Uruk is the ancient Mesopotamian city traditionally associated with the earliest known written epic, the Epic of Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh is presented in the poem as a powerful king of Uruk. The surviving epic tells of his friendship with Enkidu, their adventures, Enkidu’s death, and Gilgamesh’s search for a way to overcome mortality. The story combines heroic adventure with reflections on grief, friendship, and human limits.
The earliest poems about Gilgamesh were written in Sumerian, probably during the late third millennium BCE. A later Akkadian version was assembled and copied across Mesopotamia. The best-known surviving edition comes from tablets found in the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal at Nineveh.
Uruk itself was one of the world’s earliest major cities. Its growth during the fourth millennium BCE is closely connected with urban administration, monumental architecture, and the development of writing.