Who was Sargon the Great?
She has been featured by NPR and National Geographic for her ancient history expertise. Sargon the Great was one of the world's earliest empire builders.
What is another name for Sargon of Akkad?
See Article History. Alternative Titles: Sargon of Akkad, Sharru-kin. Sargon, byname Sargon Of Akkad, (flourished 23rd century bc), ancient Mesopotamian ruler (reigned c. 2334–2279 bc), one of the earliest of the world’s great empire builders, conquering all of southern Mesopotamia as well as parts of Syria, Anatolia, and Elam (western Iran).
How many cities did Sargon the Great conquer?
He also names various rulers of the east whom he vanquished, such as " Luh-uh-ish-an, son of Hishibrasini, king of Elam, king of Elam" or "Sidga'u, general of Parahshum", who later also appears in an inscription by Rimush. Sargon triumphed over 34 cities in total. Ships from Meluhha, Magan and Dilmun, rode at anchor in his capital of Akkad.
What is the setting of Sargon the Conquering Hero?
The narrative of Sargon, the Conquering Hero, is set at Sargon's court, in a situation of crisis.
Why is Sargon of Akkad important?
Having ruled in the Fertile Crescent over four thousand years ago, Sargon of Akkad is particularly famous for his ability to successfully conquer and unify all of Mesopotamia as well as many kingdoms outside of the region. As a result, he is known as one of the first people in recorded history to rule over an empire.
Was Sargon a good leader?
Sargon's reign provided stability. He built roads and irrigation canals, extended trade routes and encouraged science and the arts. Sargon created a postal system, ensuring privacy of the mail by innovating the use of clay envelopes for the tablets. His taxes were fair for rich and poor.
How did Sargon come into power?
He usurped the kingship from Lugal-zage-si of Uruk and took it to his own city of Akkad. Various copies of the king list give the duration of his reign as either 54, 55 or 56 years. Numerous fragmentary inscriptions relating to Sargon are also known.
How did Sargon become king?
The Sumerian king list records Sargon's birth as well, describing him in different versions as the son of a gardener or as the cupbearer of Ur-Zababa, the king of Kish. Sargon likely overthrew and probably assassinated Ur-Zababa to take the throne of Kish and, from there, expanded his rule.
Who is the greatest king of all time?
1. Genghis Khan (1162-1227)Pharaoh Thutmose III of Egypt (1479-1425 BC)Ashoka The Great (304-232 BC)King Henry VIII of England (1491-1547)King Tamerlane (1336-1405)Attila the Hun (406-453)King Louis XIV of France (1638-1715)Alexander The Great (356-323 BC)Genghis Khan (1162-1227)More items...•
What were three important facts about Sargon the Great?
Sargon was a great leader because of three major things: He established the military tradition of the Mesopotamian kingdoms. He invented a writing system. He created a widespread bureaucracy that dealt with numerous facets of life in the Akkadian Empire.
How did Sargon empire fall?
By then, the Akkadian kingdom of Sargon and Naram-Sin -- the world's first empire -- was long lost in the dust, apparently also the first empire to collapse as a result of catastrophic climate change.
Who is the first king on earth?
Meet the world's first emperor. King Sargon of Akkad—who legend says was destined to rule—established the world's first empire more than 4,000 years ago in Mesopotamia.
Is Sargon in the Bible?
Sargon is the Hebrew rendering (Isaiah 20:1) of Assyrian Sharru-kin, a throne name meaning “the king is legitimate.” The name was undoubtedly chosen in reminiscence of two former kings of Assyria, particularly in commemoration of Sargon of Akkad (flourished 2300 bce).
Who was king of the world?
The title "King of the World" refers to Manu (whose name appears in the ancient Greek king's name Minos) and is to be distinguished from the "Prince of this world" which refers to Satan in the Gospels (the two words being different in Hebrew and Arabic).
What kind of name is Sargon?
Sargon (Akkadian: Šar-ru-gi, later Šarru-kīn, meaning "the faithful king" or "the legitimate king") was the name of three kings in ancient Mesopotamia, sometimes adopted in modern times as both a given name and a surname.
