Debate poems were common in Mesopotamian Sumerian - language literature ( first half of the 3rd millennium BC ) .
Were part of the tradition of Arsacid and Sassanid Persian literature ( third century BC - seventh century AD ) , continued in later medieval Islamic Persian literature .
Debate poems were common in Mesopotamian Sumerian - language literature ( first half of the 3rd millennium BC ) and were part of the tradition of Arsacid and Sassanid Persian literature ( third century BC - seventh century AD ) , continued in later medieval Islamic Persian literature .