Read the following excerpt from the Epic of Gilgamesh. What does the phrase "this was the king who knew the countries of the world" suggest about the kind of government Gilgamesh ruled over? I will proclaim to the world the deeds of Gilgamesh. This was the man to whom all things were known; this was the king who knew the countries of the world. He was wise, he saw mysteries and knew secret things…When the gods created Gilgamesh they gave him a perfect body. Shamash the glorious sun endowed him with beauty…surpassing all others, terrifying like a great wild bull. Two thirds they made him god and one third man. The Epic of Gilgamesh
a. The government was a democracy.
b. The government was a monarchy.
c. The government was a patriarchy.
d. The government was a theocracy.

King and monarch are synonyms. "Monarch" means "one ruler" or "sole ruler." In a monarchy, a king or queen rules with supreme authority over a country or region. Gilgamesh is referred to as "the king who knew the countries of the world," so he is being described as a monarch. There are also elements of theocracy in the excerpt, since the gods create Gilgamesh as part divine and part human to rule over his kingdom. But the phrase "the king who knew the countries of the world" identifies the style of government mainly as monarchy.

The Epic of Gilgamesh comes from ancient Mesopotamia, dating back to around 2100 BC. It is one of the oldest surviving examples of ancient literature, a compilation of poems telling the story of Gilgamesh, king of the Mesopotamian city-state Uruk.