The Epic of Gilgamesh is a classic composition from early Mesopotamia that is usually considered as the eldest remaining famous craft of literature. The literary story of Gilgamesh starts with five Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, beginning of the Third Dynasty of Ur (c. 2100 BC). These sovereign novels were next used as root material for a merged poem. The first surviving tale of this merged poem, known as the "Old Babylonian" version, dates to the 18th century BC and is titled after its incipient, Shūtur Eli sharrī. Only a few records of it have lasted.
