In ancient Mesopotamian myth, Humbaba was a demon that was appointed by the gods as warden of the Cedar Forests. Humbaba is clearly a mythic precursor of Iblis, at least in terms of his role and the spirit of his narrative; as steward of the Cedar Forest, he was tasked with excluding humanity from it. The narrative is a warning against an excessive exalting of agency for mankind.
From "The Last Gasp of the Cedar Forests":
"In the Epic of Gilgamesh (one of the earliest works of literature, dating to about 1800 BC), the ‘Cedar Forest’ is a central location. The heroes Gilgamesh and Enkidu travel to the forest, where they kill its guardian, Humbaba. In celebration of getting rid of the guy who looked after the place, they cut down many cedars including one which was said to have been truly massive.
The tale is widely thought to be a memory of regional deforestation. In the several thousands of years since Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s rampage, virtually every empire in the Mediterranean-Middle East has mined the cedar forests for everything from boats, buildings, railway lines, or just incinerated them for charcoal. It’s hardly surprising that there aren’t many forests left.
It’s not clear just where the ‘Cedar Forest’ in the Epic of Gilgamesh was located. The Epic itself apparently says “Lebanon”, but there are opinions that what this referred to may even have been Kashmir. However, the most famous grove of cedars remaining today is in central Lebanon. The tiny forest lies on the edge of the town of Bsharri, on the western slopes of the Lebanon Mountains. It’s possible to fly into Beirut and get to the trees in the same day."
