived his or her life. One historian explained: “No division of human society has held greater significance for the lives of individuals as those of sex and gender.”
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Mesopotamia
The city-states in Sumer, in the Middle East, emerged around 3500 BCE. They are believed to have been the first in world history. These cities housed tens of thousands of residents each, and they had comprehensive systems for managing property, trade, and exchange. Grain was hugely important to these early civilizations, as it provided stable food sources and calories. Farmers paid taxes in grain, which were stored by priests in store houses (for use by royals, priests, nobles) which possibly later became temples. Priests often managed and kept the grain reserves and recorded ownership. Thus emerged the earliest writing, highlighting the importance of record-keeping in ancient societies.
The world’s first known priest was a woman, Enheduanna, who lived around 2300 BCE. Enheduanna authored the oldest surviving religious text, a hymn honoring the Sumerian goddess, Innana. Throughout the Sumerian city-states, women were permitted to be priests, but generally only wealthy girls attended schools and therefore obtained the training needed to become a priest. Thus, class greatly affected women’s lives.
People married to secure stable family units. Literature and poems from the time discuss romantic and loving relationships, but these would have been uncommon matches. Mesopotamian families were mostly interested in the family unit and its protection, so a wealthy and healthy match was the ideal.
In times of desperation, poor families would sometimes sell their daughters into slavery or prostitution, but these roles looked slightly different from how we think of them today. While slavery placed huge restrictions on people’s individual liberty and autonomy, enslaved people were often regarded more as servants and were able to potentially earn their freedom. Likewise, prostitutes did not live the degrading life often associated with it today. Instead, prostitutes had an income and sometimes would serve a spiritual role in the temples.
Some women engaged in trading and selling cloth, perfume, and incense, and performing midwifery. Weaving and selling cloth produced immense wealth for Mesopotamia and temples employed thousands of women in making cloth. Women also owned and ran taverns which gave them wealth and influence in their communities. They also helped with food production, brewing beer and wine. The role that women played in this is exemplified by the Goddess Ninkasi, the patron of beer. A poem dating back to 2100 BCE praises her role: "Ninkasi the expert who redounds to her mother's credit. Her fermenting-vat is of green lapis lazuli, her beer cask is of refined silver and of gold. If she stands by the beer, there is joy, if she sits by the beer, there is gladness; as cupbearer she mixes the beer, never wearying as she walks back and forth, Ninkasi, the keg at her side, on her hips; may she make my beer-serving perfect.”
Evidence of slavery also exists in pre-civilization, but increased with the formation of the Mesopotamian city-states and organized warfare between them. Stayer and Nelson note that,
Female slaves, captured in the many wars among rival Mesopotamian cities, were put to work in large-scale semi-industrial weaving enterprises, while males helped to maintain irrigation canals and construct ziggurats. Others worked as domestic servants in the households of their owners. In all of the First Civilizations, slaves - derived from prisoners of war, criminals, and debtors - were available for sale, for work in the fields, mines, homes, and shops of their owners, or on occasion for sacrifice.
Carving of Enheduanna
Prostitution (n.), the practice or occupation of engaging in sexual activity with someone for payment.
Autonomy (n.), the right or condition of self-government.
Patron (n.), a saint or person who is chosen to intercede with God on behalf of a specific person, place, or group.
Kubaba
Kubaba was the first female monarch in recorded history, living between 2500 and 2330 BCE in Sumer. We know about her because she's on the Sumerian King List – not a queens list – which means she ruled outright, not as a regent or consort.
However, Kubaba’s existence and rule is debated, primarily because the list often blurs the line between historic fact and legend. Thus, some historians contend that Kubaba was more of a folk figure or legend than an actual ruler, while others indicate that some of the speculation around her is driven specifically by her gender. Thus, her reign is speculative, but even if she was a figure created as part of a cultural origin story, it is still important to consider why this society would then choose to fabricate such a female figure.
The Sumerian King List describes Kubaba as, "the woman Tavern keeper who made firm the foundations of Kish." Thus, it is believed that she rose to power after being a tavern keeper; a position that in itself holds a lot of power, providing shelter, food, and building relationships. Another ancient text, known was the Weidner Chronicle, details that,
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,note the tavern-keeper [...] Kubaba gave bread to the fisherman and gave water, she made him offer the fish to Esagila. Marduk [Mesopotamian god of creation, justice, and patron of the city of Babylon], 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.
She was said to have ruled for 100 years - adding to the controversy about her reign’s authenticity - and is believed to have fortified the city and made it very strong. After her rule, leadership passed to her son and later her grandson, creating a dynasty, and her epitaph is also longer than most kings’, revealing her significance.
Further, this woman who existed, faded, and 1000 years later reemerged in the Hittite period, as a divine goddess-like being in the region of Syria. Kubaba became the great mother of gods and she still boasted a cult of worshipers as late as 3000 years after her death. The prefix “ku” means “holy” and “baba” means “father.” making her "Holy Father."
