The Mesopotamians, who lived centuries before the book of Genesis was written, had their own enthralling flood narrative, comparable to Genesis in many aspects but recounted in their own rich and unique culture's style and customs. This flood story is a subplot inside a bigger epic. The main plot concerns the war between two neighboring states, Ummanum (meaning "human" in Akkadian) and Adan (meaning "god" in Akkadian), which ends with Ummanum's destruction. They too began with the creation of man and earth. In their version, however, it was not God who created man in his image, but rather man who created himself. They too heard voices outside their paradise that something bad would happen if it wasn't done something way. And like the Bible's account, they too underwent a deluge as a result of what happened. Their story begins with Tiamat, a sea monster who married Apsu, one of her fellow monsters. They too had children, including Mummu and Shapash. When Tiamat found out that she was pregnant again, she tried to kill all of her children so that she could be the only one who survived. But Mummu and Shapash managed to escape her attack. After this incident, Mummu and Shapash decided to punish Tiamat by making her fight Ummanum for possession of the world.