Sargon of Akkad
Founder of Akkadian Empire / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sargon of Akkad (/ˈsɑːrɡɒn/; Akkadian: 𒊬𒊒𒄀, romanized: Šarrugi),[3] also known as Sargon the Great,[4] was the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire, known for his conquests of the Sumerian city-states in the 24th to 23rd centuries BC.[2] He is sometimes identified as the first person in recorded history to rule over an empire.
Sargon of Akkad 𒊬𒊒𒄀 | |
---|---|
King of the Akkadian Empire | |
Reign | c. 2334–2279 BC (MC)[2] |
Successor | Rimush |
Spouse | Tashlultum |
Issue | Manishtushu, Rimush, Enheduanna, Ibarum, Abaish-Takal |
Dynasty | Akkadian (Sargonic) |
Father | La'ibum |
He was the founder of the "Sargonic" or "Old Akkadian" dynasty, which ruled for about a century after his death until the Gutian conquest of Sumer.[5] The Sumerian King List makes him the cup-bearer to King Ur-Zababa of Kish.[6]
His empire, which he ruled from his archaeologically as yet unidentified capital, Akkad, is thought to have included most of Mesopotamia and parts of the Levant, Hurrian and Elamite territory.
Sargon appears as a legendary figure in Neo-Assyrian literature of the 8th to 7th centuries BC. Tablets with fragments of a Sargon Birth Legend were found in the Library of Ashurbanipal.[7][8]