The Epic of King Gesar (pronounced:ˈɡɛzər or ɡəˈzɑr in English; also spelled Geser, Ge-sar, Ge Sar, or Gisar) is the central epic poem of Tibet and much of Central Asia. With about 140 Gesar ballad singers surviving today (including singers of Tibetan, Mongolian, Buryat and Tu ethnicities), it is prized as one of the few living epics. The epic, believed to be approximately 1000 years old, concerns the fearless king Gesar, who ruled the legendary Kingdom of gLing (often simplified to the phonetic Ling).