Alexander Romance was reportedly influenced by the Epic of Gilgâme (Gil-gaa-mesh), the first known piece of literary fiction, dating back to the Sumerians, about the quest for fame and mortality of one of the historical kings of Uruk around 2800 to 2500 B.C.E., pitting his free will against the heavenly will of the great gods.
Deciphering the cuneiform languages of the Great King Darius at Behistun openned the doors to the magnificent literature of the people of Near East, the Lands Between the Great Rivers, the cradle of civilization.
The earliest version in existence dated to 2150 B.C.E. and the magnificent epic poem was told and retold for entertainment in many versions by the Sumerian, Assyrian and Babylonian scribes, who preserved the story of Gilgâme, a two-thirds divine king of Uruk, "He who saw deep - the divine domain of the Great God Eâ." The epic poem was so well-known that it sufficed to mention it by its openning line etched on clay tablets and leave the rest to the rich oral tradition and the powerful memory of royal court and temple scribes to adopt it to the contemporary taste.
One of the more complete surviving versions in 11 tablets, found in the ruins of the Library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh in 1849, was edited by the Assyrian master scribe, Sin-liqe-unninni of 7th century B.C.E., who invited the listeners to "Come and see" his city, Uruk. His epic poem ended with him inviting the listeners again to come and see his city, walk up the steps, go up on the walls of Uruk, find the foundation stone and read the name of Gilgâme, thus the story began all over again.
The famous epic poem travelled to various royal courts, as well as around camp fires along ancient caravan roads and long sea voyages and eventually found its way into one of the Arabic tales of One Thousand and One Night, adopted from an earlier Persian tradition of Hezar Afsanah, A Thousand Tales.
Here are a few favorite lines from the Epic of Gilgâme:
"il-su-û amee qaq-qa-ru i-pul ina bi-ri-su-na az-za-zi a-na-ku..."
"Heaven cried out, earth replied, Between them, I was standing..."