Everything about Sargon Of Akkad totally explained
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You may be looking for the Assyrian kings Sargon I (r. 1920 – 1881 BC) or Sargon II (r. 722 – 705 BC).
Sargon of Akkad, also known as
Sargon the Great (
Akkadian Šarru-kinu, cuneiform ŠAR.RU.KI.IN, meaning "the true
king" or "the king is legitimate"), was an
Akkadian king famous for his conquest of the
Sumerian city-states in the 24th and 23rd centuries BC. The founder of the Dynasty of Akkad, Sargon reigned for 56 years, c. 2270 BC – 2215 BC (
short chronology). He became a prominent member of the royal court of
Kish, ultimately overthrowing its king before embarking on the conquest of
Mesopotamia. Sargon's vast empire is known to have extended from
Elam to the
Mediterranean sea, including Mesopotamia, parts of modern-day
Iran and
Syria, and possibly parts of
Anatolia and the
Arabian peninsula. He ruled from a new capital, Akkad (Agade), which the Sumerian king list claims he built (or possibly renovated), on the left bank of the
Euphrates. Sargon is regarded as one of the first individuals in recorded history to create a multiethnic, centrally ruled
empire, and his dynasty controlled Mesopotamia for around a century and a half.
Origins and rise to power
The story of Sargon's birth and childhood is given in the "Sargon legend", a
Sumerian text purporting to be Sargon's biography. The extant versions are incomplete, but the surviving fragments name Sargon's father as
La'ibum. After a
lacuna, the text skips to
Ur-Zababa, king of Kish, who awakens after a dream, the contents of which are not revealed on the surviving portion of the tablet. For unknown reasons, Ur-Zababa appoints Sargon as his cupbearer. Soon after this, Ur-Zababa invites Sargon to his chambers to discuss a dream of Sargon's, involving the favor of the goddess
Inanna and the drowning of Ur-Zababa by the goddess. Deeply frightened, Ur-Zababa orders Sargon murdered by the hands of Beliš-tikal, the chief smith, but Inanna prevents it, demanding that Sargon stop at the gates because of his being "polluted with shoes." When Sargon returns to Ur-Zababa, the king becomes frightened again, and decides to send Sargon to king
Lugal-Zage-Si of
Uruk with a message on a clay tablet asking him to slay Sargon. The legend breaks off at this point; presumably, the missing sections described how Sargon becomes king.
The
Sumerian king list relates: "In Agade [Akkad], Sargon, whose father was a gardener, the cupbearer of Ur-Zababa, became king, the king of Agade, who built Agade; he ruled for 56 years." The claim that Sargon was the original founder of Akkad has come into question in recent years, with the discovery of an inscription mentioning the place and dated to the first year of
Enshakushanna, who almost certainly preceded him. This claim of the king list had been the basis for earlier speculation by a number of scholars that Sargon was an inspiration for the Biblical figure of
Nimrod. The so-called
Weidner Chronicle states that it was Sargon who built
Babylon "in front of Akkad."}}
The image of Sargon as a castaway set adrift on a river resembles the better-known birth narrative of
Moses. Scholars such as
Joseph Campbell and
Otto Rank have compared the 7th century BC Sargon account with the obscure births of other heroic figures from history and mythology, including
Karna,
Oedipus,
Paris,
Telephus,
Semiramis,
Perseus,
Romulus,
Gilgamesh,
Cyrus,
Jesus, and others.
Formation of the Akkadian Empire
After coming to power in Kish, Sargon soon attacked Uruk, which was ruled by
Lugal-Zage-Si of
Umma. He captured Uruk and dismantled its famous walls. The defenders seem to have fled the city, joining an army led by fifty
ensis from the provinces. This Sumerian force fought two pitched battles against the Akkadians, as a result of which the remaining forces of Lugal-Zage-Si were routed. Lugal-Zage-Si himself was captured and brought to Nippur; Sargon inscribed on the pedestal of statue (preserved in a later tablet) that he brought Lugal-Zage-Si "in a dog collar to the gate of Enlil." Sargon pursued his enemies to Ur before moving eastwards to Lagash, to the
Persian Gulf, and thence to Umma. He made a symbolic gesture of washing his weapons in the "lower sea" (Persian Gulf) to show that he'd conquered Sumer in its entirety.