Kubaba relief
The Epic of Gilgamesh and Ishtar
The oldest story in the world was written in ancient Mesopotamia between 2900 BCE and 2350 BCE. It is called The Epic of Gilgamesh. The tale itself discusses the role of women in “civilizing men,” especially the central figure Shamhat, a temple prostitute.
The king, Giglamesh, represents settled life and “civilization,” as he comes from the walled city of Uruk and battles with a beast-man to prove his superiority. The beast-man, named Enkidu, who is hairy, unwashed, runs with the beasts of the wild, and has never had bread or beer - the symbols of civilization - comes to King Gilgamesh’s city. Before their epic battle, Shamhat, the prostitute, tames Enkidu through sex. Sometimes “tamed” is referenced as “weakened,” other times, it is in the sense of making him more human. Once tamed, she then brings him to the shepherds where he learns how to domesticate beasts. He eats bread, drinks beer, washes, wears clothes, and falls in love - all as part of his growing humanity.
After being tamed, however, he hears of Gilgamesh’s oppressive nature, which includes sleeping with new brides on their wedding day as a sign of his power over the people in his kingdom. Enkidu rushes to Uruk and blocks the new bride’s bedchamber when Gilgamesh attempts to enter. This leads to a thunderous battle between the two in which Gilgamesh eventually wrestles Enkidu to the ground but the two emerge as sworn friends. The Epic of Gilgamesh tells tales of their heroism and adventures together, including numerous battles and encounters with supernatural beings. The two heroes are often troubled by or assisted by jealous or helpful gods and goddesses, including the goddess Ishtar and the goddess Ninsun (Gilgamesh’s mother).
Hammurabi’s Code
The first legal codes were recorded almost a millennium later in 1800 BCE under another epic king - King Hammurabi of Assyria. The code was carved into stones throughout the empire, visible to all. He likely didn’t invent these laws, but rather recorded common practices from the region. Most of the laws were about crimes and relationships and followed an “if, then” pattern providing a clear and “just” consequence.
For women, these laws offered some protections, but also codified their subordination. For example, if a man killed a pregnant “maid-servant,” he was punished with a fine, but if he killed a “free-born” pregnant woman, his own daughter would be killed in retribution. In an even greater extreme, if a baby died in a nursemaid's care, she could have her breasts cut off.
Under this code, respectable women were those under the control of one man. They veiled themselves and rarely went outside. Disreputable women, such as slaves and prostitutes, were forbidden to wear veils as a symbol of their inferior status. Thus, veiling became a status symbol among women.
According to laws 137 to 143, women who neglected their husbands would be thrown into water and drowned. Men who did the same would only have to pay back the dowry, and even then, only if she had produced children. Men had extramarital relationships with maid-servants and slaves, but women who did similarly were often drowned. Even in situations where both people were at fault, women's sexuality was heavily regulated, and a woman accused of adultery - with or without evidence - had to prove her innocence in dangerous rituals. However, some laws also show concern about caring for abandoned women and children during wartime.
Nile River Valley
The city-states of the Nile River Valley seem to have been somewhat less patriarchal than their neighbors. Women had similar legal status and rights as men, were able to divorce and run businesses, but social pressure may have prevented them from exercising those rights. Women and men are often depicted in art in loving embraces that appear mutual. Mesopotamian and Egyptian rulers engaged in diplomacy. Mesopotamian rulers were accustomed to marrying their daughters off to establish peace between states, but Egyptians found this oppressive. One Egyptian diplomat wrote, "From ancient times the daughter of the king of Egypt has not been given to anyone." Egyptian women were even known to be pharaohs, which allows us to know a few specific women.
MerNeith was a queen consort and regent that lived around 2970 BCE. She may have ruled in her own right for a period of time as her tomb is similar to other Egyptian kings with a large underground chamber, graves for servants, sacrificial offerings, and a solar boat. Her name is also included in a list of pharaohs with the title "King's Mother." If she truly ruled in her own right, MerNeith would replace Kubaba as the first in recorded history.
Nefertiti is considered one of the most mysterious and powerful women in ancient Egypt, ruling from 1353-1336 BCE. She came to power as a favored consort of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Eventually she became his wife and is depicted alongside her husband with an unprecedented frequency. She gave birth to six daughters, and so her husband started taking on other wives to try to get a male heir, including his own sister.
Eventually Nefertiti and Akhenaten made a politically problematic move to replace Egypt’s polytheistic faith in many gods with monotheism under the Sun God called Aten. This caused such an uproar they had to move the capital 250 miles away to secure their power in the new city of Akhenaten.
Still, Nefertiti has been pretty much wiped from the historic record so some people think that maybe she died, but it's also possible that she ruled outright under a different name. Interestingly, no one has found her burial place which is unusual for a queen of her status. However, her husband also fathered the future King “Tut”who owes his fame to the stunning treasures that were buried with him and recently discovered. As Tut died in his teens, one theory is that his elaborate tomb (which certainly could not have been built in time for his premature death) was actually built for Nefertiti. In his chamber with him, there are even pictures that look like her so maybe that is where this powerful queen of Egypt rests?
