what language was the epic of gilgamesh written in originally
Sumerian
title: Epic of Gilgamesh text: Epic of Gilgamesh The Epic of Gilgamesh () is an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia that is often regarded as the earliest surviving great work of literature. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian poems about Bilgamesh (Sumerian for "Gilgamesh"), king of Uruk, dating from the Third Dynasty of Ur (). These independent stories were later used as source material for a combined epic in Akkadian. The first surviving version of this combined epic, known as the "Old Babylonian" version, dates to the 18th century BC and is titled after its "incipit", Shūtur eli sharrī ("Surpassing All Other title: Epic of Gilgamesh text: the standard Akkadian version, or "He who saw the deep", and the Old Babylonian version, or "Surpassing all other kings". Five earlier Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh have been partially recovered, some with primitive versions of specific episodes in the Akkadian version, others with unrelated stories. The standard version was discovered by Hormuzd Rassam in the library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh in 1853. It was written in a dialect of Akkadian that was used for literary purposes. This version was compiled by Sin-liqe-unninni sometime between 1300 and 1000 BC from earlier texts. The standard Akkadian version has different opening words, or title: Epic of Gilgamesh text: is featured in works of popular fiction. Distinct sources exist from over a 2000-year timeframe. The earliest Sumerian poems are now generally considered to be distinct stories, rather than parts of a single epic. They date from as early as the Third Dynasty of Ur (). The Old Babylonian tablets (), are the earliest surviving tablets for a single "Epic of Gilgamesh" narrative. The older Old Babylonian tablets and later Akkadian version are important sources for modern translations, with the earlier texts mainly used to fill in gaps (lacunae) in the later texts. Although several revised versions based on new title: Epic of Gilgamesh text: discoveries have been published, the epic remains incomplete. Analysis of the Old Babylonian text has been used to reconstruct possible earlier forms of the "Epic of Gilgamesh". The most recent Akkadian version (), also referred to as the standard version, consisting of twelve tablets, was edited by Sin-liqe-unninni and was found in the Library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh. The "Epic of Gilgamesh" was discovered by Austen Henry Layard, Hormuzd Rassam, and W. K. Loftus in 1853. The central character of Gilgamesh was initially reintroduced to the world as ""Izdubar"", before the cuneiform logographs in his name could be pronounced accurately. title: Gilgamesh text: man's vain but endless drive for fame, glory, and immortality". By the Old Babylonian Period ( 1830 – 1531 BC), stories of Gilgamesh's legendary exploits had been woven into one or several long epics. The "Epic of Gilgamesh", the most complete account of Gilgamesh's adventures, was composed in Akkadian during the Middle Babylonian Period ( 1600 — 1155 BC) by a scribe named Sîn-lēqi-unninni. The most complete surviving version of the "Epic of Gilgamesh" is recorded on a set of twelve clay tablets dating to the seventh century BC, found in the Library of Ashurbanipal in the Assyrian capital of