User:SomeGuyWhoRandomlyEdits/Sargon of Akkad

Sargon of Akkad was the first ruler of the Akkadian empire, known for his conquests of the Sumerian city-states in the 24th to 23rd centuries BC. He is sometimes identified as the first person in recorded history to rule over an empire. He was the founder of the "Sargonic" or "Old Akkadian" dynasty, which ruled for about a century after his death until the Gutian conquest of Sumer. The Sumerian king list makes him the cup-bearer to king Ur-Zababa of Kish. 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).

Biography

Etymology

The Akkadian name for “Sargon” is normalized as either: “Šarru-ukīn” or “Šarru-kẽn”. The name's cuneiform spelling is variously either: “LUGAL-ú-kin”, “šar-ru-gen6”, “šar-ru-ki-in”, or “šar-ru-um-ki-in”. The spelling of “Sargon” is derived from the single mention of the name in the Hebrew Bible, as “ סַרְגוֹן”, in Isaiah 20:1. In Late Assyrian references, the name is mostly spelled as either: “LUGAL-GI.NA”, or “LUGAL-GIN”, i.e. identical to the name of the Neo-Assyrian king: “Sargon II”. The Biblical reference is to: “Sargon II”, additionally; it is not entirely clear whether the Neo-Assyrian king “Sargon II” was directly named after “Sargon of Akkad”, as there is some uncertainty whether his name should be rendered “Šarru-ukīn” or “Šarru-kẽn(u)”.

The first element in the name is “šarru” (the Akkadian language word for: “king”), while the second element in the name is derived from the root “kūn” (meaning: “to confirm, establish”.) A possible interpretation of the reading “Šarru-ukīn” is either: “the king has established stability”, or “he [the god] has established the king”. However, such a name would be unusual as other names ending in “-ukīn” always include both: a subject and an object (such as: “Šamaš-šuma-ukīn”, which means: “Shamash has established an heir”.) There is some debate over whether the name was an adopted regnal name or a birth name. The reading “Šarru-kẽn” has been interpreted adjectivally as: “the king is established; legitimate”, expanded as the phrase: “šarrum ki(e)num”.

The terms: “Pre-Sargonic” and “Post-Sargonic” were used in Assyriology (based on the chronologies of Nabonidus) before the historical existence of Sargon was confirmed. The form “Šarru-ukīn” was known from the Assyrian “Sargon Legend” discovered in 1867 AD in Ashurbanipal's library of Nineveh. The first contemporary reference to Sargon was found on the cylinder seal of Ibni-sharru, a high ranking official serving under Sargon. Ménant published a description of this seal in 1877 AD, reading the king's name as “Shegani-shar-lukh”, and did not yet identify it with “Sargon the Elder” (who was identified with the Old Assyrian king “Sargon I”.) In 1883 AD, the British Museum acquired the “mace-head of Shar-Gani-sharri”, a votive gift deposited at the temple of Shamah in Sippar. This “Shar-Gani” was identified with the Sargon of Assyrian legend. The identification of “Shar-Gani-sharri” with Sargon was recognized as mistaken in the 1910s AD. “Shar-Gani-sharri” (or: “Shar-Kali-Sharri”) is in fact Sargon's great-grandson, the successor of “Naram-Sin”.

Chronology

Primary sources pertaining to Sargon are very sparse; the main near-contemporary reference is that in the various versions of the “Sumerian King List” (SKL). 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 SKL give the duration of Sargon's reign as either 44, 45, or 46. In absolute years, his reign would correspond to c. 2340 BC — c. 2284 BC in the middle chronology timeline of the ancient near east. Sargon's successors until the Gutian conquest of Sumer are also known as the “Sargonic Dynasty” and their rule as the “Sargonic Period” of Mesopotamian history. Foster argued that the reading of 45 years as the duration of Sargon's reign was in fact a corruption of an original reading of 37 years. A newly discovered older version of the SKL gives Sargon's reign as lasting for 40 years.

The historian Thorkild Jacobsen marked the clause about Sargon's father being a gardener as a lacuna, indicating his uncertainty about its meaning. Ur-Zababa and Lugal-zage-si are both listed as kings, however; the two kings are separated by several additional named kings of Kish, who seem to have been merely governors or vassals under the Akkadian Empire. The claim that Sargon was the original founder of Akkad has been called into question with the discovery of an inscription mentioning the place and dated to the first year of Enshakushanna, who almost certainly preceded him. The “Weidner Chronicle” stated that it was Sargon who: “built Babylon in front of Akkad.” The “Chronicle of Early Kings” likewise stated that late in his reign, Sargon: “dug up the soil of the pit of Babylon, and made a counterpart of Babylon next to Agade.” Van de Mieroop suggested that those two chronicles may in fact refer to the much later Assyrian king (Sargon II of the Neo-Assyrian Empire) rather than to Sargon of Akkad.

