the imperial period, and compares it to the stone giant Ullikummi taunting his adversary, the Hurrian weather god Teshub, in one of the myths belonging to the Kumarbi Cycle. A description of a fight follows. It contains elements absent from the Akkadian original, namely Gilgamesh and Enkidu dragging Humbaba by the hair, as well as apparent involvement of animals referred to simply as unidentified “equids” by Mary R. Bachvarova but as “posted horses” by Beckman in a more recent treatment of the text. Gilgamesh is then temporarily incapacitated by a dust cloud and asks the Sun god of Heaven for help, receiving nine (rather than thirteen, like in the Akkadian version) winds as a result, which leads to the immobilization of Humbaba, who offers to become his slave: However, Enkidu advises him to show no mercy. Humbaba's death is not directly described in the surviving fragments, but it is agreed that like in other versions of the narrative, he was killed, as the event is referenced later on. When the gods discuss the deeds of Gilgamesh and Enkidu and determine the latter should be killed, the Sun god of Heaven argues in favor of sparing him as he acted on his behalf during the confrontation with Humbaba, while Anu considers this act unforgivable. Due to state of preservation of the tablets and the still imperfect understanding of the Hurrian language, the Hurrian versions of Gilgamesh myths are impossible to fully translate, though it is agreed that the colophon of one of the fragments refers to it as “the fourth tablet of Ḫuwawa; not finished”. Mary R. Bachvarova proposes that this composition might have reflected the perception of Humbaba as a “local hero”. She argues that due to being portrayed as an inhabitant of northern Syria, he might have been an appealing character to western audiences, which in turn lead to retellings emphasizing his role. Yoram Cohen considers this proposal difficult to evaluate, though he tentatively accepts the existence of hitherto unknown western Humbaba-centric narratives as a possibility. The presumed existence of a standalone Hurrian Humbaba narrative might also support the proposal that a now lost Akkadian epic focused on the confrontation between him and Gilgamesh existed, as originally proposed by Daniel E. Fleming and Sara J. Milstein. The surviving fragments presumably do not constitute a direct adaptation of any Mesopotamian work, and according to Beckman can instead be compared to