Epic of Gilgamesh
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. The first modern translation was published in the early 1870s by George Smith. Smith then made further discoveries of texts on his later expeditions, which culminated in his final translation which is given in his book "The Chaldaean Account of Genesis" (1880).
Armas Salonen
Salonen received his PhD in 1950. From 1949 to 1978 he held the position of associate professor of Assyrian and Semitic Philology at the University of Helsinki. His research interests focused on the material culture and everyday life of Mesopotamia, such as its watercraft, vehicles and doors; a large part of his work consists of thematic glossaries of specialized terminology. He published the first Finnish translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh in 1943. He was also interested in the history of Persia and ancient Egypt, and had a command of Arabic. In 1957, together with Jussi Aro, he published the first Finnish translation of the Quran.