Year names

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):

1. Year in which Sargon went to Simurrum
2. Year in which Sargon destroyed Uru'a
3. Year in which Uru'a was destroyed
4. Year in which Sargon destroyed Elam
5. Year in which Mari was destroyed

— Known regnal year names of Sargon.

Family

Sargon's main wife was Queen Tashlultum. Among Sargon's sons were: Rimush, Manishtushu, Shu-Enlil, and Ilaba'is-takal. Sargon's daughter (Enheduanna) was a priestess who composed ritual hymns, moreover; many of her works (including “Exaltation of Inanna”) were in use for centuries thereafter. Sargon was succeeded by his son Rimush, and Rimush was in turn succeeded by his brother Manishtushu. Manishtushu was succeeded by Naram-Sin (Sargon's grandson, son of Manishtushu.)

Legendary exploits

Rise

Sargon appears as a legendary figure in Neo-Assyrian literature of the 8th to 7th centuries BC. Tablets with fragments of a Sargon Birth Legend were found in the Library of Ashurbanipal.

Origin legends

Sargon became the subject of legendary narratives describing his rise to power from humble origins and his conquest of Mesopotamia in later Assyrian and Babylonian literature. Apart from these secondary, and partly legendary, accounts, there are many inscriptions due to Sargon himself, although the majority of these are known only from much later copies. The Louvre has fragments of two Sargonic victory steles recovered from Susa (where they were presumably transported from Mesopotamia in the Shutruk-Nakhunte|12th century BC).

Sargon Birth Legend

A Neo-Assyrian text (the “Sargon Birth Legend”) written c. 650 BC purporting to be Sargon's autobiography asserts that the great king was the illegitimate son of a priestess. Only the first two columns of the text are known (from the fragments of three manuscripts.) The first fragments were discovered as early as 1850 AD. Similarities between the “Sargon Birth Legend” and other infant birth exposures in ancient literature (including: Moses, Karna, and Oedipus) were noted by Otto Rank in 1909 AD. The legend was also studied in detail by Brian Lewis (and compared with a number of different examples of the infant birth exposure motif found in European and Asian folk tales.)

Brian Lewis discussed a possible archetype form (giving particular attention to the “Sargon Birth Legend” and the account of the “Birth of Moses”.) Joseph Campbell also made such comparisons. Sargon is also one of the many suggestions for the identity or inspiration for a Biblical character (Nimrod). Ewing William suggested Sargon based on his unification of both the Babylonians' and the Assyrians' “Sargon Birth Legend” versions. Yigal Levin suggested that the story of Nimrod was a recollection of both Sargon and of his grandson (Naram-Sin) with the name “Nimrod” having been derived from the latter.

Sargon and Ur-Zababa

The Sumerian-language “Sargon Legend” contained a legendary account of Sargon's rise to power. It was an older version of the previously-known Assyrian legend, discovered in 1974 AD in the archaeological site for the ancient city-state of Nippur and first edited in 1983 AD. The extant versions are incomplete, but the surviving fragments name Sargon's father as La'ibum. After a lacuna, the text skipped to Ur-Zababa who awakened after a dream (the contents of which are not revealed on the surviving portion of the tablet.) For unknown reasons, Ur-Zababa appointed Sargon as his cup-bearer.

Soon after this, Ur-Zababa invited 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 ordered Sargon to be murdered by the hands of Beliš-tikal (the chief smith), however; Inanna prevented it, and demanded that Sargon stop at the gates because of his being “polluted with blood.” When Sargon returned to Ur-Zababa, the king became frightened again, and decided to send Sargon to King Lugal-zage-si of the city-state of Uruk with a message on a clay tablet asking him to slay Sargon. The legend broke off at this point, presumably; the missing sections described how Sargon became king. The part of the interpretation of the king's dream has parallels to the Biblical story of Joseph, additionally; the part about the letter with the carrier's death sentence has parallels to both the Greek story of Bellerophon and the Biblical story of Uriah.

Sargon Epos

A group of four Babylonian texts described Sargon as having been a military commander when asking for the advice of a number of subordinates before going on a military campaign. The four texts are summarized under either: the “Sargon Epos” or “Res Gestae Sargonis”. The narrative of: “Sargon, the Conquering Hero” is set in Sargon's court, during a situation of crisis.

Sargon, the Conquering Hero

“Sargon, the Conquering Hero” included: Sargon addressing his warriors (praising the virtue of heroism) and a courtier lecturing on the glory achieved by a champion of the army. Additionally: a narrative relating a campaign of Sargon's into the far land of “Uta-raspashtim” (including an account of a: “darkening of the Sun” and the conquest of the land of “Simurrum”), and a concluding oration by Sargon listing his conquests.