Who were the first kings?
"According to a later Mesopotamian tradition enshrined in the Sumerian King List, the first king was Alulim, ruler of the city of Eridu.
Was Sargon a real king?
Sargon of Akkad (r. 2334 - 2279 BCE) was the king of the Akkadian Empire of Mesopotamia, the first multi-national empire in history, who united the disparate kingdoms of the region under a central authority. He is equally famous today as the father of the great poet-priestess Enheduanna (l.
Who was the last king of Mesopotamia?
In the 3rd millennium BC, from the reign of Sargon of Akkad to the reign of his great-grandson Shar-Kali-Sharri, the Akkadian Empire represented the dominant power in Mesopotamia and the first known great empire....List of kings of Akkad.King of AkkadDetailsFirst monarchSargonLast monarchShu-turulFormationc. 2334 BC6 more rows
Who was the first king or queen in the world?
No one knows just who or where the very first king or queen was. But Egyptian ruling families were among the first in recorded history, with the earliest known one starting about 3100 B.C.
Who was Sargon the Great?
Biography of Sargon the Great, Ruler of Mesopotamia. N.S. Gill is a Latinist, writer, and teacher of ancient history and Latin. She has been featured by NPR and National Geographic for her ancient history expertise. Sargon the Great was one of the world's earliest empire builders. From roughly 2334 to 2279 BCE, ...
What is the legend of Sargon?
The Legend of Sargon, engraved in cuneiform on a clay tablet, supposedly represented his biography, though it's often described as folklore. It reads, in part:
What was Sargon's empire called?
Sargon the Great was one of the world's earliest empire builders. 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). His empire was the first political entity to have an extensive, efficient, large-scale bureaucracy to administer his far-flung lands and their culturally diverse people.
What is Sargon of Akkad?
Also Known As: Sargon of Akkad, Shar-Gani-Sharri, Sarru-Kan ("True King" or "Legitimate King") Sargon of Agade, King of Agade, King of Kish, King of the Land
What city did Sargon conquer?
The city, which lent its name to the empire, has never been found. He conquered the nearby city-states of Ur, Umma, and Lagash and developed a commercial trade-based empire, with unifying roads and a postal system. Sargon made his daughter Enheduanna a high priestess of Nanna, Ur's moon god.
How did Sargon establish his bureaucracy?
But Sargon also wanted to maintain the lands under his control, so he established an efficient bureaucracy by placing trusted men in each Sumerian city to rule in his name. Meanwhile, Sargon expanded his empire, defeating the Elamites to the East, who inhabited what is today western Iran.
When was Sargon born?
There is no birth date; the dates of his reign are approximate; and the end of his reign, 2279, is only presumably the year of his death. His name at birth also is unknown; he adopted Sargon later. Although his name was among the most famous in antiquity, the modern world knew nothing of him until 1870 CE, when Sir Henry Rawlinson, ...
Overview
In this book, first published in 1927, British painter and writer Sydney Bristowe describes her Cain-Sargon of Akkad equation theory. She asserts that, by reconstructing the ancient chronology of Mesopotamia based on the Cylinder of Nabonidus, the cylinder dates Naram-Sin, son of Sargon of Accad, 3200 years before Nabonidus, and so Sargon to c.
About the Author
Sydney Bristowe (1862-1952), born Ethel Susan Graham Bristowe and also known as E.S.G. Bristowe, was a British painter, and an early 20th-century author on alternative theories within Assyriology.
What did Sargon call himself?
Sargon appears to have promoted the use of Semitic (Akkadian) in inscriptions. He frequently calls himself "king of Akkad" first, after he apparently founded the city of Akkad. He appears to have taken over the rule of Kish at some point, and later also much of Mesopotamia, referring to himself as "Sargon, king of Akkad, overseer of Inanna, king of Kish, anointed of Anu, king of the land [Mesopotamia], governor ( ensi) of Enlil ".
Who is Sargon in Sumerian?
