1. Rosetta Stone
   Pyramid texts
2. Palermo Stone
   Code of Hammurabi

The Rosetta Stone was discovered by the French when they occupied Egypt in the 1790s. It's written in hieroglyphs and Ancient Greek and lists the accomplishments and rewards of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Ptolemy V Epiphanes issued it in 196 BC.

1. Tao Te Ching
   The Old Testament
2. The Vedas
   Torah

The four Vedas are the Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and the Atharvaveda. The scriptures lay the foundation for Hinduism, which is considered the world's oldest religion. The writings date back as far as 1700 BC.

1. Code of Lipit-Ishtar
   Draconian Law
2. Epic of Gilgamesh
   Code of Hammurabi

The Code of Hammurabi dates back to 1700s BC, and the "eye for an eye" law is probably the most famous of the 282 laws. The code also sets forth the concept of "innocent before proven guilty," and was created by King Hammurabi of Babylon.

1. Oath of Osiris
   Hippocratic Oath
2. Anitta Text
   Hittite military oath

The oldest existing fragments of the Hippocratic Oath date back to the 3rd century. Doctors around the world swear by the oath to this day, and it is believed to have been written in the 5th century BC. The most famous interpreted vow is "do no harm."

1. "Aeneid"
   "The Illiad"
2. "Inferno"
   "The Odyssey"

"The Illiad" is believed to be written by Homer and dates back to the 8th century BC. The poem tells the story of the Trojan War and its hero, Achilles. Along with "The Odyssey," the poems are considered the oldest existing works of Western literature.

1. Dresden Codex
   Paris Codex
2. Aleppo Codex
   Madrid Codex

The Dresden Codex, like most Mayan codices, is a folding book created with bark paper. It's written in hieroglyphs, numbers, calculations, calendars, descriptions, instructions and more. The book is 39 bark leaves with writing on both sides that total 78 pages.

1. "Tale of Two Brothers"
   "Poor Man of Nippur"
2. "Great Hymn to Aten"
   "Book of the Dead"

The "Book of the Dead" is a collection of texts written by many different authors over centuries. The texts are spells that were buried with the dead to help guide them through the underworld. About 200 independent books were eventually combined to create "The Book of the Dead."

1. Code of Nesilim
   Code of Ur-Nammu
2. Draco's Law
   Code of Hammurabi

The Code of Ur-Nammu dates back to 2100 BC in Mesopotamia and is written in Sumerian. It's considered the oldest surviving code of laws in the world. Some laws written on the tablet say the punishment for murder, robbery or infidelity is death.

1. "Republic"
   "Odes"
2. "Antigone"
   "Apology"

Plato's "Republic" was written in 380 BC. The book discusses moral and philosophical issues in the realm of society and politics and is one of the most influential works in the world. Some of the oldest surviving fragments of the work date back to the 3rd century.

1. "Poor Man of Nippur"
   "The Oedipus Cycle"
2. "The Tales of Two Brothers"
   "Fables"

Aesop's "Fables" are believed to be written by a Greek slave in the 6th century BC. There are 725 fables, and their authorship is often debated. The stories discuss the most important issues of morality and often feature animals and insects as the main characters.

1. Epic of Erra
   Book of the Dead
2. Palermo Stone
   Rosetta Stone

The Palermo Stone is one of several pieces of a much larger slab that dates back to the First Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. It is written in some of the oldest known Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and is housed in Palermo, Sicily.

1. "Inferno"
   "Tale of Two Brothers"
2. "Epic of Gilgamesh"
   "Epic of Erra"

The "Epic of Gilgamesh" was written in 1800 BC in Mesopotamia. It tells the story of King Gilgamesh, who goes on an epic journey across the world, trying to understand the meaning of life. It's written across a dozen clay tablets.

1. Pyrgi Tablets
   Legend of Etana
2. Anitta Text
   Code of Nesilim

These gold leaves are written in Etruscan and Phoenician and date back to the 6th century BC. The goddess Ashtaret was worshiped by people all around the area at the time. The text was discovered in 1964 on the southern coast of Italy.

