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Kish (modern Tell al-Uhaymir) is an ancient Sumerian city that was governed by Emmebaragesi and his son Aga. They're mentioned in one of Gilgamesh's Sumerian legends, but not in the Akkadian one. The city's remains may be seen around 20 miles to the south of Bagdad. Aga of Kish sends ambassadors to Uruk to urge that the people labor as slaves excavating wells for Kish. The "City fathers" oppose Gilgamesh's proposal to rise against Aga and push him to surrender to Kish. Gilgamesh chooses to revolt because he is dissatisfied with their reaction.The people accept Aga's rebellion and choose Gilgamesh as Lugal. The struggle between Uruk and Kish, as well as the interactions between Gilgamesh and Aga, shed light on intercity politics, the nature of political structures, and the evolution of kingship. Some academics saw the story as a mirror of Sumerian-Semitic connections, a crucial but as-yet unresolved problem in ancient Mesopotamia history.

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The epic begins in Uruk, a city in Mesopotamia ruled by Gilgamesh in the 27th century BC. After a long journey to find immortality, Gilgamesh came home and found himself admiring the walls around his city, “They arrive at Uruk, the strong-walled city. Gilgamesh spoke to him…climb up to the wall of Uruk, inspect its foundation terrace, and examine well the brickwork;, see if it is not of burnt bricks; and did not see the seven wise men lay these foundation?” (Sander 31)There is a reason why the text begins and ends at the walls of Uruk. Gilgamesh’s ultimate goal was searching for eternal life; instead, he learned how to come to terms with his own mortality and limitations, and be content with what he had. Although Gilgamesh could not live forever, his legacy, deeds and wisdom are like those walls that will be remembered and survive the test of time.

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Kutha and the underworld are referenced indirectly as “the dwelling of Erkalla’s god” (Chapter 3 pg. 17 N.K. Sanders) Erkalla, also known as Irkalla or Ereshkigal in other mesopotamia texts, is goddess of the underworld, from “which none who enters ever returns' ' (Chapter 3 pg. 17 N.K. Sanders). The text references Kutha as one of “the dwelling [places] of Erkalla god”. Kutha or Cuth is the dedicated city of Nergal who is another deity of the underworld. Nergal is represented by Tell-Ibrahim which is located in modern day Iraq on the eastern branch of Upper Euphrates and northeast of Babylon. Although little was found during excavations, some mud bricks dating to Nebuchadrezzar II mention of Kutha. Although little is known about Kutha other than its temples being dedicated to Nergal, Kutha has historical significance as a sight used in everyday sumerian life but it also holds religious significance as a passage for the underworld deities in Gilgamesh

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“After twenty leagues they broke their fast; after another thirty leagues they stopped for the night. Fifty leagues they walked in one day; in three days they had walked as much as a journey of a month and two weeks. They crossed seven mountains before they came to the gate of the forest. - pg 9 ch 2 (N.K. Sanders)

Gilgamesh and Enkidu embark on the journey to the beautiful Cedar Forest located in modern day Lebanon; the living place of the gods and guarded by the demon Humbaba. They walk the equivalent “in three days as much as a journey of a month and two weeks” (Chapter 2 pg. 9 N.K. Sanders). They walk 50 leagues in one day, with a league being about three miles. This makes 150 miles walked a day or roughly 450 to 500 miles traveled over the course of the three days putting Gilgamesh within walking distance to Lebanon starting from Uruk. “They crossed seven mountains” (Chapter 2 pg. 9 N.K. Sanders) likely refers to the numerous mountains that can be found in Lebanon more specifically Mt. Hermon, which was also split upon the death of Humbaba. Lebanon also has numerous natural cedar forests making Lebanon the home to the Cedar Forest of the gods.

