---
title: Sargon of Akkad: From Gardener to King of the Four Corners of the World
author: Joshua J. Mark
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/Sargon_of_Akkad/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
updated: 2026-03-16
---

# Sargon of Akkad: From Gardener to King of the Four Corners of the World

_Authored by [Joshua J. Mark](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/JPryst/)_

[Sargon](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/sargon/) of [Akkad](https://www.worldhistory.org/akkad/) (reign 2334-2279 BCE) was the king of the [Akkadian Empire](https://www.worldhistory.org/akkad/) of [Mesopotamia](https://www.worldhistory.org/Mesopotamia/), the first multinational [empire](https://www.worldhistory.org/empire/) in history, who united the disparate kingdoms of the region under a central authority. He is equally famous today as the father of the great poet-priestess [Enheduanna](https://www.worldhistory.org/Enheduanna/) (circa 2300 BCE), the first author known by name in history.

Sargon (also known as Sargon the Great, Shar-Gani-Sharri, and Sarru-Kan, meaning "True King" or "Legitimate King") was, according to his autobiography, *The [Legend of Sargon of Akkad](https://www.worldhistory.org/article/746/the-legend-of-sargon-of-akkad/)*, born an illegitimate son of a "changeling," which could refer to a [temple](https://www.worldhistory.org/temple/) priestess of the goddess Innana/[Ishtar](https://www.worldhistory.org/ishtar/) (whose clergy were androgynous) and never knew his father.

His mother could not reveal her pregnancy or keep the child, and so he was set adrift by her in a basket on the Euphrates River, where he was later found by a man named Akki, who was a gardener for [Ur](https://www.worldhistory.org/ur/)-Zababa, the King of the [Sumerian](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sumerians/) [city](https://www.worldhistory.org/city/) of Kish. Akki adopted the boy and taught him how to garden, and from this very humble beginning, Sargon would rise to [conquer](https://www.worldhistory.org/warfare/) all Mesopotamia.

The [Akkadian](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/akkadian/) Empire was the first political entity to make extensive and efficient use of bureaucracy and administration on a large scale and set the standard for future rulers and kingdoms. His story was long known throughout Mesopotamia, where, in time, he came to be considered one of the greatest kings who had ever reigned, celebrated in glorious tales down through the Persian Empire, along with his grandson [Naram-Sin](https://www.worldhistory.org/Naram-Sin/) (reign 2254-2218 BCE).

Scholar [Paul](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Paul/) Kriwaczek sums up the impact Sargon had on later generations in Mesopotamia:

> For at least 1,500 years after his [death](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Death/), Sargon the Great, founder of the Akkadian Empire, was regarded as a semi-sacred figure, the patron saint of all subsequent empires in the Mesopotamian realm.
> (111)

Even so, where he came from and even his actual name are unknown.

### Early Life & Rise to Power

*Sargon* was not the name given him at birth, but the throne name he chose for himself, meaning, as noted, "Legitimate King." It is a Semitic, not Sumerian, name, and so it is generally accepted that he was a Semite, but there is no way to know if this is true. Nothing certain is known of Sargon's birth or younger years. In fact, although his name was among the most famous in antiquity, he was unknown to the modern world until the 19th century, when his inscriptions and autobiography were discovered among the many texts of the [Library of Ashurbanipal](https://www.worldhistory.org/Library_of_Ashurbanipal/) at [Nineveh](https://www.worldhistory.org/nineveh/). *The Legend of Sargon of Akkad* reads, in part:

> My mother was a changeling, my father I knew not, 
> The brother of my father loved the hills, 
> My home was in the highlands, where the herbs grow. 
> My mother conceived me in secret, she gave birth to me in concealment. 
> She set me in a basket of rushes, 
> She sealed the lid with tar. 
> She cast me into the river, but it did not rise over me, 
> The water carried me to Akki, the drawer of water. 
> He lifted me out as he dipped his jar into the river, 
> He took me as his son, he raised me, 
> He made me his gardener.
> (Bauer, 95)

Akki adopted the boy and raised him as his own son. Sargon rose in stature at court to become the king's cupbearer. Scholar Susan Wise Bauer notes that, "ancient cupbearers were not merely butlers. The Sumerian inscriptions do not describe the cupbearer's duties, but in [Assyria](https://www.worldhistory.org/assyria/), not too long afterwards, the cupbearer was second only to the king" (97).