1. "Code of Nesilim"
   "Epic of Gilgamesh"
2. "Tale of Two Brothers"
   "Epic of Erra"

Erra is the Akkadian goddess of chaos, and this stone amulet is supposed to protect against chaos and destruction. The story of Erra is called "The Epic of Erra," and it can be found written on five separate tablets.

1. Great Hymn to the Aten
   Code of Nesilim
2. Draconian Constitution
   Code of Hammurabi

Today, the word "draconian" means excessively harsh, and it stems from the Draconian Constitution (aka Draco's Code). Legend has it the punishment for stealing a piece of fruit was death, and the laws were written in blood.

1. Legends of Etana
   Edwin Smith Papyrus
2. Ebers Papyrus
   Kahun Papyrus

The Edwin Smith Papyrus is a 15-foot scroll that describes 48 medical ailments from fractures and dislocations to wounds and tumors. It was one of the first to make medical diagnoses based on science instead of magic, and it dates back to 1650 BC.

1. "Instruction of Amenemope"
   "Epic of Gilgamesh"
2. "Book of the Dead"
   "Great Hymn to the Aten"

The "Instruction of Amenemope" was written during the 20th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. The book contains many chapters of wise teachings meant to help guide readers through life. Amenemope wrote the guide to honor his son.

1. Lapis Niger
   Kultepe Texts
2. Codex Vaticanus
   Anitta Text

Lapis Niger translates to "black stone" in Latin, and it survived from Ancient Rome. The inscription is written in Old Latin, and it used to be part of the primary meeting space of Ancient Rome. It dates back to the 5th century BC.

1. "Metaphysics"
   "Aeneid"
2. "Apology"
   "Oedipus Rex"

The Oedipus Cycle consists of three stories written by Sophocles in the 5th century BC. The stories tell the tale of a man named Oedipus, who is told he cannot control his fate but does not believe it. He ends up learning it the hard way.

1. Hittite military oath
   Amarna Letters
2. Book of the Dead
   Papyrus of Ani

The Amarna Letters consist of almost 400 clay tablets that describe back-and-forth between the governments of Ancient Egypt and Canaan. The tablets date back to the 1300s BC and are written in Akkadian instead of Egyptian.

1. "Antigone"
   "The Prince"
2. "The Art of War"
   "Tao Te Ching"

"The Art of War" is one of the most influential books not just in military strategy, but politics, business, and life in general. It dates back to the 5th century BC and is believed to be written by Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu.

1. Amarna Letters
   Code of Hammurabi
2. Dead Sea Scrolls
   Book of the Dead

It's believed the Dead Sea Scrolls date back to the third century BC, but the exact dates of each scroll widely vary. The longest manuscript reaches almost 30 feet long, and the scrolls are mostly copies of the Old Testament.

1. Kahun Gynaecological Papyrus
   Ebers Papyrus
2. Hippocratic Oath
   Edwin Smith Papyrus

This text is the oldest surviving medical text from Ancient Egypt and dates back to 1800 BC. It consists of more than 30 sections that all deal with female medical issues from disease to pregnancy. The text does not describe any medical procedures. It's more along the lines of magic.

1. Hippocratic Oath
   Epic of Gilgamesh
2. Hittite military oath
   Code of Nesilim

Military officers responded, "so be it" when taking the vows of the Hittite military oath. The oath listed fates for those who broke any of the oaths. For example, any soldier who breaks their oath will see their weapons break in battle.

1. Papyrus of Ani
   Pyramid Texts
2. Coffin Texts
   Book of the Dead

The Pyramid Texts are some of the oldest texts in the world and date back to 2600 BC. They are Egypt's oldest religious texts, and they comprise of a bunch of spells that help the dead thrive in the afterlife.

1. Mari Letters
   Ebers Papyrus
2. Desert Texts
   Timbuktu Manuscripts

Timbuktu is in the middle of Mali but has become a misnomer for the middle of nowhere. The Timbuktu Manuscripts date back to the 13th century and the height of the Mali empire. The texts cover art, science, religion and more.

1. Epic of Erra
   Anitta Text
2. Aleppo Codex
   Codex Mendoza

The Codex Mendoza was created sometime between 1529 and 1553 and is broken into three sections. The texts and pictograms cover 200 years of Aztec history and list the rulers and the lands they conquered. The illustrations depict the daily life of the Aztecs.

