Persian Culture

      Persians were probably Muslim because the Qur'an is quoted throughout their literature. They believed in not taking things for granted as shown by this quote from Gulistan: "a man does not appreciate the value of immunity from a misfortune until it has befallen him." They believed in living life to the fullest as shown by several of the poems in The Rubaiyat. "Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!" This is a quote from The Rubaiyat and it shows that the Persians loved and respected nature.

Gilgamesh and the Bible

    The story of the flood can be found in both Gilgamesh and the Bible. Both accounts are surprisingly similar. The basic plot of both stories is that a superior being or beings decide to destroy all man kind except for one man. This one man is told to build an ark and given specific instructions for how to do it. He is then told to bring two of each animal on Earth into the ark with him. The storm begins with the man, his family, and all the animals safe inside the ark. All  the people on Earth are destroyed. The flood eventually diminishes and the man sends out a bird to find dry land. Then the gods or God promise never to flood the Earth again. Both stories probably had a similar origin. A flood possibley occurred in history and was passed down orally. When the stories were finally recorded some details had been changed, but the basic plot line remained the same.