Sargon the Great: Founder of the Ancient Akkadian Empire
Beginning:
About four thousand years ago from today. In ancient Iraq, the well-organized Sumerian civilization developed in the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. King Ur-Zababa of Kish was ruling the kingdom in Dhabdhabe Palace built on hot sand. At that time, Bivore was a fruit grower in Sumer, who dreamed of sitting on the throne with full of courage and indomitable spirit. Through his own efforts, he rose from fruit grower to Ur-Jababa's servant list. Once his elusive dream is reflected as reality. He overthrew Ur-Zababa and became the ruler of Sumer. The ancient Akkadian Empire was established by his hand. This fruit grower is known in history as Sargon of Akkad or Sargon the Great.
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Sargon the Great; Image Source: Pazasaurus. |
The Legend
The early life of Akkad is known from an ancient cuneiform tablet called 'Legend of Sargon'. This tablet was found in the library of Emperor Ashurbanipal. According to the tablets, Sargon's mother was a priestess of the Sumerian goddess Ishtar, who secretly gave birth to Sargon and abandoned him on the banks of the Euphrates. Floating in the current of the river, the newborn arrived at the outskirts of the city of Kish in Mesopotamia. Sargon was picked up by a gardener of that city. Sargon grew up with bravery in Mali's family. His desire to touch the sky was rooted in his mind since his childhood. Although starting out as a fruit grower, the ever-savvy Sargon found employment as cup-bearer to Ur-Zababa, the emperor of Kish. Proving his intelligence and skill, he once rose from a trusted servant to a close advisor to the king.
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Sargon was cup-bearer to the emperor Ur-Zababa; Image Source: Pazasaurus. |
During this time, the Sumerian civilization had full influence in Mesopotamia. At that time this civilization was divided into many city-states. Emperor Ur-Jababa was at war with another Sumerian city-state, Lugal-Zage-Si, king of Umma. At that time, Ur-Jababa used to take many advices from Sargon to deal with the problems of truce or to manage the state. In this way Sargon became a shrewd and shrewd politician, and moved step by step towards the realization of his ambition to wear the royal crown.
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Legend of Sargon's birth; Image Source: Louvre Museum. |
Sargon's Dream
One night, Sargon dreamed that the goddess Ishtar, fed up with Ur-Zababa's rule, was killing him. When approached by the Ganakas, they interpreted the dream to mean that Sargon would be blessed by the goddess Ishtar if he killed Ur-Zababa. Hearing this interpretation of the dream, sleep was forbidden for the emperor. Is Mamuli a cup-bearer or the cause of his death? Great fear surrounded him. That is why he decided to kill Sargon. The emperor's men tried to kill him but failed.
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The goddess Ishtar came to Sargon in a dream; Image Source: Edwin J. Prittie. |
Ur-Zababa then decided to send Sargon to King Lugal-Jege-Si under the pretext of a diplomatic meeting. Ur-Jababa gave Sargon a clay tablet, instructing Lugal-Jege-Si to kill his cup-bearer. Lugal-Jege-C took advantage of this enemy opportunity. He leaked Ur-Jababa's plot to Sargon. As a result, Lugal-Jege-Si and Sargon allied themselves against Ur-Zababa. Ur-Zababa was defeated by Lugal-Jege-Si's military might and Sargon's political wisdom as a former royal adviser.
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the ongoing war between the Sumerians and the Semites, led by the emperor Sargon; Image Source: Alamy. |
Establishment of the Akkadian Empire
After taking the throne from Ur-Zababa, Sargon handed over the governance of each city-state under his control to close associates. He appointed only members of his own family to important religious positions. As such, he appointed his daughter Enheduana as high priestess of the goddess Ishtar. According to historical evidence, Sarganakanya Enheduana is the world's first female poet, with 42 hymns found. Sargon made many improvements and reforms in the administrative, religious and state structure, which are written in the pages of history.
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Sargankanya Enheduana; Image Source: DiChap |
For some unknown reason, Lugal-Jege-C and Sargon's relationship falls apart. Both then went full force fighting against each other. Sargon the Great tasted victory in this conflict. As a result, he captured the rival emperor and destroyed the impenetrable walls of Lugal-Jege-Sir's kingdom of Uruk. Since most of Sumer was under Lugal-Zage-Si, Sargon had the opportunity to rule large areas. Later, he gradually expanded his kingdom by conducting large-scale military campaigns. Over time, Syria, Lebanon and parts of Anatolia were also added to his kingdom. Tired of expanding his kingdom, he decided to build a new city, which would be the capital of his empire. The city was referred to as 'Agade' in Mesopotamian texts as it was located east of the Tigris River. Over time the city came to be known as 'Akkad'.
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Cylinders containing images of Sargon were found in the ruins of Kishi; Image Source: The Field Museum. |
The Akkadian Empire was one of the first civilizations in the world to implement bureaucratic governance in its empire. Before Sargon, Mesopotamian societies were ruled by monarchies. Along with the emperors, the priests also often took over the reigns. Their power in the kingdom was unlimited. Sargon gave religious priests significant political authority under his new system, but limited their intervention in many matters.
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Portrait of Sargon on stele; Image Source: Wikimedia Commons. |
Ancient Sumerian religion maintained the greatest influence in Sumer during the early Akkadian Empire. As Sargon's empire expanded, the temples of the Sumerian gods and goddesses spread beyond Mesopotamia. Sargon himself was an ardent devotee of the goddess Ishtar, which is why he held Ishtar in high esteem in ancient Sumerian religion. Early in his rise as ruler, he propagated the practice of worshiping this goddess throughout the kingdom. Sargon's influence is often attributed to the immense popularity, worship, and influence of the goddess Ishtar in Mesopotamian civilization.
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Goddess Ishtar in Akkadian civilization; Image Source: Wikimedia Commons. |
Besides reforming the government and religious practices in Mesopotamia, he paid special attention to the architectural and structural aspects of the kingdom. He developed a well-organized commercial structure interlinking all the territories under his control. Although the Akkadian Empire was rich in agriculture, it lacked other valuable resources, such as metals and timber. That is why he met the demand by bringing metal and wood from Lebanon. He thus allowed the exchange of goods through a vast commercial network. To make this system easier, he invested heavily in agricultural systems, communication systems and irrigation canals. He is also considered to be the architect of the first postal system and standing army in human history.
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Sargon the Great; Image Source: Pazasaurus. |
He breathed his last in 2279 BC. Sargon was able to exert a lasting and lasting influence on Mesopotamian civilization. Possessing a vast empire, he was referred to as the 'Lord of the Universe' in ancient Mesopotamian texts. Sargon's legendary tablets stated,
" They must rise to the position of Sargon, if the king want to be great."
Sargon was so revered in the post-Sargon Akkadian empire that later kings added Sargon to their names. The Akkadian Empire reached its peak during the reign of Sargon's son Naram-Sin. Around 2154 BC, the sun of the Akkadian Empire, which had been shining for one and a half hundred years, was dimmed by the attack of a barbarian nation called Gutian.