Sargon the great was one of the worlds earliest empire builders. Sargons rule from 2,334 to 2,279 bc the rule of sargon the great, from 2,3342,279 bc, was signified by sargon conquering the four corners of the known universe, with his repeated military campaigns for 56 years. The myth was written hundreds of years after naramsins life and is the poets attempt to explain how the gutians succeeded in conquering sumer. Throughout this acadian empire several kings, such. King sargon of akkadfacts and information national geographic.
Sargon of akkad, our favorite baby in a basket here at allmesopotamia. He ruled from a new capital, akkad, which the sumerian king list claims he built on the left bank of the euphrates. Biography of sargon the great, ruler of mesopotamia. One mesopotamian myth, a historiographic poem entitled the curse of akkad. Akkadians had long been understudies of the sumerians, whose civilization just south of akkad in mesopotamia had been thriving for a. Sargon of akkad biography facts, childhood, family. From humble roots, he created a golden age in mesopotamia. Sargon of akkad successfully united multiple sumerian citystates and conquered all of mesopotamia to form the akkadian empire. Sargon the great, ruler of the akkadian empire, remained one of the most loved figures in mesopotamian culture long after his death. A brief look at sargon of akkad, an akkadian whose conquests of the sumerian plain have led many scholars to cite him as one of the earliest, if not the earliest emperors in history. During his reign from 23342279 bc, the country flourished.
High quality sargon of akkad gifts and merchandise. Naramsin is considered the most important ruler of the akkadian empire after its founder his grandfather sargon the. Sargon of akkad was an ancient mesopotamian ruler who reigned approximately 23342279 bc. History of mesopotamia history of mesopotamia ascendancy of akkad. Sargon of akkad and nimrod parallel lives, also bc. The epic reign of sargon of akkad the great courses daily. Sargon of akkad also known as sargon of agade and sargon the great, reigned 2334 to 2279 bce, the founder of the akkadian empire, was a man.
Sargon of akkad, commonly known as sargon the great was an emperor who was once a member of the kish court who killed the king and usurping the throne before going on to conquer mesopotamia. Sargon of akkad timeline ancient history encyclopedia. Enheduanna she was the daughter of sargon, whom he placed as high priestess of ianna, at ur, through which he manipulated cultural and religious affairs from a distance. Sargon, king of akkad, reigned from 2334 to 2279 b.
The citizens of akkad were sargon s most trusted men, strategically placed throughout 65 different cities, in order to maintain presence throughout the empire. The akkadian empire was the first ancient empire of mesopotamia. All orders are custom made and most ship worldwide within 24 hours. The akkadian empire sargon of akkad conquers all sumer and becomes king of all mesopotamia. Sargon of akkad was a great mesopotamian ruler who people like to say created the first great empire and the story of his birth is much like the story of moses. Sargon of akkad invades the hattic region, fails to take hattusa.
Sargon was claimed to be the son of laibum or ittibel. From roughly 2334 to 2279 bce, he ruled a civilization called the akkadian. Sargon of akkad created the first empire through conquest. Sargon s vast empire is known to have extended from elam to the mediterranean sea, including mesopotamia, parts of modernday iran and syria, and possibly parts of anatolia and the arabian peninsula. A brief look at sargon of akkad, an akkadian whose conquests. No doubt, sargon whose name means the rightful king, contributed to the greatness of akkad that became the dominant political force in mesopotamia, and raised the akkadian state to the level of a welladministered empire.
Sargon created the first postal system, using clay envelopes. Sargon, who was also known as sharukkin, was the ruler of akkad in mesopotamia from 2340 to 2305 b. How did sargon of akkad influence ancient mesopotamian. Under the influence, perhaps, of an akkadian garrison at susa, it spread beyond the borders of mesopotamia. Sargon of akkad the great reigns over mesopotamia and thus creates the worlds first empire. Sargon the great was a ruler in mesopotamia who lived during the 23rd and 24th centuries bce. Sargon united the various citystates in the region and extended his rule to encompass much of mesopotamia. He was also a military innovator, contributing to ancient w.
From roughly 2334 to 2279 bce, he ruled a civilization called the akkadian empire, consisting largely of ancient mesopotamia, after conquering all of sumer southern mesopotamia as well as parts of syria, anatolia turkey, and elam western iran. In 2334 bc, king sargon of akkad founded one of the worlds greatest empires. This mesopotamian leader established a sprawling empire in his lifetime. The rise of sargon of akkad, who ruled from 2334 to 2279 b. He established the regions first semitic dynasty and was. The akkadian empire exercised influence across mesopotamia, the levant, and anatolia, sending military expeditions as far south as.
