Sargon the Great

Examples of Sargon the Great in the following topics:

• Ur

  • Its patron god was Nanna, the moon god, and the city's name literally means "the abode of Nanna."
  • This temple was built in the 21st century BCE, during the reign of Ur-Nammu, and was reconstructed in the 6th century BCE by Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon.
  • Between the 24th and 22nd century BCE, Ur was controlled by Sargon the Great, of the Akkadian Empire.
  • It was ruled by the first dynasty of Babylonia, then part of the Sealand Dynasty, then by the Kassites before falling to the Assyrian Empire from the 10th-7th century BE.
  • The final decline was likely due to drought, changing river patterns and the silting of the Persian Gulf.

• The Akkadian Empire

  • The Akkadian Empire flourished in the 24th and 22nd centuries BCE, ruled by Sargon and Naram-Sin.
  • Its founder was Sargon of Akkad (2334–2279 BCE).
  • Under Sargon and his successors, the Akkadian Empire reached its political peak between the 24th and 22nd centuries BCE.
  • He called himself "the anointed priest of Anu" and "the great ensi of Enlil. "
  • Sargon managed to crush his opposition even in old age.

• Akkadian Government, Culture, and Economy

  • Initially, the monarchical lugal (lu = man, gal = great) was subordinate to the priestly ensi, and was appointed at times of troubles, but by later dynastic times, it was the lugal who had emerged as the preeminent role and had his own palace independent from the temple establishment.
  • Under Sargon, the ensis generally retained their positions, but were seen more as provincial governors.
  • With Naram-Sin, Sargon's grandson, titular honors went even further than they did with Sargon.
  • Both Sargon and Naram-Sin maintained control of the country by installing various members of their family in important positions around the empire.
  • Clay seals that took the place of stamps bore the names of Sargon and his son.

• The Assyrians

  • In the late 24th century BCE, Assyrian kings were regional leaders under Sargon of Akkad, who united all the Akkadian Semites and Sumerian-speaking peoples of Mesopotamia under the Akkadian Empire (c. 2334 BC-2154 BCE).
  • However, a shift in the Assyrian's dominance occurred with the rise of the Middle Assyrian Empire (1365 BCE-1056 BCE).
  • This period saw the reigns of great kings, such as Ashur-uballit I, Arik-den-ili, Tukulti-Ninurta I, and Tiglath-Pileser I.
  • Beginning with the campaigns of Adad-nirari II from 911 BCE, Assyria again showed itself to be a great power over the next three centuries during the Neo-Assyrian period.
  • Map of the Ancient Near East during the 14th century BCE, showing the great powers of the day

• Babylon

  • Following the disintegration of the Akkadian Empire, the Sumerians rose up with the Third Dynasty of Ur in the late 22nd century BCE, and ejected the barbarian Gutians from southern Mesopotamia.
  • The Sumerian "Ur-III" dynasty eventually collapsed at the hands of the Elamites, another Semitic people, in 2002 BCE.
  • Conflicts between the Amorites (Western Semitic nomads) and the Assyrians continued until Sargon I (1920-1881 BCE) succeeded as king in Assyria and withdrew Assyria from the region, leaving the Amorites in control (the Amorite period).
  • To the west, Hammurabi enjoyed military success against the Semitic states of the Levant (modern Syria), including the powerful kingdom of Mari.
  • The extent of the Babylonian Empire at the start and end of Hammurabi's reign.

• Argentina Before the Great Depression

• The Great Uprising of 1857

• Nubia

  • The Nubian region had gone by other names in the Old Kingdom.
  • Piye was defeated by the Assyrian king Shalmaneser V and then his successor Sargon II in the 720s BCE.
  • It was during the 25th dynasty that the Nile valley saw the first widespread construction of pyramids (many in modern Sudan) since the Middle Kingdom.
  • One theory is that this represents the monarchs breaking away from the power of the priests at Napata.
  • The eventual influx of Arabs and Nubians to Egypt and Sudan had contributed to the suppression of the Nubian identity following the collapse of the last Nubian kingdom around 1504.

• Great Zimbabwe

  • Great Zimbabwe is a ruined city in the south-eastern hills of today's Zimbabwe.
  • The exact identity of the Great Zimbabwe builders is at present unknown.  
  • The Great Zimbabwe people mined minerals like gold, copper and iron.
  • They are known as the Hill Complex, the Valley Complex and the Great Enclosure.
  • Explain the social structure, unique aspects, and decline of Great Zimbabwe

• Alexander the Great

  • In a little over thirty years, Alexander the Great created one of the largest empires in the ancient world using his military and tactical genius.
  • Alexander III, commonly known as Alexander the Great, was born to Philip II in Pella in 356 BCE, and succeeded his father to the throne at the age of 20.
  • Seeking to reach the "ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea", he invaded India in 326 BCE, but was eventually forced to turn back at the demand of his troops.
  • Alexander earned the honorific epithet "the Great" due to his unparalleled success as a military commander.
  • Bust of a young Alexander the Great from the Hellenistic era, now at the British Museum.