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→The Origins of Sargon and the Akkadians
The manner in which Sargon came to rule over most of Mesopotamia was quite simple – he did it through warfare and by eliminating his most potent rival. Sometimes while Sargon was the King of Kish and Akkad, Lugalzagesi was the king of the powerful city of Uruk. Uruk had a long and illustrious history dating back to the Sumerians and the late fourth millennium BC and was still quite powerful in Sargon’s time. Lugalzagesi unified most of Mesopotamia under his rule, so when Sargon overthrew him, he had a ready-made empire in his hands. <ref> Kuhrt, pgs. 45-46</ref> A cuneiform historical text dated to the end of the Akkadian Dynasty describes how Sargon sieged Uruk and then took Lugalzagesi captive.
“Sargon, king of Agade, overseer of Ishtar, king of Kish, anointed priest of Anu, king of the country, great ensi of Enlil; he defeated Uruk and tore down its wall; in the battle with the inhabitants of Uruk, he was victorious. Lugalzaggisi, king of Uruk, he captured in (this) battle, he brought him in a (dog) collar to the gate of Enlil. Sargon, king of Agade, was victorious in the battle with the inhabitants of Ur, the(ir) town he defeated and tore down its wall.” <ref> Pritchard, p. 267</ref> Once Sargon had eliminated Uruk’s resistance, he was free to embark on his program to change Mesopotamia.
====The Akkadian Language====
