Sargon of Akkad
Mesopotamian · mortal · akkadian empire · mortal
Mortal founder of the Akkadian Empire (~2334-2284 BCE). The canonical-first multi-city-state empire in human history; the canonical Mesopotamian imperial-administrative template (provincial governors, standardized weights and measures, standing army, royal-scribal-school institutions) that persisted through Babylon and Assyria. The Sargon Birth Legend's reed-basket-on-the-Euphrates narrative paralleled the later Moses Exodus 2:1-10 narrative by ~1500 years. Father of Enheduanna (world's first named author), Rimush, and Manishtushu (father of Naram-Sin).
Children
Powers
- kingship conferral
- imperial administration
Relations
- father of: Enheduanna
- father of: Rimush
- father of: Manishtushu
Sources
- Sargon royal inscriptions (Frayne, RIME 2)
- Sumerian King List (Old Babylonian recension; ETCSL 2.1.1, Akkad dynasty)
- Sargon Birth Legend (Neo-Assyrian, 7th c. BCE)
- Cruciform Monument of Manishtushu (preserves Sargonic copies)
- Year-name lists from the Akkadian period