"The Epic of Gilgamesh" is likely based on the life of a real historical king of Uruk—a Sumerian city-state in ancient Mesopotamia’s Early Dynastic Period (2900-2350 BCE). As such, he would have lived more than a millennia before the epic would have been transcribed onto the tablets that survive today. Most scholars agree that Gilgamesh lived between 2800 and 2500 BCE, based on contemporary inscriptions that mention the king, and a later text naming him as the one who built Uruk’s walls, among other factors. By the time his life was recorded in the Sumerian poems, Gilgamesh had become a deity and was worshiped in the region; in some places, he was viewed as a god of the underworld. These early tales were oral narratives sung at the royal court of the Third Dynasty of Ur at a time of literary revival in the Sumerian city of Ur.

By the Old Babylonian Period (1830-1531 BCE), a new Babylonian culture had emerged and thrived in the region, along with a return to teaching, transcribing, and preserving literary works. Gilgamesh’s adventures underwent a revival and modernization during this period, when the Babylonian scribe Sin-leqi-unninni recorded the tale. In this later—now classic—transcription, the scribe gave Enkidu the role of companion (rather than servant) and addressed more contemporary themes for the time including the role of the king and good governance, the purpose of a hero, and the elusive nature of mortality.