Sargon of Akkad

:"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 cuneiform|????, 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. ["Sargon" was likely a regnal name; his given name is unknown. For a detailed discussion of Sargon's name, "see" Lewis 1984:277–292.] The founder of the Dynasty of Akkad, Sargon reigned for 56 years, c. 2270 BC – 2215 BC (short chronology). [This according to the Sumerian king list, the actual dates of Sargon's reign are impossible to determine with certainty; "see, e.g.," Kramer, "The Sumerians passim".] 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. [Kramer, "The Sumerians" 1963:60–61. Akkad was probably located between Sippar and Kish.] 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. [Van der Mieroop 64–72.]

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. [ [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section2/tr214.htm "The Sargon Legend." "The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature."] Oxford University, 2006. "cf." the Greek myth of Bellerophon. A similar account appears in the Norse legend of Amleth, which Shakespeare adapted in "Hamlet".] The legend breaks off at this point; presumably, the missing sections described how Sargon becomes king. [Cooper 67–82.]

The Sumerian king list relates: "In Agade [Akkad] , Sargon, whose father was a gardener, [Thorkild Jacobsen, in his edition of the "Sumerian King List", marked this clause as a lacunae, indicating his uncertainty about its meaning. ("The Sumerian King List", Assyriological Studies, No. 11 (Chicago: Oriental Institute, 1939), p. 111)] the cupbearer of Ur-Zababa, became king, the king of Agade, who built Agade; he ruled for 56 years." [Confusingly, Ur-Zababa and Lugal-zage-si are both listed as kings, but several generations apart.] 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. [Van de Mieroop, "Cuneiform Texts" 75.] 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. [Levin 350–356; Poplicha 303–317.] The so-called "Weidner Chronicle" states that it was Sargon who built Babylon "in front of Akkad." [Grayson 19:51.] The "Chronicle of Early Kings" likewise states that late in his reign, Sargon "dug up the soil of the pit of Babylon, and made a counterpart of Babylon next to Agade." [Grayson 20:18–19]

A Neo-Assyrian text from the seventh century BC purporting to be Sargon's autobiography asserts that the great king was the illegitimate son of a priestess. In the Neo-Assyrian account Sargon's birth and his early childhood are described thus:

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. [Rank "passim"; MacKenzie 126. While Moses is supposed to have lived centuries after Sargon, the exact chronological relationship between the two narratives is uncertain. In any event, the account of Exodus turns the theme on its head — rather than a royal fostered by commoners before rediscovering his royal blood, Moses is the son of slaves who is fostered by the daughter of Pharaoh. "See, e.g." Lewis 211–272.]

Formation of the Akkadian Empire

After coming to power in Kish, Sargon soon attacked Uruk, which was ruled by Lugal-Zage-Si of Umma. [While Sargon is often credited with the first true empire, Lugal-Zage-Si preceded him; after coming to power in Umma he had conquered or otherwise come into possession of Ur, Uruk, Nippur, and Lagash. Lugal-Zage-Si claimed rulership over lands as far away as the Mediterranean. "See" Beaulieu 43.] 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. [Kramer, "The Sumerians" 61.; Van de Mieroop, "History" 64–66.] 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." [Oppenheim 267.] 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 had conquered Sumer in its entirety. [Oppenheim 267.]

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 could not find a place to perch away from the ground." [Oppenheim 266.]

To help limit the chance of revolt in Sumer he appointed a court of 5,400 men to "share his table" (i.e., to administer his empire). [Kramer, "The Sumerians" 61.] These 5,400 men may have constituted Sargon's army. [Frayne 31.] The governors chosen by Sargon to administer the main city-states of Sumer were Akkadians, not Sumerians. [Van der Mieroop, "History" 62–68.] 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. [Kramer, "The Sumerians" 62, 289–291.]

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". ["See, e.g.," Van der Mieroop, "History" 67–68.]

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:

Sargon captured 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. [Kramer, "The Sumerians" "passim".]

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. [It remained so for several centuries; the Amarna letters of the fourteenth century BC were largely written in Akkadian.] 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. ["Britannica".]

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 oldest extant text was found on an Akkadian-language tablet in the Amarna archives; translations have since been discovered in Hittite and Hurrian. Postgate 216.] The same text mentions that Sargon crossed the Sea of the West (Mediterranean Sea) and ended up in Kuppara. [Possibly the Akkadian word for Keftiu, an ancient locale usually associated with Crete or Cyprus. "See" Wainright 197–212; Strange 395–396; Vandersleyen 209.]

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:

Later literature proposes that the rebellions and other troubles of Sargon's latter reign were the result of sacrilegious acts committed by the king. Modern consensus is that the veracity of these claims are impossible to determine, as disasters were virtually always attributed to sacrilege inspiring divine wrath, in ancient Mesopotamian literature. ["Britannica"]

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). [Kramer, "The Sumerians" 61–63; Roux 155.] 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. [Oates 162.] 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:

Another source attributed to Sargon the challenge "now, any king who wants to call himself my equal, wherever I went [conquered] , let him go." [Nougayrol 169.]

Stories of Sargon's power and that of his empire may have influenced the body of folklore that was later incorporated into the 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. [Levin 350–356; Poplicha 303–317.] The Bible mentions Akkad as being one of the first city-states of Nimrod's kingdom, but does not explicitly state that he built it. [Genesis 10:10. In the Sumerian king list, Sargon is credited with the construction of the city, but see above for controversy surrounding this assertion.]

