The Epic of Gilgamesh, said to be possibly the first great work of literature, is based on a real historical figure, Gilgamesh, the ancient king of the Sumerian city of Uruk (called Erech in the bible). The real King Gilgamesh was famed for being a great and wise warrior, as well as raising the city's six mile long walls and other buildings. He was worshipped long after his death, for more than two millenia. During that time he was considered to be an important part of ancient religion, history, and literature - until the fall of the Assyrian Empire, when Gilgamesh became a largely forgotten figure until another two millenia had passed. The Epic of Gilgamesh was written sometime before the Persians conquered Assyria and destroyed Ninevah, the capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire and once the largest city in the world. In the 19th century, many clay tablets containing cuneiform writings on them were excavated from the ruins of Ninevah, including those of the Epic of Gilgamesh. These were later translated, rousing the interests of many scholars and archaeologists. That's because the 11th tablet of the Epic contained the Sumerian story of the deluge, a story sharing many, many parallels with the Biblical story of Noah and his Ark. Many speculate that this story suggests that the author of the Bible's story had to have been familiar with the account depicted in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Others speculate that both stories refer to an even older source, and still others speculate that the underlying story involves events that happened around 5,000 B.C., when the Mediterranean overflowed due to melting glaciers, flooding a huge area around the Black Sea.