Who was the very first monarch in history?

Throughout much of history, male rulers known as kings held immense power over civilization. Figures like William the Conqueror, Genghis Khan, and Tutankhamun were pivotal in shaping their worlds. From managing taxes to making decisions on religious matters and warfare, kings controlled critical aspects of life.

Considering the impact of these influential figures, one might wonder: who was the very first king to hold such power?

The answer to this question may be lost to the sands of time, as the earliest records of the first king might not have survived the ages. As Mark Munn, a history professor at Penn State University, explains in an email, it is 'possibly an unanswerable question.'

The main difficulty, of course, is the lack of complete historical records from 5,000 years ago documenting kings. There's also the challenge of understanding which ancient terms referred to what we consider kings today. For instance, in the region around Egypt, the term 'pharaoh' didn't come into use until approximately 1570 B.C.E.

The Sumerian King List

Some historians argue that Egypt may have been home to the first king, possibly Iry-Hor or Namer. They often reference the Sumerian King List, an ancient manuscript detailing the kings – both real and legendary – who ruled the region around modern-day Iraq. Discovered in the early 20th century, this text is so ancient that its earliest 'pages' are inscribed on cuneiform tablets.

"According to a later Mesopotamian tradition preserved in the Sumerian King List, the first king was Alulim, ruler of the city of Eridu. He reigned in a time before the great flood and is credited with a reign lasting 28,000 years," says Eckart Frahm, professor of Near Eastern languages and civilizations at Yale University, via email. "The same source also mentions the first king after the deluge, Gushur, who is said to have ruled the city of Kish for 1,200 years." The Sumerian King List shares striking similarities with the early chapters of Genesis, including the account of a great flood or deluge, which in the Bible involved Noah's ark.

The Sumerian King List is far from being a literal record. It combines history with legend, suggesting that the kings ruled for tens of thousands of years.

"Many of the individuals listed in the early portions of the Sumerian King List are obviously fictional, and this likely includes the previously mentioned Gushur and Alulim," says Frahm.

"Among the earliest rulers whose names appear in historical records are Me (or Ishib)-baragesi of Kish, Akka-Inannaka of Umma, and a figure called HAR.TU (pronunciation uncertain) from the city of PA.GAR (modern-day Tell Agrab). These rulers likely reigned around 2700-2600 B.C.E."

Me-baragesi is considered the first ruler of Mesopotamia (circa 2700 B.C.E.), with evidence of his reign found in inscriptions on vase fragments. As the leader of Kish, a northern Babylonian city, he is said to have defeated Elam (an ancient civilization in what is now Iran) and ruled for 900 years. Despite the improbable lifespan, Me-baragesi might be the first king in history.

However, Me-baragesi is not the only contender for this title.

"The first ruler whose reign we can reasonably trace is the one buried in Tomb U-j at Abydos," says John Darnell, Egyptology professor at Yale University, via email. This tomb dates back to approximately 3320 B.C.E. "Chronologically, he seems to have been the first ruler of what we call Dynasty 0, the unified kingdom of Upper Egypt, whose final ruler, Narmer, consolidated Upper Egyptian control over the north and founded the First Dynasty."

"The oldest surviving piece of recognizable royal regalia, a crook from the standard Egyptian crook and flail pair, was actually uncovered during the re-excavation of the tomb by the German Archaeological Institute in Egypt (DAIK). The burial also contained numerous marking systems, including a series of inscribed bone labels."

King Scorpion

Darnell explains that researchers are still working to decipher parts of their discoveries, which could represent some of humanity's earliest writing systems. Ultimately, these findings may point to a significant battle that led to the rise of a unified civilization, ruled by a man who may or may not have been named Scorpion. (A tableau Darnell uncovered at the Gebel Tjauti site in the Theban Western Desert of Egypt features a carving of a scorpion above a falcon, a symbol that could signify either 'king' or the god Horus in Egyptian history.)

Darnell, who has dedicated decades to studying Egyptian history, asserts that "Scorpion" is "the earliest ruler for whom we can assign a designation, if not a personal name, whose reign is marked by observable events, and whose physical remains are somewhat preserved in his burial at Tomb U-j."

Darnell further notes that another inscription his team uncovered points to early royal authority. The large-scale el-Khawy inscription shares the same paleographical date as the Gebel Tjauti inscription and highlights the monumental use of hieroglyphs at the script's dawn.

"That inscription seems to include one clear phonetic sign — akh, 'luminosity,' represented by the sign of the bald ibis," he adds. "It also establishes a link between royal power and solar order, marking it as the first known expression of divine kingship."

Indeed, many early kings claimed authority from the gods as a justification for their rule. Frahm further explains that many Mesopotamian kings even proclaimed themselves to be gods, although this belief was eventually abandoned, "perhaps because rulers often appeared all too human in the eyes of their subjects."

Frahm suggests that the origins of kingship can be traced back to the need for organizing labor. In ancient Mesopotamia, a variety of workers including farmers, craftsmen, shepherds, and traders were required, making such organization crucial.

"In order to manage this system, a class of administrators developed – diverting a portion of the rural wealth to benefit themselves," Frahm explains. "The individual at the top of this administrative hierarchy – and likely in command of military forces protecting the economic activities – would come to be viewed as 'king.' To justify the economic disparity embedded in this structure, a royal ideology was established that portrayed kingship as a divinely ordained system."