In his capacity as cupbearer, Sargon had the king's trust, but this was put to the test when a neighboring king, Lugalzagesi of Umma, embarked on a military campaign of [conquest](https://www.worldhistory.org/warfare/) in the region. Ancient Mesopotamia (like ancient [Greece](https://www.worldhistory.org/greece/)) was dotted with many small city-states, all of which fought one another over fertile territory and water.

Lugalzagesi of Umma (reign circa 2358-2334 BCE) marched his army through the region of [Sumer](https://www.worldhistory.org/sumer/) and conquered the city-states one by one, uniting all of them under his authority as the king Eannatum of Lagash had before him. He seems to have earlier agreed to leave Kish alone, but after conquering [Uruk](https://www.worldhistory.org/uruk/), he decided to move on Kish.

[ ![Inscription of the Birth of King Sargon of Akkad](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/r/p/500x600/3128.jpg?v=1752835338) Inscription of the Birth of King Sargon of Akkad Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin (Copyright) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/3128/inscription-of-the-birth-of-king-sargon-of-akkad/ "Inscription of the Birth of King Sargon of Akkad")Bauer writes how, "Ur-Zababa, learning that the army of the conqueror was approaching his city, grew so frightened that he 'sprinkled his legs'"(97), a line from the literary work *[Sargon and Ur-Zababa](https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2175/sargon-and-ur-zababa/)*. Ur-Zababa had grown suspicious of Sargon and, although there seems to be no evidence that the cupbearer had given him cause, decided to send him to Lugalzagesi, ostensibly with an offer of peace, to get rid of him.

Whether Ur-Zababa actually included in the message anything about terms and conditions is not known; what is known, at least according to *Sargon and Ur-Zababa*, is that the message asked Lugalzagesi to kill Sargon upon receiving it. For whatever reason, Lugalzagesi refused to comply and instead invited Sargon to join him. Together, they marched on Kish and took the city easily. Ur-Zababa escaped and went into hiding.

Precisely what happened next is unclear owing to the many legends that grew up around Sargon's life and reign over the centuries. It is possible that he had an affair with Lugalzagesi's wife at this point or that he was sent on a mission, which he turned into the first engagement of his own conquest of the region. Whatever happened between him and Lugalzagesi, they were as quickly antagonists as they had been allies.

Sargon marched on Uruk and took it. Lugalzagesi marched his army from Kish to meet Sargon in [battle](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/battle/) and was defeated. Sargon then put him in chains, tied a rope around his neck, and took him to the city of [Nippur](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/nippur/), sacred to the [god](https://www.worldhistory.org/God/) [Enlil](https://www.worldhistory.org/Enlil/), upon whom Lugalzagesi had relied, and forced him to march in humiliation through Enlil's gate. Sargon chose for himself the goddess Ishtar ([Inanna](https://www.worldhistory.org/Inanna/)) for his divine protector and, with both Ur-Zababa and Lugalzagesi out of the way, proclaimed himself king of Kish and swiftly subdued the region of Sumer.

### Military Campaigns & Empire Building

When Sargon overthrew Lugalzagesi, he gained an already united kingdom, which he could use to advantage in military campaigns to establish the first empire over all of Mesopotamia. He may have been helped in this by his own legend, which established his humble background. As in later ages and other cultures, up to the present day, class distinctions in the Sumerian [cities](https://www.worldhistory.org/city/) had led to a growing resentment by the lower class for the upper elite. The wealthiest citizens were able to take as much land as they could hold, and the lower classes routinely felt disenfranchised.

[ ![Birth of Sargon of Akkad](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/r/p/500x600/2997.jpg?v=1773079034) Birth of Sargon of Akkad Jastrow (Public Domain) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/2997/birth-of-sargon-of-akkad/ "Birth of Sargon of Akkad")Sargon's tale of his humble beginnings as a gardener would have appealed to the large numbers of working-class [Sumerians](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sumerians/) who may have seen him as a liberator and reformer. Directly after his rise to power, however, the city-states and their ruling elite hardly accepted Sargon with grace and submission; they rebelled against their new ruler and forced him to prove his legitimacy as king through military might.

