The Sumerian king Gilgamesh, celebrated in one of humanity's oldest literary documents, is primarily associated in the 21st century with the civilizational achievements of ancient Mesopotamia. However, his legacy also includes male dominance, ideological manipulation, and escalating conflicts. Against this "capitalist modernity," Abdullah Öcalan, the most prominent activist of the Kurdish liberation struggle, counters with the idea of "democratic autonomy." His historical-philosophical and civilization-critical work "Gilgamesh's Heirs," published in 2003, is now being reissued by UNRAST Verlag in a revised translation. In this work, Öcalan not only addresses the continuities of political-ideological power but also explores liberating renewals in social life from the early historical Sumerian priest-state.