1. "The Illiad"
   "The Odyssey"
2. "Diamond Sutra"
   "Aeneid"

The Diamond Sutra is one of the Buddhist Sutras and was discovered in 1900. The book is dated May 11, 868, making it, according to the British Library, the oldest dated book in the world. Most ancient texts are tablets, scrolls or incomplete books.

1. "Aesop's Fables"
   "Tao Te Ching"
2. "Sappho's Poems"
   "Zhuangzi"

Although the Tao Te Ching is written in 6th-century Chinese and has no punctuation, no case, no tense, no number, no gender and there is no difference between singular and plural words, it is one of the most widely translated texts in the world.

1. Draco's Law
   Code of Hammurabi
2. Code Nesilim
   Urukagina Code

Urukagina was a Mesopotamian ruler way back in 2400 BC, and his set of laws is considered to be the first example of recorded law code in the world. His laws spared women and orphans from paying taxes and forced rich people to use silver when buying from the poor.

1. Draconian Constitution
   Code of Hammurabi
2. Hittite military oath
   Sumerian King List

This specific tablet is called the Weld-Blundell prism and contains a list of Ancient Sumerian kings and their time of reign. The tablet even lists kings who reigned before the great biblical flood. The first ruler, Alulim, reigned for 28,800 years. The last ruler reigned for 23 years.

1. "Antigone"
   "Book of the Dead"
2. "Tale of Two Brothers"
   "Poor Man of Nippur"

This Egyptian fable tells the story of brothers Anpu and Bata, who love each other, hate each other, love each other again and eventually become rulers of the kingdom and live happily ever after. It's one of the more well known Egyptian fables.

1. Great Hymn to the Aten
   Pyramid Texts
2. Coffin Texts
   Papyrus of Ani

The Pyramid Texts are spells that helped Egyptian royalty thrive in the afterlife. The Coffin Texts are similar spells but were available to anyone who could afford to be buried in a coffin. The first coffin texts date back to 2100 BC.

1. Dresden Codex
   Four Books and Five Classics
2. Zhuangzi
   Tao Te Ching

This book is broken up into nine parts that analyze the teachings of Confucius. The Four Books focus on teachings from Confucius and conversations with others close to him. The Five Classics offer more historical context.

1. Ebers Papyrus
   Hippocratic Oath
2. Edwin Smith Papyrus
   Kahun Papyrus

The Ebers Papyrus is one of the best examples of Ancient Egyptian medical knowledge. It doesn't differentiate between science and magic the way the Edwin Smith Papyrus does. It correctly labeled the heart as the center of blood flow, but incorrectly labeled it for other functions.

1. Papyrus of Ani
   Great Hymn to the Aten
2. Tale of Two Brothers
   Amarna Letters

The Book of the Dead was written for select Egyptians. Over centuries, hundreds of them were compiled to create a collection of books that is also known as the Book of the Dead. Each book (or chapter) stands alone. The Papyrus of Ani is one of the more well-known books.

1. "Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor"
   "Anitta Text"
2. "Tao Te Ching"
   "Classic of Rites"

This ancient Chinese text is officially known as the Huangdi Neijing. The text contains 162 chapters of questions and answers that focus on diagnoses, medicine and acupuncture. It has formed the foundation for Chinese medicine for centuries.

1. "Book of the Dead"
   "Dynasty of Dunnum"
2. "Loyalist Teaching"
   "Codex Vaticanus"

"Codex Vaticanus" dates back to the 4th century, making it one of the oldest books in the world. It's regarded as the oldest version of the Greek Bible and has been housed in the Vatican for several centuries.

1. Dresden Codex
   Lament of Ur
2. Great Hymn to the Aten
   Poor Man of Nippur

This stone tablet dates way back to 2000 BC when enemies overtook the Sumerian city of Ur. There are more than 430 lines that describe how the gods wept after the destruction of the city. The text was discovered in the early 20th century.

1. "Republic"
   "Inferno
2. "Metaphysics"
   "Aeneid"

Virgil's "Aeneid" was written in the 1st century BC. Along with Homer's "Illiad" and "Odyssey," it's considered one of the most famous epics in western literature. Legend has it Virgil wanted his drafts of "Aeneid" to be burned when he died, but they were published instead.