Sargon i was a king of the old assyrian period presumably named after sargon of akkad. He was born an illegitimate son of a changeling, which could refer to a temple priestess of the goddess innana whose clergy were androgynous. From humble beginnings, he rose to great power, conquering mesopotamia and parts of iran, turkey and syria. In the inscription, sargon styles himself sargon, king of akkad, overseer mashkim of inanna, king of kish. Sargon the great conquered the lands across southern mesopotamia, syria, anatolia. The increasingly large proportion of semitic elements in the population were in. Sargon of akkad s greatest influence on ancient mesopotamia was his introduction of the akkadian language. Familiar and legendary tales of a famous mesopotamian king in 2334 bc, king sargon of akkad founded one of the worlds greatest empires. Sargon of akkad, also called sargon the great, sarrukan and sharganisharri, was the founder and first king of the first ageold semiticspeaking empire of mesopotamia known as the sargonic dynasty. Sargon ii was a neoassyrian king named after sargon of akkad. The empire united akkadian and sumerian speakers under one rule. History of mesopotamia sumer and akkad from 2350 to 2000. Sargon, byname sargon of akkad, flourished 23rd century bc, ancient mesopotamian ruler reigned c. His empire was the first political entity to have an extensive, efficient, large.
The curse of agade is a story dated to the ur iii period of mesopotamia 20471750 bce though thought to be somewhat older in origin. The legend of sargon of akkad ancient history encyclopedia. He founded the akkadian dynasty and was the first ruler in history to win and hold an empire. Sargon of akkad simple english wikipedia, the free. Sargon i came from akkad and the first ever language was akkadian although sumerians wrote cuneiform. The driving force of that empire was the akkadians, so called after the city of akkad, which sargon chose for his capital it has not yet been identified but was presumably located on the euphrates between sippar and kish. Based on what we know about in history, he created the first empire in recorded history, making an empire along the mesopotamia river basin. Sargon shared his name with two later mesopotamian kings.
After the fall of sargon s dynasty about 2150 bce, the central iraq region was ruled by a state jointly composed of. Who was sargon and what was his contribution to mesopotamia. How did sargon become the most powerful ruler of mesopotamia. During sargon s 50year reign, he fought in 34 wars, using a core military of 5,400 men, the first true standing. Inspired designs on tshirts, posters, stickers, home decor, and more by independent artists and designers from around the world. Sargon the great sargon of akkad 23342279 bce was the first emperor who united a number of the mesopotamian citystates. Biography of sargon the great, ruler of mesopotamia thoughtco. Under akkad, the akkadian language acquired a literary prestige that made it the equal of sumerian. When did sargon of akkad unite all of mesopotamia making.
He is equally famous today as the father of the great poetpriestess enheduanna. Sargon the great of akkad was considered great for many reasons, but an unofficial reason im going to talk about in this blog post which echoes fathers day, albeit belatedly is that he might have even been a great dad to his daughter, enheduanna. Mesopotamian art and architecture mesopotamian art and architecture akkadian period. Not only did he found an empire, but he kept it operating smoothly with the innovative use at the time of akkadian bureaucrats installed in every conquered city. He built the akkadian empire, one of the first true empires in. It tells the story of the akkadian king naramsin reigned 22612224 bce and his confrontation with the gods, particularly the god enlil. After having employed for several centuries an indigenous script patterned after cuneiform writing, elam adopted. He was one of the earliest of the great empire builders.
For the first time, an empire arose on mesopotamian soil. Please do not contact the subjects of any of my videos, ever. Sargon s conquest began with sumer and stretched from the persian gulf to syria and the taurus mountains in southern anatolia or turkey. Again, i point you toward starrs article for a more comprehensive telling of this story and presentation of the case involving kubabas previous profession, but sargon of akkad usurped the throne of kish from urzababa, kubabas grandson, 31 years after her death. History of mesopotamia ascendancy of akkad britannica. Before sargon came to power, the primary language spoken and written in mesopotamia was sumerian, which was a language isolate, meaning that it was a language not related to any other. The first sargon is known as sargon of akkad, sargon the great or sarrukin sharrukin. The name akkad was taken from the city of agade, which was founded by the semitic conqueror sargon about 2300 bce. There are very few women in ancient history who made their mark on the world with the full moral support of their fathers. With the mesopotamian plain under his control, sargon set out to build an empire that stretched beyond mesopotamia. The dates of his reign seem to be unclear, and most sources i found show it being from 2334 bc to 2279 bc, while others show it as being from 2270 bc to 2215 bc, and that is because different ancient texts cant agree on the dates of his reign either. King sargon of akkadwho legend says was destined to ruleestablished the worlds first empire more than 4,000 years ago in mesopotamia. Akkadian was what they called the first spoken language asked in mesopotamia. The akkadians expanded their territory into locales along the euphrates river and northern parts of the middle east, including syria and turkey.
1475 449 1351 436 960 1424 35 191 1067 360 272 379 1231 1048 807 46 814 302 1502 932 1073 1384 534 309 1104 380 680 978 314 596 807 225 485