Pizza History

The pizza got its famous name just short of Y1K,
But similar creations sure go back a longer way.
From paintings on some tombs of ancient Egypt, it appears
Their flatbreads could be covered up in cheese; that’s very near.
The Persian soldiers serving under Darius the Great
Were feeding on baked flatbreads that were topped with cheese and dates
And served upon their shields around 500 BCE.
(OK, that might be bogus, but it sure sounds good to me.)
Three centuries would pass; then Marcus Cato (not the younger)
Wrote down a cheesy recipe that’s apt to sate your hunger.
Another thousand years and we get flatbread in Provence
With onions, olives, anchovies—did pizza come from France?
We couldn’t trace the earliest for sure. Regardless, I
For one declare that pizza is my favorite kind of pie.