National Archives Center: Iraq possesses the first document written in history

The Iraqi National Center for Archives and Memory confirmed on Saturday that Iraq possesses the first written document in history, namely the Epic of Gilgamesh.

In a statement, the center said, "Iraq, represented by the Iraqi National Center for Archives and Memory, participated in the 49th World Congress of the International Federation of Audiovisual Archives/IFTA, which was hosted by the Italian capital, Rome, from October 28 to 31, 2025." The statement added, "The conference witnessed broad international participation, including representatives from seventy countries and one hundred and twenty companies specializing in radio and television archives."

The statement further noted that "the President of the Federation, Virginia Bazán Gil, expressed her great pleasure at Iraq's membership," emphasizing that "this membership represents a significant addition, given Iraq's historical standing as the first country to establish a television station in the Arab world, and its possession of a documentary heritage that covers the Middle East and the world." He noted that "Hassan al-Sudani, Director of the National Center for Archives and Iraqi Memory, delivered Iraq's address at the conference, emphasizing the historical depth of Mesopotamia," pointing out that "Iraq possesses the first written document in history, the Epic of Gilgamesh."

According to the statement, al-Sudani explained that "Iraq is striving today to reclaim its glory through a comprehensive development renaissance, and has taken serious steps to restore its visual heritage through an ambitious project that qualified it to participate in the recent Cannes Film Festival."

Al-Sudani announced "Iraq's readiness to cooperate with the International Federation of Audiovisual Archives, welcoming international support to recover what was looted from this heritage and preserve it for future generations."

The statement concluded by noting that "Iraq presented a specialized lecture on the steps for restoring visual archives and cooperation with French institutions. The lecture was delivered by director Warith Kuwaish, Director of the Iraq Cinematheque project, one of the projects of the National Center for Archives and Iraqi Memory."