King of Battle

The narrative of: the “King of Battle” related Sargon's campaign against the Anatolian city of “Purushanda” in order to protect his merchants. Versions of this narrative written in both Hittite cuneiform and Akkadian cuneiform have been found. The Hittite cuneiform version is extant in six fragments, the Akkadian version is known from several manuscripts found at the archaeological sites for: Amarna, Assur and Nineveh. The narrative is anachronistic, portraying Sargon in a 19th-century BC milieu. The same text mentioned that Sargon crossed the “Sea of the West” (the “Mediterranean Sea”) and ended up in “Kuppara”, which some authors have interpreted as the Akkadian word for “Keftiu” (an ancient locale usually associated with the island of either: Crete or Cyprus.)

Chronicle of Early Kings

Famine and war threatened Sargon's empire during the latter years of his reign. The “Chronicle of Early Kings” reported that revolts broke out throughout the area under the last years of his overlordship. The Assyriologist Adolf Leo Oppenheim translated the last sentence of the Chronicle of Early Kings as: “From the East to the West he [i.e. Marduk] alienated (them) from him and inflicted upon (him as punishment) that he could not rest (in his grave).”

Legacy

Sargon is sometimes identified as the first person in recorded history to rule over an empire (in the sense of the central government of a multi-ethnic territory), although; earlier Sumerian rulers Lugal-Anne-Mundu and Lugal-Zage-Si might have held similar claims. Kings from both Assyria and Babylonia (whose empires were centered at Mesopotamia) saw themselves as heirs to Sargon's empire. Sargon may have indeed introduced the notion of “empire” as understood in the later Assyrian period; the Neo-Assyrian “Sargon Text” (written in the first person) had Sargon challenging later rulers to “govern the black-haired people” (i.e. the indigenous population of Mesopotamia) as Sargon himself once did. Sargon's reign was a forerunner to Semitic domination in the Ancient Near East, moreover; following the end of the Neo-Sumerian Empire (fl. c. 2200 BC — c. 2000 BC), Semitic domination lasted nearly one-thousand-five-hundred years (including the empires of the: Assyrians, Babylonians, and all the way up to the Persians of 539 BC.) An important source for “Sargonic Heroes” (in oral tradition of the later Bronze Age) is a Middle Hittite (c. 1400 BC) record of a Hurro-Hittite song, which called upon Sargon and his immediate successors as “deified kings” (“dšarrena”.) Neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus (reigned 556 BC — 539 BC) showed great interest in the history of the Akkadian Empire, going so far as to conducting excavations of Sargon's palaces and those of his successors. “Sargon I” was a king of the Old Assyrian Empire presumably named after Sargon of Akkad. “Sargon II” (reigned 722 BC — 705 BC) was a Neo-Assyrian king also possibly named after Sargon of Akkad. It is Sargon II whose name was rendered as “Sargon” (“סַרְגוֹן”) in the Hebrew Bible (Isaiah 20:1).

Popular culture

Although historically inaccurate and supernatural in nature, The Scorpion King: Rise of a Warrior (2008) features Sargon of Akkad as a murderous army commander who uses black magic. He was the film's main villain and was portrayed by American actor and mixed martial artist Randy Couture. This is one of the few films, if not the only one, to depict Sargon. The twentieth episode of the second season of Star Trek: The Original Series, "Return to Tomorrow", features an ancient, telepathic alien named Sargon who once ruled a mighty empire. American Rock Group They Might Be Giants refer to Sargon of Akkad in the track "The Mesopotamians" on their 2007 album The Else, along with Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal and Gilgamesh.

Reign

Historiography

Language and script used in records

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".

During Sargon's reign, East Semitic was standardized and adapted for use with the cuneiform script previously used in the Sumerian language into what is now known as the "Akkadian language". A style of calligraphy developed in which text on clay tablets and cylinder seals was arranged amidst scenes of mythology and ritual.

Conquests

Establishing a power base at Sargon's capital city of Akkad, he then conquered the powerful city-state of Uruk (seizing hegemony over all of the other city-states of Sumer.) Sargon may have played a role in the downfall of the king of the city-state of Kish (Ur-Zababa.)

Conquest of Sumer

Sargon claims in his inscriptions that he is "Sargon, king of the world, conqueror of Elam and Parahshum", the two major polities to the east of Sumer.

Battle of Uruk

Sargon then had the army of Kish follow him into attacking the city-state of Uruk (leading into the “Battle of Uruk” — one of the decisive battles which allowed Sargon to subdue Sumer and bring it under his control.) The Battle of Uruk was one of the decisive battles in which Sargon subdued Sumer and brought it under his control. The only known information about this battle is from a copied inscription at the city-state of Nippur, and the date for the battle is uncertain. During his military campaign, Sargon attacked the city-state of Uruk.

