A joint research team from the British Museum and Iraqi authorities has uncovered the world’s oldest bureaucratic administrative system through 2,300-year-old clay tablets found at the site of Girsu in southern Iraq, which was once part of the Akkadian Empire.
According to The Guardian, these clay tablets reveal a sophisticated administrative system that included population statistics and detailed records of daily events, such as animal deaths, across the empire, showcasing the advanced state of governance at the time.
Sebastien Rey, director of the Girsu excavation project, described the discovery as “the first administrative documents in history,” proving that the Akkadian Empire was the first in the world to implement a comprehensive bureaucratic system to manage its affairs.
Experts consider this discovery a turning point in understanding the evolution of administrative systems in ancient civilizations. A report by Medium suggested that these documents will reshape researchers’ perspectives on governance in antiquity, while The Guardian described them as “the first official records of a documented civilization in history.”