After conquering Sumer, he either built a new city or renovated an older one, Akkad (also known as Agade), on the banks of the Euphrates River. This was a complete break with precedent in that, previously, the king of an existing city conquered another for the glory of the home city and the resources that would now be available. Sargon, on the other hand, conquered for no city, only for himself, and once he had control of the area, he built his own city to enjoy the benefits of conquest. Not content with what he had accomplished thus far, he set out again on campaign. Bauer writes:

> With the Mesopotamian plain under his control, Sargon set out to build an empire that stretched beyond Mesopotamia. He led these soldiers in campaign after campaign: 'Sargon, the king of Kish,' reads one of his tablets, 'triumphed in thirty-four battles.' He crossed the Tigris and seized land from the Elamites.
> He fought his way north to the city of [Mari](https://www.worldhistory.org/mari/), which he captured, and then pushed even further into the land of another Semitic tribe, wilder and more nomadic than his own Akkadians: the Amorites, who ranged across the land west of the Caspian Sea. Campaigning up the Tigris, he reached and conquered the little northern city of [Ashur](https://www.worldhistory.org/ashur/)... After this, he ranged even farther north and asserted his rule over the equally small city of Nineveh...Sargon may even have invaded [Asia Minor](https://www.worldhistory.org/Asia_Minor/).
> (101)

He may also have taken [Cyprus](https://www.worldhistory.org/cyprus/), and he claims to have marched to the [Mediterranean](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/mediterranean/) Sea and sent ships as far away as the lands of the [Indus Valley Civilization](https://www.worldhistory.org/Indus_Valley_Civilization/) for [trade](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/trade/). He marched throughout Mesopotamia, conquering one [city-state](https://www.worldhistory.org/Polis/) after another, and expanded his empire as far as modern-day Lebanon and the Taurus mountains of [Turkey](https://www.worldhistory.org/Asia_Minor/), and then went even further. He instituted military practices of combining different types of fighting forces in looser formations (to enable greater mobility and adaptability on the field), which became standard down through the time of [Alexander the Great](https://www.worldhistory.org/Alexander_the_Great/). He swept across the land with his army until he had formed the first empire in the world. Kriwaczek writes:

> There had been Mesopotamian heroes before of course. The famous kings of early Uruk, like [Gilgamesh](https://www.worldhistory.org/gilgamesh/) and his father Lugalbanda, were the protagonists of a series of fantastical accounts and tales of outlandish deeds that became mainstays of the Sumerian literary canon and were copied and recopied inscribal schools and [palace](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/palace/) scriptoria for centuries, sometimes millennia.
> But they belong to the age of [mythology](https://www.worldhistory.org/mythology/) rather than heroic legend; they told of intimate intercourse with the gods, battles with fearful monsters, the search for immortality and extraordinary other-worldly adventures. With the advent of Sargon, his sons and grandsons, the tales become, not necessarily more believable, but at least centred on the here-and-now of earthly life.
> (113)

### The Akkadian Empire

Forming an empire is one thing, but keeping it operating is quite another. Still, in administration, Sargon proved himself as capable as he was in military conquest. In order to maintain his presence throughout his empire, Sargon strategically placed his best and most trusted men and [women](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/women/) in positions of power in the various cities. The "Citizens of Akkad," as a later Babylonian text calls them, were the governors, clergy, and administrators in over 65 different cities.

[ ![Map of the Akkadian Empire at Its Height](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/r/p/750x750/15457.png?v=1776543684-1775119601) Map of the Akkadian Empire at Its Height Simeon Netchev (CC BY-NC-ND) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/15457/map-of-the-akkadian-empire-at-its-height/ "Map of the Akkadian Empire at Its Height")One of his inscriptions reads: "From the sea above to the sea below, the sons of Akkad held the chiefdoms of his cities," and Bauer notes how, "In this kingdom, the Sumerians rapidly found themselves living as foreigners in their own cities...When Sargon took over a city, it became an Akkadian stronghold, staffed with Akkadian officials and garrisoned with Akkadian troops" (99). Sargon's placement of trusted officials drew the various regions more closely under his control.

Sargon cleverly placed his daughter, Enheduanna, as high priestess at Ur and, through her, seems to have been able to manipulate religious, political, and cultural affairs from afar. Enheduanna is recognized today as the world's first author known by name, and, from what is known of her life, she seems to have been a very capable and powerful administrator in addition to her literary talents. This arrangement worked so well that Sargon's grandson, Naram-Sin, would appoint his daughter to the same position.

