The Third Dynasty of Ur, usually called Ur III, produced the earliest known written Sumerian Gilgamesh poems. These texts date broadly to about 2100–2000 BCE, centuries before the better-known Akkadian epic was compiled.
The Ur III period revived Sumerian royal and literary traditions after the Akkadian Empire and the Gutian period. Several poems connected with Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, belong to this early literary stream, including stories about his relationship with Enkidu and conflicts involving supernatural opponents.
These early poems are not simply an earlier version of the later epic. They are separate Sumerian compositions that were eventually adapted, combined, and reshaped in Akkadian tradition. The Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, familiar from the twelve-tablet tradition, is therefore a later literary development built partly from much older Sumerian material.