Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Water is a vital part of life, yet only 3% of the Earth’s water is fresh.
The earliest account of a war for water comes from the Sumerian poem ‘Gilgamesh and Aga’ from the ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’, composed around 2100–2000 BCE.
King Aga demands to enslave the subjects of King Gilgamesh of Uruk to dig wells for his city. Aga threatens to cut off Uruk’s water supply upstream on the Euphrates River if Gilgamesh refuses. A blend of historical record and mythology, the poem illustrates how important access to freshwater has been since early civilisations.
This tablet features in our exhibition “Thirst: In Search of Freshwater” which explores humanity’s vital connection with freshwater – an essential source of life and pillar of good health for people and planet. Find out more and plan your visit here: wellcome.info/thirst
[Alt text: Curator Janice Li holds a replica of a 4,000-year-old tablet in our exhibition "Thirst: In Search of Freshwater". Her retelling is illustrated by stone reliefs of King Aga and King Gilgamesh, and a map showing the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.]
Credit: Gilgamesh and Aga cuneiform tablet, Unknown maker, Old Babylonian (c. 1900–1600 BCE), present-day Iraq, Clay, Courtesy of the University of Manchester JRL 0931
Water is a vital part of life, yet only 3% of the Earth’s water is fresh.
The earliest account of a war for water comes from the Sumerian poem ‘Gilgamesh and Aga’ from the ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’, composed around 2100–2000 BCE.
King Aga demands to enslave the subjects of King Gilgamesh of Uruk to dig wells for his city. Aga threatens to cut off Uruk’s water supply upstream on the Euphrates River if Gilgamesh refuses. A blend of historical record and mythology, the poem illustrates how important access to freshwater has been since early civilisations.
This tablet features in our exhibition “Thirst: In Search of Freshwater” which explores humanity’s vital connection with freshwater – an essential source of life and pillar of good health for people and planet. Find out more and plan your visit here: wellcome.info/thirst
[Alt text: Curator Janice Li holds a replica of a 4,000-year-old tablet in our exhibition "Thirst: In Search of Freshwater". Her retelling is illustrated by stone reliefs of King Aga and King Gilgamesh, and a map showing the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.]
Credit: Gilgamesh and Aga cuneiform tablet, Unknown maker, Old Babylonian (c. 1900–1600 BCE), present-day Iraq, Clay, Courtesy of the University of Manchester JRL 0931
