en found
up to the present time. The numerous fragments represent at least four
distinct copies, all belonging to the library of Ashurbanabal. To
Professor Paul Haupt we are indebted for a practically complete
publication of the fragments of the epic;[857] and it is likewise owing,
chiefly, to Professor Haupt that the sequence in the incidents of the
epic as well as the general interpretation of the composition has been
established.[858]

The center of action in the first tablets of the series and in the
oldest portions of the epic is the ancient city Uruk, or Erech, in
southern Babylonia, invariably spoken of as _Uruk supuri_, that is, the
'walled' or fortified Uruk. A special significance attaches to this
epithet. It was the characteristic of every ancient town, for reasons
which Ihering has brilliantly set forth,[859] to be walled.[860] The
designation of Uruk as 'walled,' therefore, stamps it as a city, but
that the term was added, also points to the great antiquity of the
place,--to a period when towns as distinguished from mere agricultural
villages were sufficiently rare to warrant some special nomenclature.
From other sources the great age of Uruk is confirmed, and
Hilprecht[861] is of the opinion that it was the capitol of a kingdom
contemporaneous with the earliest period of Babylonian history. A
lexicographical tablet[862] informs us that Uruk was specially well
fortified. It was known as the place of seven walls and, in view of the
cosmic significance of the number seven among the Babylonians, Jensen
supposes[863] that the city's walls are an imitation of the seven
concentric zones into which the world was divided. However this may be,
a city so ancient and so well fortified must have played a most
important part in old Babylonian history, second only in importance, if
not equal, to Nippur. The continued influence of the Ishtar or Nana cult
of Erech also illustrates the significance of the place. It is natural,
therefore, to find traditions surviving of the history of the place.

The first tablet of the Gilgamesh epic contains such a reminiscence. The
city is hard pressed by an enemy. The misfortune appears to be sent as a
punishment for some offence.[864] Everything is in a state of confusion.
Asses and cows destroy their young. Men weep and women sigh. The gods
and spirits of "walled Uruk" have become hostile forces. For three years
the enemy lays siege to the place. The gates of the city remain closed.