The stability provided by this empire gave rise to the construction of roads, improved irrigation, a wider sphere of influence in trade, as well as developments in arts and sciences. The Akkadian Empire created the first postal system, where clay tablets inscribed in [cuneiform](https://www.worldhistory.org/cuneiform/) Akkadian [script](https://www.worldhistory.org/script/) were wrapped in outer clay envelopes marked with the name and address of the recipient and the seal of the sender. These letters could not be opened except by the person they were intended for because there was no way to open the clay envelope, save by breaking it, thus ensuring privacy in correspondence.

Sargon also standardized weights and measures for use in trade and daily commerce, initiated a system of taxation which was fair to all social classes, and engaged in numerous building projects such as the restoration of [Babylon](https://www.worldhistory.org/babylon/) (which, according to some sources, he founded – though this claim has been repeatedly challenged). He also created, trained, and equipped a full-time army – centered in the city of Akkad – where, as an inscription reads, 5400 soldiers "ate bread daily" with the king. While this does not seem to be the kind of professional army later created by the Assyrian king Tilgath Pileser III (as it seems it was neither year-round nor kept in a near-constant state of mobilization), it was a great advance over the armies of the past, filled by unwilling conscripts.

Even with these improvements to the lives of the citizens of Mesopotamia, the people still rebelled against Akkadian rule. Throughout his life, Sargon would continually put down uprisings as city-states asserted their autonomy and rose against the empire. As the centuries passed, however, whatever difficulties the people had with Sargon's rule were forgotten, and all that was remembered were his heroic feats and the 'golden age' of the Akkadians. For the next 3,000 years, the Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and others would tell tales of Sargon of Akkad and his glorious victories, citing Sargon's own words from his purported autobiography:

> In my old age of 55, all the lands revolted against me, and they besieged me in Agade but the old lion still had teeth and claws, I went forth to battle and defeated them: I knocked them over and destroyed their vast army. Now, any king who wants to call himself my equal, wherever I went, let him go!

According to the [Sumerian king list](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sumerian_King_List/), Sargon reigned for 56 years and died in old age of natural causes. If he had seemed larger than life to his people during his reign, he assumed an almost god-like status in death. Kriwaczek writes:

> Up until now, [civilization](https://www.worldhistory.org/civilization/) based itself upon the belief that humanity was created by gods for their own purposes. The cities, the repositories of civilization, were divine foundations, having started, we guess, as sacred pilgrimage centres. Each city was the creation and home of a particular god. It is as if 'real life' was the one lived by the gods in the divine realm while what went on down here on earth was a largely irrelevant sideshow.
> The age of Sargon and Naram-Sin altered all that, switched the focus to the human world, and introduced a new conception of the meaning of the universe: one that made people rather than gods the principal subjects of the Mesopotamian story. Humanity was now in control. Men - and women - became rulers of their own destiny. To be sure, people were still pious, still presented sacrifices to the temples, offered the libations, performed the rites, invoked the gods' names at every opportunity. But the piety of the age now had a quite different flavour.
> (119)

### Legend & Legacy

The legends which grew up around Sargon and his dynasty were still being written, copied, and performed publicly in the last days of the Assyrian Empire (612 BCE), and the famous [copper](https://www.worldhistory.org/copper/) head of Sargon (found at Nineveh in 1931, making clear his importance to the Assyrians) is one of the most instantly recognizable works of [Mesopotamian art](https://www.worldhistory.org/Mesopotamian_Art_and_Architecture/). The story of the baby set forth in a basket on the river, who is found by nobility and grows up to be a great leader of his people, was used to great effect by the Hebrew scribe who borrowed it to write the biblical book of Exodus and the story of the hero [Moses](https://www.worldhistory.org/Moses/).

[ ![Moses Found by Pharaoh's Daughter](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/r/p/500x600/5738.jpg?v=1773050843) Moses Found by Pharaoh's Daughter Providence Lithograph Company (Public Domain) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/5738/moses-found-by-pharaohs-daughter/ "Moses Found by Pharaoh's Daughter")Sargon's story is the tale of the hero who rises from obscure beginnings to save his people. Whether he was seen as this kind of savior by those who lived under his reign is doubtful, considering the number of rebellions he had to put down, but to those who came after him, those who lived under the occupation of the [Gutians](https://www.worldhistory.org/Gutians/) (described by scholar [Samuel](https://www.worldhistory.org/samuel/) [Noah](https://www.worldhistory.org/Noah/) Kramer as demoralizing, destructive, and "a ruthless, barbaric hoarde"), he and his dynasty represented the glorious age of hero-kings which was now gone.