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. [Schomp 81.] Many of her works, including her "Exaltation of Inanna", were in use for centuries thereafter. [Schomp 81; Kramer, "History Begins at Sumer" 351; Hallo "passim".] 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. [Frayne 3637.]

ee also

*History of Sumer
*Lugal

Notes

References

*Albright, W. F., "A Babylonian Geographical Treatise on Sargon of Akkad's Empire", Journal of the American Oriental Society (1925).
*Alotte De La Fuye, M. "Documents présargoniques", Paris, 1908–20.
*Biggs, R.D. "Inscriptions from Tell Abu Salabikh", Chicago, 1974.
*Beaulieu, Paul-Alain, "et al." "A Companion to the Ancient near East". Blackwell, 2005.
*Botsforth, George W., ed. "The Reign of Sargon". "A Source-Book of Ancient History." New York: Macmillan, 1912.
*Cooper, Jerrold S. and Wolfgang Heimpel. "The Sumerian Sargon Legend." "Journal of the American Oriental Society", Vol. 103, No. 1, (Jan.-Mar. 1983).
*Deimel, A. "Die Inschriften von Fara, Leipzig", 1922–24.
*Diakonov, Igor, 'On the area and population of the Sumerian city-State', "VDI" (1950), 2, pp. 77–93.
*Frankfort, H. 'Town planning in ancient Mesopotamia', "Town Planning Review", 21 (1950), p 104.
*Frayne, Douglas R. "Sargonic and Gutian Period." "The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia", Vol. 2. Univ. of Toronto Press, 1993.
*Gadd, C.J. "The Dynasty of Agade and the Gutian Invasion." "Cambridge Ancient History", rev. ed., vol. 1, ch. 19. Cambridge Univ. Press, 1963.
*Grayson, Albert Kirk. "Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles". J. J. Augustin, 1975; Eisenbrauns, 2000.
*Hallo, W. and J. J. A. Van Dijk. "The Exaltation of Inanna". Yale Univ. Press, 1968.
*Jestin, R. "Tablettes Sumériennes de Shuruppak", Paris, 1937.
*King, L. W., "Chronicles Concerning Early Babylonian Kings", II, London, 1907, pp.3ff; 87–96.
*Kramer, S. Noah. "History Begins at Sumer: Thirty-Nine "Firsts" in Recorded History." Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 1981.
*Kramer, S. Noah. "The Sumerians: Their History, Culture and Character", Chicago, 1963.
*Levin, Yigal. "Nimrod the Mighty, King of Kish, King of Sumer and Akkad." "Vetus Testementum" 52 (2002).
*Lewis, Brian. "The Sargon

*Luckenbill, D. D., "On the Opening Lines of the Legend of Sargon", The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures (1917).
*MacKenzie, Donald A. "Myths of Babylonia and Assyria". Gresham, 1900.
*Nougayrol, J. "Revue Archeologique", XLV (1951), pp. 169 ff.
*Oates, John. "Babylon". London: Thames and Hudson, 1979.
*Oppenheim, A. Leo (translator). "Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament", 3d ed. James B. Pritchard, ed. Princeton: University Press, 1969.
*Parrot, A. "Mari, Capitale Fabuleuse", Paris, 1974.
*Parrot, A. "Le temple d'Ishtar", Paris, 1956.
*Parrot, A. "Les temples d'Ishtarat et de Ninni-zaza", Paris, 1967.
*Poplicha, Joseph. "The Biblical Nimrod and the Kingdom of Eanna." "Journal of the American Oriental Society" Vol. 49 (1929), pp. 303–317.
*Postgate, Nichol. "Early Mesopotamia: Society and Economy at the Dawn of History". Routledge, 1994.
*Rank, Otto. "The Myth of the Birth of the Hero". Vintage Books: New York, 1932.
*Roux, G. "Ancient Iraq", London, 1980.
*Sayce, A. H., "New Light on the Early History of Bronze", Man, Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (1921).
*Schomp, Virginia . "Ancient Mesopotamia". Franklin Watts, 2005.
*Strange, John. "Caphtor/Keftiu: A New Investigation." "Journal of the American Oriental Society", Vol. 102, No. 2 (Apr. - Jun., 1982), pp. 395–396
*Sollberger, E. "Corpus des Inscriptions 'Royales' Présargoniques de Lagash", Paris, 1956.
*Van der Mieroop, Marc. "A History of the Ancient Near East: ca. 3000-323 BC." Blackwell, 2006.
*Van der Mieroop, Marc., "Cuneiform Texts and the Writing of History", Routledge, 1999.
*Vandersleyen, Claude. "Keftiu: A Cautionary Note." "Oxford Journal of Archaeology". Vol. 22 Issue 2 Page 209 (2003).
*Wainright, G.A. "Asiatic Keftiu." "American Journal of Archaeology". Vol. 56, No. 4 (Oct., 1952), pp. 196–212.

External links

* [http://history-world.org/legend_of_sargon.htm Neo-Assyrian Sargon legend]
* [http://www-etcsl.orient.ox.ac.uk/section2/tr214.htm Black, J.A., Cunningham, G., Fluckiger-Hawker, E, Robson, E., and Zólyomi, G., "The Sargon
] [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.2.1.4#]
* [http://www.mazzaroth.com/ChapterFour/SargonDidHeExist.htm "Sargon did he exist?"]
* [http://www.fsmitha.com/h1/ch03.htm Sargon and the Vanishing Sumerians]
* [http://lexicorient.com/e.o/sargon.htm Lexicorient article on Sargon]

Persondata
NAME = Sargon of Akkad
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Sargon the Great
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Akkadian king
DATE OF BIRTH = c. 2360 BC
PLACE OF BIRTH = Azupiranu
DATE OF DEATH = c. 2279 BC
PLACE OF DEATH = Akkad