The Epic of Gilgamesh, from ancient Mesopotamia, survives in Sumerian poems dating to about 2100 BCE and in later Akkadian versions, making it the oldest surviving epic and one of the earliest works of literature. The best-known 'Standard' version is preserved on 7th-century-BCE tablets from the library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh, now in the British Museum.
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The Epic of Gilgamesh, from ancient Mesopotamia, survives in Sumerian poems dating to about 2100 BCE and in later Akkadian versions, making it the oldest surviving epic and one of the earliest works of literature. The best-known 'Standard' version is preserved on 7th-century-BCE tablets from the library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh, now in the British Museum.
The greatest age of the earliest surviving written text of a work of epic poetry.
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Limits Registry. LR-OLDEST-SURVIVING-EPIC-POEM. Oldest surviving epic poem. 2026.