The tales of Sargon are thought to have inspired the Sumerians to rise up and throw off the oppressive [Gutian](https://www.worldhistory.org/Gutians/) rule circa 2050 BCE. Under the Sumerian kings Utu-Hegal and [Ur-Nammu](https://www.worldhistory.org/Ur-Nammu/), the Gutians were challenged and, under Ur-Nammu's successor, [Shulgi of Ur](https://www.worldhistory.org/Shulgi_of_Ur/), were driven from Sumer, which allowed for the flourishing of the so-called Sumerian Renaissance of the Ur III period (circa 2112 to circa 2004 BCE). The two greatest Sumerian kings of the Ur III period, Ur-Nammu (reign circa 2112-2094 BCE) and Shulgi of Ur (reign 2094 to circa 2046 BCE), both patterned their public images after those of Sargon and Naram-Sin.

### Conclusion

After Sargon's death, the empire passed to his son Rimush, who was forced to endure what his father had and put down the rebellions challenging his legitimacy. Rimush reigned for nine years and, when he died, the kingship passed to Sargon's other son, Manishtusu, who ruled for the next 15 years.

Though both sons ruled well, the height of the Akkadian Empire was realized under Sargon's grandson, Naram-Sin. During his reign, the empire grew and flourished beyond the boundaries even Sargon had attained. After his death, his son Shar-[Kali](https://www.worldhistory.org/Kali/)-Sharri became ruler, and, at this time, the empire began to unravel as city-states broke away to form their own independent kingdoms.

Shar-Kali-Sarri waged almost continual [war](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/War/) against the Elamites, the Amorites, and the invading Gutians while trying to hold the empire together, but it could no longer be maintained. The Gutian invasion has been most commonly credited with the collapse of the Akkadian Empire and the Mesopotamian dark age that ensued, and this was certainly the view of later [scribes in ancient Mesopotamia](https://www.worldhistory.org/article/249/scribes-in-ancient-mesopotamia/) who portrayed the Gutians as destroyers of civilization.

Recent studies, however, suggest that it was most likely climate change that caused a famine and, perhaps, disruption in trade, weakening the empire to the point where the type of invasions and rebellions that were easily met and put down in the past could no longer be managed as effectively.

Famine is alluded to in a later work of [Mesopotamian naru literature](https://www.worldhistory.org/Mesopotamian_Naru_Literature/), *The [Curse of Agade](https://www.worldhistory.org/article/748/the-curse-of-agade/)*, which tells of the destruction of Akkad by the will of the gods. Whether famine, invasion, the wrath of the gods, or all three, the city of Akkad fell, the great kings were gone, and the empire passed into the legends which would be told, retold, written, and copied until the stories of what once was became all that was left of the Akkadian Empire of Sargon the Great.

#### Editorial Review

This human-authored definition has been reviewed by our editorial team before publication to ensure accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards in accordance with our [editorial policy](https://www.worldhistory.org/static/editorial-policy/).

## Bibliography

- [Bauer, S. W. *The History of the Ancient World.* W. W. Norton & Company, 2007.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/039305974X/)
- [Durant, W. *Our Oriental Heritage.* Simon & Schuster, 2010.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/B00005WJGO/)
- [King, L. W. *A History of Sumer and Akkad.* William Clowes & Sons, LTD, 2000.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/B009LBVTVI/)
- [Kriwaczek, P. *Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization.* Thomas Dunne Books, 2010.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/B00DIKTPXC/)
- [Leick, G. *Mesopotamia.* Penguin (Non-Classics), 2003.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0140265740/)
- [Leick, G. *The A to Z of Mesopotamia.* Scarecrow Press, 2010.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0810875772/)
- [Pritchard, J. B. *The Ancient Near East, Volume I - An Anthology Of Texts And Pictures.* Princeton University Press, 2000.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/B0070DEED4/)
- [Two Examples of Abrupt Climate Change](https://ocp.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/div/ocp/arch/examples.shtml "Two Examples of Abrupt Climate Change"), accessed 2 Mar 2026.