Here, Sargon is mentioned as the son of a gardener, former cup-bearer of Ur-Zababa of Kish. He usurped the kingship from Lugal-zage-si of Uruk and took it to his own city of Akkad. Various copies of the king list give the duration of his reign as either 54, 55 or 56 years. Numerous fragmentary inscriptions relating to Sargon are also known.
What was Sargon's empire?
He is not to be confused with Sargon I, a later king of the Old Assyrian period. His empire is thought to have included most of Mesopotamia, parts of the Levant, besides incursions into Hurrite and Elamite territory, ruling from his (archaeologically as yet unidentified) capital, Akkad (also Agade ).
How many cities did Sargon conquer?
Sargon triumphed over 34 cities in total. Ships from Meluhha, Magan and Dilmun, rode at anchor in his capital of Akkad.
What is the Akkadian name for Sargon?
The Akkadian name is normalized as either Šarru- ukīn or Šarru-kēn. The name's cuneiform spelling is variously LUGAL - ú-kin, šar-ru-gen6, šar-ru-ki-in, šar-ru-um-ki-in. In Old Babylonian tablets relating the legends of Sargon, his name is transcribed as 𒊬𒊒𒌝𒄀𒅔 ( Šar-ru-um-ki-in ). In Late Assyrian references, the name is mostly spelled as LUGAL-GI.NA or LUGAL-GIN, i.e. identical to the name of the Neo-Assyrian king Sargon II. The spelling Sargon is derived from the single mention of the name (in reference to Sargon II) in the Hebrew Bible, as סַרְגוֹן, in Isaiah 20 :1.
Where was the Sargon tablet found?
Among the most important sources for Sargon's reign is a tablet of the Old Babylonian period recovered at Nippur in the University of Pennsylvania expedition in the 1890s. The tablet is a copy of the inscriptions on the pedestal of a Statue erected by Sargon in the temple of Enlil. Its text was edited by Arno Poebel (1909) and Leon Legrain (1926).
How long was Sargon's reign?
While various copies of the Sumerian king list credit Sargon with a 56, 55, or 54-year reign, dated documents have been found for only four different year-names of his actual reign. The names of these four years describe his campaigns against Elam, Mari, Simurrum (a Hurrian region), and Uru'a (an Elamite city-state).
Early Life
Rise to Power
- Sargon eventually became Ur-Zababa's cup-bearer, a servant who brought a king’s wine but also served as a trusted adviser. For unknown reasons, the king felt threatened by Sargon and tried to get rid of him: When Lugal-zage-si, the kingof Umma who had conquered and consolidated many city-states in Sumer, came to conquer Kish next, Ur-Zababa sent Sargon to deliver a clay tablet t…
Expanding His Realm
- A large part of Sumer had been controlled byUruk, so with both Ur-Zababa and Lugalzagesi out of the way, Sargon was the new ruler of an area from which to launch military campaigns and expand his empire. But Sargon also wanted to maintain the lands under his control, so he established an efficient bureaucracyby placing trusted men in each Sumerian ...
Death
- Sargon the Great is said to have died of natural causes around 2279 BCE and was succeeded by his son Rimush.
Legacy
- Sargon Akkadian Empire lasted a century and a half, ending when it was displaced by the Gutian dynasty of Sumer during the 22nd century BCE. One of the results of Sargon’s conquests was the facilitation of trade. Sargon controlled the cedar forests of Lebanonand the silver mines of Anatolia, which provided valuable raw materials for trade in the Indus Valley, as well as in civiliza…
Sources
- Zettler, Richard L. "Reconstructing the World of Ancient Mesopotamia: Divided Beginnings and Holistic History." Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 2003.
- "Sargon of Akkad: Familiar and Legendary Tales of a Famous Mesopotamian King." Ancient Origins.
- "Sargon of Akkad." Ancient History Encyclopedia.
- Zettler, Richard L. "Reconstructing the World of Ancient Mesopotamia: Divided Beginnings and Holistic History." Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 2003.
- "Sargon of Akkad: Familiar and Legendary Tales of a Famous Mesopotamian King." Ancient Origins.
- "Sargon of Akkad." Ancient History Encyclopedia.
- "Sargon: Ruler of Mesopotamia." Encyclopaedia Britannica.
