Iraq is home to the ancient city of Uruk, where early writing developed.
Uruk was a major Sumerian city in southern Mesopotamia, located near the Euphrates in modern Iraq. It became one of the world’s first large urban centers and is associated with major advances in administration, monumental architecture, and writing. The archaeological site is known as Warka.
The earliest writing at Uruk developed from accounting systems using clay tokens and impressed signs. Over time, these marks became cuneiform, which was used to record commodities, labor, and institutional transactions. This development helped create durable written records.
Uruk is also the legendary city of Gilgamesh in the Epic of Gilgamesh. It should not be confused with Ur, another important Sumerian city farther south. Both were in ancient Iraq, but they were separate urban centers.