Another victory Sargon celebrated was over Kashtubila, king of
Kazalla. According to one ancient source, Sargon laid the city of Kazalla to waste so effectively "that the birds couldn't find a place to perch away from the ground."
To help limit the chance of revolt in
Sumer he appointed a court of 5,400 men to "share his table" (for example, to administer his empire). These 5,400 men may have constituted Sargon's army. The governors chosen by Sargon to administer the main city-states of Sumer were Akkadians, not Sumerians. The
Semitic Akkadian language became the
lingua franca, the official language of inscriptions in all
Mesopotamia, and of great influence far beyond. Sargon's empire maintained trade and diplomatic contacts with kingdoms around the
Arabian Sea and elsewhere in the Near East. Sargon's inscriptions report that ships from
Magan,
Meluhha, and
Dilmun, among other places, rode at anchor in his capital of Agade.
The former religious institutions of Sumer, already well-known and emulated by the Semites, were respected. Sumerian remained, in large part, the language of religion and Sargon and his successors were patrons of the Sumerian cults.
Enheduanna, the author of several Akkadian
hymns who is identified as Sargon's daughter, was made priestess of
Nanna, the moon-god of Ur. Sargon styled himself "anointed priest of
Anu" and "great
ensi of
Enlil".
Wars in the northwest and east
Shortly after securing Sumer, Sargon embarked on a series of campaigns to subjugate the entire
Fertile Crescent. According to the
Chronicle of Early Kings, a later
Babylonian historiographical text:
Mari,
Yarmuti and
Ebla as far as the
Cedar Forest (
Amanus) and the silver mountain (
Taurus). The Akkadian Empire secured
trade routes and supplies of wood and
precious metals could be safely and freely floated down the
Euphrates to Akkad.
In the east, Sargon defeated an invasion by the four leaders of
Elam, led by the king of
Awan. Their cities were sacked; the governors, viceroys and kings of
Susa,
Barhashe, and neighboring districts became vassals of Akkad, and the
Akkadian language made the official language of international discourse. During Sargon's reign, Akkadian was standardized and adapted for use with the
cuneiform script previously used in the
Sumerian language. A style of
calligraphy developed in which text on clay tablets and cylinder seals was arranged amidst scenes of mythology and ritual.
Later reign
The text known as
Epic of the King of the Battle depicts Sargon advancing deep into the heart of
Anatolia to protect Akkadian and other Mesopotamian merchants from the exactions of the King of
Burushanda (Purshahanda). The same text mentions that Sargon crossed the Sea of the West (
Mediterranean Sea) and ended up in
Kuppara.
Famine and war threatened Sargon's empire during the latter years of his reign. The
Chronicle of Early Kings reports that revolts broke out throughout the area under the last years of his overlordship:
Legacy
Sargon died, according to the short chronology, around 2215 BC. His empire immediately revolted upon hearing of the king's death. Most of the revolts were put down by his son and successor
Rimush, who reigned for nine years and was followed by another of Sargon's sons,
Manishtushu (who reigned for 15 years). Sargon was regarded as a model by Mesopotamian kings for some two millennia after his death. The Assyrian and Babylonian kings who based their empires in Mesopotamia saw themselves as the heirs of Sargon's empire. Kings such as
Nabonidus (r. 556–539 BC) showed great interest in the history of the Sargonid dynasty, and even conducted excavations of Sargon's palaces and those of his successors. Indeed, such later rulers may have been inspired by the king's conquests to embark on their own campaigns throughout the Middle East. The Neo-Assyrian Sargon text challenges his successors thus:
Bible. A number of scholars have speculated that Sargon may have been the inspiration for the biblical figure of
Nimrod, who figures prominently in the
Book of Genesis as well as in
midrashic and
Talmudic literature. The Bible mentions Akkad as being one of the first city-states of Nimrod's kingdom, but doesn't explicitly state that he built it.
Family
The name of Sargon's primary wife
Tashlultum and those of a number of his children are known to us. His daughter
Enheduanna, who flourished during the late 24th and early 23rd centuries BC, was a priestess who composed ritual hymns. Many of her works, including her
Exaltation of Inanna, were in use for centuries thereafter. Sargon was succeeded by his son,
Rimush; after Rimush's death another son,
Manishtushu, became king. Two other sons,
Shu-Enlil (Ibarum) and
Ilaba'is-takal (Abaish-Takal), are known.
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