Kubaba

[5] The correct reading of the last sign in the theonym used as the second element of this theophoric name remains a matter of debate, with /u/ and /wu/ proposed in addition to /ba/.

[8] Gonzalo Rubio stresses that the name of the latter has no clear etymology and cannot be interpreted as originating in either Sumerian or any of the Semitic languages.

[9] It was written in cuneiform as dku-ba-ba or dku-pa-pa.[8] Arguments have been made that Kubaba might have been a historical ruler, though this view is not regarded as plausible today.

[1] Claus Wilcke points out that in the Sumerian King List Kubaba's reign is supernaturally long, lasting 100 years.

[11] It has been pointed out that the SKL does not accurately reflect Early Dynastic history, as indicated by the complete omission of Lagash, which was a major political power, especially during the reign of Eannatum.

[22] Accordingly, Kubaba's background is treated as fantastical, and has been compared to other unusual stories or members of various professions becoming kings in the same composition, including the fuller Susuda, the sailor Mamagal, and the stone worker Nanniya.

[26] The composition is focused on conveying the message that kings who neglected to worship Marduk were rendered powerless, and to that end employs a number of anachronisms,[27] this account being one of them.

[10] As noted by Beate Pongratz-Leisten, references to legendary rulers such as her, Gušur, Etana or Gilgamesh in works belonging to this category were meant to establish them as paradigmatic models of kingship.