## About the Author

Joshua J. Mark is World History Encyclopedia's co-founder and Content Director. He was previously a professor at Marist College (NY) where he taught history, philosophy, literature, and writing. He has traveled extensively and lived in Greece and Germany.
- [Linkedin Profile](https://www.linkedin.com/pub/joshua-j-mark/38/614/339)

## Timeline

- **2334 BCE - 2279 BCE**: [Sargon of Akkad](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sargon_of_Akkad/) (the Great) reigns over [Mesopotamia](https://www.worldhistory.org/Mesopotamia/) and creates the world's first [empire](https://www.worldhistory.org/empire/).
- **2334 BCE - 2154 BCE**: The [Akkadian Empire](https://www.worldhistory.org/akkad/) rules [Sumer](https://www.worldhistory.org/sumer/).
- **c. 2330 BCE**: [Sargon of Akkad](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sargon_of_Akkad/) sacks [Ur](https://www.worldhistory.org/ur/).
- **c. 2320 BCE**: [Sargon of Akkad](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sargon_of_Akkad/) invades the Hattic region, fails to take Hattusa.
- **c. 2300 BCE**: Life of [Enheduanna](https://www.worldhistory.org/Enheduanna/), daughter of [Sargon of Akkad](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sargon_of_Akkad/), and world's first author known by name.
- **c. 2154 BCE**: Fall of [Akkad](https://www.worldhistory.org/akkad/) to the [Gutians](https://www.worldhistory.org/Gutians/); the end of [Akkadian Empire](https://www.worldhistory.org/akkad/).
- **c. 2154 BCE - c. 2112 BCE**: The Dark Age of [Mesopotamia](https://www.worldhistory.org/Mesopotamia/).

## Questions & Answers

### Who was Sargon of Akkad?
Sargon of Akkad (reign 2334-2279 BCE) was the founder of the Akkadian Empire, the first multinational empire in world history, established in Mesopotamia. 

### What is Sargon of Akkad famous for? 
Sargon of Akkad is famous as the founder of the first multinational empire in the world, the Akkadian Empire, in ancient Mesopotamia. He is also well-known from legends that grew up around him after the fall of Akkad. 

### How did Sargon of Akkad conquer Sumer so easily? 
It is thought that Sargon of Akkad was able to conquer Sumer as much through propaganda as through military strength. His autobiography, The Legend of Sargon of Akkad, presented him as a man of the people opposed to the wealthy nobility of the city-states. 

### How did Sargon of Akkad die? 
Sargon of Akkad died of natural causes due to old age in 2279 BCE and was succeeded by his son, Rimush, who continued the dynasty. 


## External Links

- [Louvre Museum](http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/obelisk)
- [Victory Stele of Naram-Sin](http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/victory-stele-naram-sin)
- [Climate change and the collapse of the Akkadian empire: Evidence from the deep sea](http://geology.geoscienceworld.org/content/28/4/379.abstract)
- [The Akkadian Period (ca. 2350–2150 B.C.) | Essay | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History](https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/akka/hd_akka.htm)
- [List of Rulers of Mesopotamia | Lists of Rulers | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art](https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/meru/hd_meru.htm)
- [The Earth Institute at Columbia University: Two Examples of Abrupt Climate Change](https://ocp.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/div/ocp/arch/examples.shtml)

## Cite This Work

### APA
Mark, J. J. (2026, March 16). Sargon of Akkad: From Gardener to King of the Four Corners of the World. *World History Encyclopedia*. [https://www.worldhistory.org/Sargon\_of\_Akkad/](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sargon_of_Akkad/)
### Chicago
Mark, Joshua J.. "Sargon of Akkad: From Gardener to King of the Four Corners of the World." *World History Encyclopedia*, March 16, 2026. [https://www.worldhistory.org/Sargon\_of\_Akkad/](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sargon_of_Akkad/).
### MLA
Mark, Joshua J.. "Sargon of Akkad: From Gardener to King of the Four Corners of the World." *World History Encyclopedia*, 16 Mar 2026, [https://www.worldhistory.org/Sargon\_of\_Akkad/](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sargon_of_Akkad/).

## License & Copyright

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