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).
Sîn-lēqi-unninni
Sîn-lēqi-unninni ( ) was a "mašmaššu" who lived in Mesopotamia in the period between 1300 BC and 1000 BC. In literary circles, however, he is remembered for having compiled the best-preserved version of the "Epic of Gilgamesh". His name is listed in the text itself, which was unorthodox for works written in cuneiform. His version is known by its "incipit," or first line "Sha naqba īmuru" ("He who saw the deep" or "The one who saw the Abyss"). The extent to which his version is different from earlier texts is unknown; George argues that Sîn-lēqi-unninni "gave [The "Epic of Gilgamesh"] its final, fixed form".