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The temple of Ellil was located in Nippur, northwest of Ur in contemporary Nuffar, Iraq. Gilgamesh travels to Ekur to beseech the god Ellil in Tablet 12 to retrieve the spirit of Enkidu from the underworld “he went off on his own to Ekur, Ellil’s temple” (Dalley 122). Ancient Sumerian culture held the belief that the gods themselves resided in their temples of the cities where they were patron gods. Thus, by traveling to Ekur, a significant “mountain house” in Nippur, Gilgamesh seeks to speak to Ellil directly. In tablet 5, Enkidu also invokes both Nippur and Ellil in order to convince Gilgamesh to slay Humbaba: “Ellil in Nippur, Shamash in Sippar, set up an eternal memorial…,” strengthening the god’s association with the ancient city (Dalley 75). In Ekur, the god Ellil might have been given physical form in the shape of a cult statue (Podany 20). Ekur was a particularly important religious center, believed to be the connection between the heavens and the Earth. The city itself may have been settled as early as 5000 BCE, and was a hub for literacy and religion in ancient Sumer. While Nippur and the temple of Ellil are real places, the Epic of Gilgamesh imbues them with mythical properties.

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Mashu Mountains
Mashu Mountain hasn’t been explicitly connected to geography, but references to the emergence of the sun “...he reached the mountain Mashu which daily guards the coming out [of Shamash]”, and Shamash being the Sumerian entity associated with the sun, suggests the mountain, whether real of fictional, lies to the East of Gilgamesh’s familiar territory, Ur (Dalley 96). The Zagros mountains are a potential inspiration for the mythical Mashu mountain, but the latter demonstrates unnatural properties in the poem: “Their upper parts touch the sky’s foundation, below, their breasts reach Arallu,” which can either be attributed to hyperbole or a physical connection to these mythological locations (Dalley 96). Shamash is depicted as rising between two mountains in the Adda seal (2300 BCE, Greenstone), strengthening his connection to mountains as a literal “seat of power”. The Epic of Gilgamesh often integrates these fictional locations with real geography and landmarks, including the axis mundi motif of high places and elevation bridging to the heavens seen in Ziggurats or mountains.

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In Chapter 4, Gilgamesh traverses through a tunnel in the Mashu mountains and comes upon a garden of precious stones on the other side. “There was the garden of the gods; all round him stood bushes bearing gems… for there was fruit of carnelian with the vine hanging from it, beautiful to look at; lapis lazuli leaves hung thick with fruit... For thorns and thistles there were haematite and rare stones, agate, and pearls from out of the sea. While Gilgamesh walked in the garden by the edge of the sea…” (Sander 22) Precious stones such as the ones mentioned in the passage, were treasured commodities among Ancient Sumerian societies. We see this demonstrated among the artifacts from the Royal Tombs of Ur dating c.2650 BCE, excavated under the British Museum and University of Pennsylvania in the 1920s. Out of the 1850 burials excavated only 16 included very extravagant items such as tools, weapons, headdresses, and jewelry made of precious materials like gold, lapis lazuli, carnelian, and agate. Precious stones such as these would have been imported into Ur from centers in modern day Afghanistan and settlements circling the Iranian Plateau which is bordered by mountain ranges, and the Persian Gulf to the South. While the garden of gems that Gilgamesh finds is fictional, it may most likely be based on the communities that lived along lapis lazuli trade routes circling the plateau.

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Shuruppak
Shuruppak is the ancient city which Utnapishtim originates from. In Chapter 5 of the Epic of Gilgamesh, Utanapishtim describes its location along the bank of the Euphrates River. “You know the city Shurrupak, it stands on the banks of Euphrates?” (Sander 26)In the Epic of Gilgamesh, all the residents of the city were killed in a great flood except Utnapishtim and his family which survived on a great boat. Shuruppak is located in modern day Tell Fara along the Euphrates south of Nippur, Iraq. Sites have been excavated by the University of Pennsylvania starting back in 1931 under Erich Schmidt. The site of the city dates from the Early to Third Sumerian Dynasty. Many artifacts were uncovered including burial remains, pottery, and cuneiform tablets to name a few.