Uruk's defenders seem to have deserted the city to join an alliance led by fifty ensis of other Sumerian provinces (which were under the leadership of the king of the city-state of Uruk: Lugal-zage-si) to fight against Sargon. This Sumerian alliance fought two pitched battles against Sargon, as a result of which the remaining forces of Lugal-zage-si were routed. Lugal-zage-si himself was captured and taken to Nippur; Sargon inscribed on the pedestal of a statue (preserved in a later tablet) that he took Lugal-zage-si “in a dog collar to the gate of Enlil.” In this pitched battle that ensued c. 2271 BC, Lugal-zage-si (the chief rival and opponent of Sargon) was defeated and his forces were routed. After the battle, Lugal-zage-si himself was captured by Sargon and taken to Nippur "haltered like a dog":

Sargon, king of Akkad, overseer of Inanna, king of Kish, anointed of Anu, king of the land, governor of Enlil: he defeated the city of Uruk and tore down its walls, in the battle of Uruk he won, took Lugalzagesi king of Uruk in the course of the battle, and led him in a collar to the gate of Enlil.

— Inscription of Sargon (Old Babylonian copy from Nippur).

Sargon came to control the rest of Mesopotamia as far as the city-state of Ebla (in Syria), creating an empire covering roughly the area of what is today referred to as the “Republic of Iraq”. His campaigns may well have extended as far north as Anatolia and as far west as the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea. Although later sources credited him with a fifty-six-year-long reign, actual dated documents have been found for only four different year-names during his reign. The year-names described campaigns waged against: Elam, Mari, and Simurrum.

One inscription told that he won thirty-four battles; another suggested that he had a standing army, recording that: “5,400 soldiers eat bread before him each day”. Sargon's infantry probably used bronze weapons and composite bows, and he would have also possessed four-wheeled chariots pulled by asses. This army could cope with siege warfare, since records tell of Sargon destroying the walls of the city-states he captured. Later Mesopotamian peoples regarded him as the founder of the region's tradition (the tradition of expansion by military conquest) as exemplified by the: Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian empires.

Nippur inscription

Among the most important sources for Sargon's reign is a Paleo-Babylonian-era tablet referred to as the “Nippur Inscription” (recovered at the archaeological site for the city-state Nippur during the University of Pennsylvania expedition of the 1890s AD.) The Nippur Inscription is a copy of the inscriptions found on the pedestal of a statue erected by Sargon in the temple of Enlil. The tablet's text was edited by Arno Poebel and Leon Legrain. In the inscription, Sargon styled himself: “Sargon, King of Akkad, Overseer of Inanna, King of Kish, Anointed of Anu, King of the Land, Governor of Enlil.” The inscription also celebrated the conquest of the city-state of Uruk and the defeat of its king Lugal-zage-si, whom Sargon brought “in a collar collar to the gate of Enlil.”

Sargon conquered the city-states of both Ur and E-Ninmar, then “laid waste” the territory of the city-state Lagash to the sea, and from there went on to conquer the city-state of Umma (after which he collected tribute from both: Mari and Elam):

Sargon, king of Agade, was victorious over Ur in battle, conquered the city and destroyed its wall. He conquered Eninmar, destroyed its walls, and conquered its district and Lagash as far as the sea. He washed his weapons in the sea. He was victorious over Umma in battle, [conquered the city, and destroyed its walls]. [To Sargon], lo[rd] of the land the god Enlil [gave no] ri[val]. The god Enlil gave to him [the Upper Sea and] the [Lower (Sea).

— Inscription of Sargon. E2.1.1.1

He triumphed over thirty-four cities in total. Ships from Meluhha, Magan and Dilmun rode at anchor in the capital city of Akkad. Submitting himself to Dagan, Sargon conquered territories from both Upper Mesopotamia and the Levant, including: Mari, Yarmuti, and Ebla “up to the Cedar Forest and up to the Silver Mountain” ruling from the “Upper Sea” to the “Lower Sea.” He entertained a court or standing army of five-thousand-four-hundred men who “ate bread daily before him.”

Conquests of Elam and Marhashi

Sargon 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. He entertained a court or standing army of 5,400 men who "ate bread daily before him".

Conquest of Upper Mesopotamia, as far as the Mediterranean sea

Submitting himself to the (Levantine god) Dagan, Sargon conquered territories of Upper Mesopotamia and the Levant, including Mari, Yarmuti (Jarmuth?) and Ibla "up to the Cedar Forest (the Amanus) and up to the Silver Mountain (Aladagh?)", ruling from the "upper sea" (Mediterranean) to the "lower sea" (Persian Gulf).

References

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Geography

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