<P> The Epic of Gilgamesh ( / ˈɡɪlɡəˌmɛʃ / ) 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 ( c. 2100 BC ) . These independent stories were later used as source material for a combined epic . 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 Kings '' ) . Only a few tablets of it have survived . The later `` standard '' version dates from the 13th to the 10th centuries BC and bears the incipit Sha naqba īmuru ( `` He who Saw the Deep '' , in modern terms : `` He who Sees the Unknown '' ) . Approximately two thirds of this longer , twelve - tablet version have been recovered . Some of the best copies were discovered in the library ruins of the 7th - century BC Assyrian king Ashurbanipal . </P>
<P> The Epic of Gilgamesh ( / ˈɡɪlɡəˌmɛʃ / ) 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 ( c. 2100 BC ) . These independent stories were later used as source material for a combined epic . 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 Kings '' ) . Only a few tablets of it have survived . The later `` standard '' version dates from the 13th to the 10th centuries BC and bears the incipit Sha naqba īmuru ( `` He who Saw the Deep '' , in modern terms : `` He who Sees the Unknown '' ) . Approximately two thirds of this longer , twelve - tablet version have been recovered . Some of the best copies were discovered in the library ruins of the 7th - century BC Assyrian king Ashurbanipal . </P>
where did the epic of gilgamesh come from
where did the epic of gilgamesh come from
ancient Mesopotamia
ancient Mesopotamia