fragments dated to the times between the Old Babylonian epic and the new canonical edition, though it can be assumed that it cannot be more recent than 1150 BCE due to the absence of references to either Marduk or Assur, the main Mesopotamian gods in the first millennium BCE. The Humbaba narrative occupies the fifth tablet, with copies recovered from Nineveh (Neo-Assyrian) and Uruk (Late Babylonian). Furthermore, in 2011 the Sulaymaniyah Museum acquired another example, dated to the Neo-Babylonian period and identified as a fragment of Epic of Gilgamesh by Farouk Al-Rawi, who subsequently prepared a translation alongside Andrew R. George, with additional help from Kamal Rashid Rahim, the director of antiquities in Sulaymaniyah, Hashim Hama Abdullah, the director of the Sulaymaniyah Museum, and other staff members of the latter institution. In the Standard Babylonian edition, Humbaba is first mentioned when Gilgamesh proposes a journey to the cedar forest to Enkidu, similarly as in older narratives. Enkidu is initially reluctant, and describes Humbaba as a fearsome being assigned to his position by Enlil: However, eventually the two heroes decide to embark together. While leaving, Gilgamesh mentions Humbaba announcing his plans to the inhabitants of Uruk: After a long journey Gilgamesh and Enkidu reach the cedar forest. After entering it, they hear Humbaba’s roar, which compared to the voice of Adad, the Mesopotamian weather god. A detailed description of his dwelling is preserved on the Sulaymaniyah copy, and constitutes one of the only known passages in Mesopotamian literature focused on landscape. It highlights the beauty of the entangled trees and states that the entire area was scented with cedar resin. Al-Rawi and George note that in light of the following passage, Humbaba himself is portrayed not as a “barbarian ogre”, but rather as a foreign ruler enjoying music in his court much like how a Babylonian king would, though the musicians entertaining him are animals rather than humans, reflecting a motif well attested in Mesopotamian art: In a broken passage, Humbaba learns about the arrival of intruders in his forest, seemingly guesses that one of them must be Enkidu, who he already met in the past, and possibly expresses joy about their reunion. After a lacuna, the story resumes after the confrontation between the protagonists and Humbaba has already begun. The latter criticizes Gilgamesh for coming to his forest, declaring that he was following the “advice of an idiot fellow”. He