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[[File: Sargon.jpg|200px|thumbnail|left|Bronze Head of an Akkadian Ruler Believed to Be Sargon or One of His Successors]]__NOTOC__
Few rulers in ancient Mesopotamia influenced history more than Sargon I, also known as Sargon of Akkad (ruled ca. 2334-2279 BC). Rising to power from obscurity, from a city that has still not been located by archaeologists, Sargon led his people, the Akkadians, to conquer most of Mesopotamia, instituting many enduring changes in the process. Perhaps the most important, and certainly the most apparent, influence Sargon had on Mesopotamia was the introduction of the Akkadian language, which was still used over 2,000 after the king’s death. Sargon also influenced Mesopotamia in the shorter term by unifying the region under one dynasty and instituting changes to the religion and royal ideology followed by subsequent dynasties.
====The Akkadian Language====
[[File: Amarna_letter.jpg|300px250px|thumbnail|left|A Cuneiform Tablet in the Akkadian Language Discovered in Amarna, Egypt]]Sargon of Akkad’s greatest influence on ancient Mesopotamia was his introduction of the Akkadian language. Before Sargon came to power, the primary language spoken and written in Mesopotamia was Sumerian, a language isolate, meaning that it was a language not related to any other. Sumerian was written in the cuneiform script, comprised of wedge-shaped characters that were usually written on clay tablets and used for nearly 1,000 years before Sargon’s arrival. After Sargon took power, he and his followers kept using the cuneiform script, but with their native Akkadian language. The Akkadian language was the first Semitic language to be written. Although it was Sargon and his dynasty's primary language, the Akkadians continued to use Sumerian in many administrative, legal, and literary texts. <ref> Kuhrt, p. 46</ref> The Akkadian royal inscriptions, though, which is how modern historians know so much about Mesopotamian chronology, were always written in Akkadian but sometimes accompanied with Sumerian translations. <ref> Mieroop, Marc van de. <i>A History of the Ancient Near East: ca. 3000-323 BC.</i> 2nd ed. (London: Blackwell, 2007), pgs. 65-66</ref> It would not be until after Sargon and his Akkadian Dynasty were gone that his linguistic influence was felt across the region.
Every important dynasty in Mesopotamia after the Akkadians and some dynasties outside of Mesopotamia used the Akkadian language in their writings. The First Dynasty of Babylon (ca. 1894-1595 BC), of which the famous King Hammurabi (ruled ca. 1792-1750) was a member, used Akkadian for most of their important written texts and even the Hittites (ca. 1650-1207 BC), who built their empire to the north of Mesopotamia in Anatolia, wrote many Hittite-Akkadian bilingual texts. <ref> Mieroop, p. 122</ref> The later Kassite (ca. 1374-1155 BC), Neo-Assyrian (934-609 BC), and Neo-Babylonian (625-539) dynasties all used Akkadian for their religious and historical texts. Many of the documents that describe Sargon’s legendary origins have been dated to the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian Empires. <ref> Pritchard, p. 119</ref> Finally, even monumental inscriptions during the Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BC) usually used Akkadian along with Old Persian, Elamite, and sometimes Egyptian. The Akkadian language had its most significant influence, though, during the Late Bronze Age.
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Akkadian was the primary written language used in Mesopotamia long after Sargon’s death. Still, it also became the <i>lingua franca</i> of the greater Near East during the Late Bronze Age. By about 1500 BC, the most powerful kingdoms of the Near East – Egypt, Kassite Babylon, Mitanni, Assyria, and Hatti – all developed extensive trade networks and diplomatic ties. All of the major kingdoms and the minor kingdoms that served as buffer states wrote to each other in Akkadian to communicate. A cache of over 300 Akkadian diplomatic tablets was discovered in the Egyptian city of Tell el-Amarna (ancient Akhenaten) in 1887. The letters reveal the details of this early global system that used Akkadian as the primary language. <ref> Moran, William L. <i>The Amarna Letters.</i> (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1992), p. xiii</ref> Along with the Akkadian diplomatic letters discovered in Egypt, scores of Akkadian literature tablets have been discovered outside of Mesopotamia, including the Hittite capital of Hattusa, the Levant cities of Ugarit and Megiddo, and Amarna. Akkadian's use eventually became so widespread that all of the original Mesopotamian myths were translated from Sumerian into Akkadian. <ref> Meiroop, p. 116</ref>
====Sargon’s Empire====
Sargon’s introduction of the Akkadian language to the greater Mesopotamian population may have been his most enduring influence on the region. Still, his quest to unify Mesopotamia under one king was his most immediate impact. Regions within Mesopotamia had been conquered and ruled over by a single ruler before Sargon. Still, he was the first to conquer most of Mesopotamia and hand the rule over to his successors, thereby creating the first trans-ethnic Mesopotamian dynasty. According to the Akkadian historical texts, Sargon’s empire was built on blood and a vast army for the period.
“Sargon, king of Kish, was victorious in 34 campaigns and dismantled (all) the cities, as far as the shore of the sea. At the wharf of Agade, he made moor ships from Meluhha, ships from Magan, (and) ships from Tilmun. Sargon, the king, prostrated (himself) in prayer before the god God Dagan in Tutul (and) he gave (him) the Upper Region (i.e.) Mari, Iarmuti (and) Ibla as far as the Cedar Forest and the Silver Mountain. Enlil did not let anybody oppose Sargon, the king. 5,400 soldiers ate daily in his palace (lit.: presence).” <ref> Pritchard, p. 268</ref>
In the wake of his bold conquests, Sargon initiated new government reforms. He allowed the kings of the numerous city-states to stay in power nominally, but as governors who were expected to pay the Akkadians taxes, as well as a workforce in times of war. Regarding the bureaucracy, Sargon mandated that all accounting methods and weights , and measures be standardized, which helped to better integrate the economies of the many city-states into one imperial system. <ref> Mieroop, pgs. 64-65</ref>
Finally, Sargon of Akkad made some changes to Mesopotamian religion and ensured that other established traditions were continued. One of the most important religious moves he made, which was probably influenced by political considerations, was installing his daughter, Enheduanna, as the bride of the moon-god Nanna. As the bride, Enheduanna performed important religious rituals for the Nanna cult at the cult center in Ur. Although the office may have existed previously, its importance grew with Sargon’s patronage. <ref> Kuhrt, p. 50</ref> Sargon was a pious believer in the Mesopotamian pantheon, but he was also a shrewd leader who no doubt wanted to keep a close eye on the city of Uruk, which was the home of his one-time rival.
*[[How Were the Assyrians able to Conquer the Ancient Near East]]
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