Finally, Hatshepsut reigned between 1478-1458 BCE. She became queen of Egypt after marrying her half-brother at the age of 12. Then she became regent to her infant stepson Thutmose III when her husband died. Eventually, Hatshepsut assumed the title and full powers of pharaoh. She demanded to be portrayed in art with all the symbols of a pharaoh, sometimes including a fake beard. Hatshepsut was even laid to rest in the Valley of the Kings. Later kings tried to remove her from history, but clearly they failed.
Although the river valleys of the Tigris, Euphrates, and Nile Rivers were the first places where city-states emerged, they were not the only ones. Human migrations meant humans occupied much of the globe and had made their way across Asia to the Americas. From nomadic hunter-gatherer tribes, to sedentary permanent settlements, human civilizations flourished all over the world.
Patriarchal (adj.), relating to or characteristic of a system of society or government controlled by men.
Diplomacy (n.), the profession, activity, or skill of managing international relations, typically by a country's representatives abroad.
Pharaoh (n.), a ruler in ancient Egypt, akin to a king or emperor.
Queen Consort (n.), the female ruler of an independent state, especially one who inherits the position by right of birth.
Regent (n.), a person appointed to administer a country because the monarch is a minor or is absent or incapacitated.
Solar Boat (n.), a ritual vessel used to transport the deceased king across the sky with the sun god Ra.
Bust of Nefertiti
Yellow River Valley
Around 2100 to 1600 BCE, tribal groups consolidated to form more permanent city-states in the Yellow River Valley of China and created the early Chinese dynasty, the Xia Dynasty. It is most likely that this consolidation occurred because of the need to solve the problem of the dangerous floods and overflow from the Yellow River that would regularly wipe out villages and crops. The mythological Yu the Great, was credited with controlling the waters.
Consolidation meant a rise in patriarchal control, more authoritarian practices, and a dramatic decline in women’s status in the Yellow River Valley. Some cultures along the river had been egalitarian and matrilineal, but they rapidly disappeared because of violence and social upheaval. Ancient Chinese culture began its first steps toward a rigid ranking system that pushed women toward the bottom.
Chinese women adhered to a philosophy called the Three Obediences, which directed women to, “Be obedient to your father before marriage, your husband after marriage and your son when the husband dies.” Never mind the fact that she had literally created that man from her own body. Women had arranged marriages and were sometimes sold into slavery by their own fathers. Further, annually, a young woman was chosen to become the wife of the river god Zhanghe as a sacrifice to prevent disastrous flooding of the Yellow River.
Out of this early dynasty came a popular folk tale about a wise woman named Loawnu. The children of the town came running to her claiming the sky was falling. She smiled and as the town began preparation for the Spring festival where young teenagers met to find their spouses, she patched the sky with stars; just one of the women holding up the sky for her people over the ages.
Dynasty (n.), a line of hereditary rulers of a country.
Authoritarian (adj.), favoring or enforcing strict obedience to authority, especially that of the government, at the expense of personal freedom.
Matrilineal (adj.), of or based on kinship with the mother or the female line.
Indus River Valley
In South Asia, complex societies began to form in the Indus River Valley. While archaeology does provide powerful insights into the culture, little is known about these early city-states because there is no surviving readable language. Most of what is known comes from Hindu oral traditions and archeological evidence.
Surpassing their prehistoric counterparts around the world, Indian women enjoyed a comparatively high status during the early Vedic Period. Evidence of female clay figurines highlight the social and cultural role of women in that society. The hair styles, ornaments, and dress clearly indicate the prominence assigned to women at that time in what appeared to be a nearly egalitarian society. Bronze figurines of a “Dancing Girl” led scholars to think women had a variety of activities outside the domestic responsibilities, including dance.
Although the society was patriarchal and had a strict caste system, the abundance of powerful female goddesses and the existence of a female warrior class, shows that women were regarded with high status and respect. There was a prayer for a scholarly daughter and admiring texts for female academics. Vedic texts also reveal that women were honored and empowered both in traditional domestic spaces as well as in public spaces traditionally dominated by men.
Vedic Period (n.), (c. 1500 – c. 500 BCE) the period of Indian history when the Vedic religious texts were composed.
Caste System (n.), a rigid social structure where individuals are born into a specific social class which impacts social interactions, occupations, education, and more.
Reliefs at Mallikarjuna temple
Conclusion
Across the world, women’s lives in river valley civilizations were changing rapidly as societies settled and developed more sophisticated systems that often pushed women into subordinate status. What would happen to women as societies continued to become more complex? How would the influence of empires and monotheistic faiths impact the lives of women? And how would the treatment of women in these early city-states impact the treatment of women in the civilizations that followed?
