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THE ANCIENT MIDDLE EAST

l(ING SARGON
OF AI(I(AD
REIGNED CIRCA 2330 TO 2279 B.C.

is name meant "true king,"

storm. The story seems clearly intended to show

and Sargon of Akkad

that Sargon was entitled to rule Mesopotamia,

(unknown- 2279 =.>.) took

however humble his origins.

advantage of that pre-

Akkadians had long been understudies of the

sumed legitimacy to estab-

Sumerians, whose civilization just south of Akkad

lish the world's first empire around 2330 =.>. in

in Mesopotamia had been thriving for a millennium.

Mesopotamia, the fertile land between the Tigris

They learned much from the Sumerians before

and Euphrates Rivers. He and his successors

emerging first as their rivals and ultimately as t heir

bequeathed to the world a concept of power

rulers. That process, in which ambitious people

that involved more than military strength. They

at the margins of an established society became

commanded obedience not simply by winning

its masters, would be repeated throughout his-

battles and striking fear in their foes, but also by

tory by great empire builders, including

imposing order, dispensing justice, and serv-

the Romans who conquered Greece

ing as earthly representatives of gods their

and the Mongols who

subjects dreaded and revered.

overran China.

According to legend, Sargon of Akkad was


born in secret to a priestess mother who set
him adrift on a river, where he was found by
the common laborer who raised him. In his
youth, Sargon was visited by lshtar-goddess of desire, fertility, storms, and warfare-who loved him. Inspired by her, he
rose from obscurity and took the world by
OPPOSITE: Founder of the world's first empire,
Sargon of Akkad upheld order and justice.
RIGHT: A cuneiform tablet tells of Sargon's birth.

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STAR LOCATION

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THE MOST I NFLUE N T I AL FIGUR ES OF ANCIENT HISTORY

THE ANCIENT MIDDLE EAST

Before Sargon took power, the prominent


Sumerian city-states of Ur and Uruk contended
with Kish to their north, in Akkad, near modern-

SUPPOR1'1NG PLAY!kR

day Baghdad. Sargon began his rise as a cupbearer to the king of Kish, whom he eventually
overthrew. He then led troops against the great
rival ruler to the south, Lugalzagesi, who commanded all of Sumer. Animosities among Sumerian city-states may have hampered Lugalzagesi
in his fight against Sargon, who captured him
and placed a yoke around his neck. A celebratory
inscription later boasted that Sargon triumphed
in 34 battles on his march to the Persian Gulf,
where he "washed his weapons in the sea."
CREATION OF AN EMPIRE

Sargon sent Akkadian governors to rule Sumerian


cities and tear down defensive walls. He left the
Sumerian religion in place but made Akkadian the
official language of all Mesopotamia. By lowering
p hysical and linguistic barriers and unifying his
realm, he promoted commerce both within Mesop otamia and well beyond. A thriving trade with
India brought pearls, ivory, and other treasures
to Mesopotamia in exchange for goods such as
wool and olive oil. Precious metals including copper and silver served as currency for the traders.
Societies had not yet devised coinage; instead,
the metal was weighed on a scale to determine
its value. Sargon used taxes he collected from
the merchants to pay his soldiers and support
royal artists and scribes, who glorified his deeds
in sculptures and inscriptions.
King Sargon ruled for more than half a century
and founded a dynasty that held firm through the
reign of his grandson, Naram-Sin. Sargon's legacy
endured far longer, as a string of later emperors
emulated his example.

Syria's Tell Brak is one of Mesopotamia's oldest cities. RIGHT: A calcite disk depicts Sargon's daughter, Enheduanna, high priestess of the temple in Ur.

OPPOSITE:

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THE ANCIENT MIDDLE EAST

HAMMURABI
REIGNED CIRCA I792 TO I750 B.C.

he Amorite ruler Hammurabi

commoners resulting in bodily injury. Like the

(unknown-1750 B.c.), crowned

ancient Israelites, the Amorites may once have

king of Babylon around 1792 B.c.,

applied the principle of "an eye for an eye, and a

was both an avid warrior and a

tooth for a tooth" to those who harmed others.

shrewd administrator who hon-

The code certainly favored people of wealth

ored the traditions of Sumer, Akkad, and other

and rank, who were required only to pay a fine if

lands he brought under his authority. He could

they injured commoners. The code also favored

be merciless to enemies, destroying cities that

men over women. Adultery by a husband might

defied him. But he also provided unity and stability to his empire by compiling a code of
laws, or legal precedents, that applied to
all his subjects.
Inscribed in stone on a monument

go unpunished, but an unfaithful wife would


be executed.
Despite such inequities, the laws promulgated by Hammurabi offered some protection to women, commoners, and slaves. For

showing Hammurabi being blessed by

example, wives abused by their husbands

the sun god Shamash, the code gov-

could sue for divorce, and all defendants

erned domestic disputes as well as crimes

were somewhat shielded from false testi-

committed outside the home. Its purpose,


he declared, was to cause justice "to
rise like the sun over the people,
and to light up the land."

mony by a law prescribing the death


penalty for witnesses who committed perjury. Setting laws down
in writing discouraged judges from

Hammurabi's Code was

ruling arbitrarily and promoted the

based partly on Sumerian

idea of justice as universal and

laws but prescribed its own


harsher penalties for some
offenses, including death
or mutilation for crimes by
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THE MOST INFLUENTIA L F IGURES OF ANCIE NT HISTORY

enduring. Hammurabi's Code


Hammurabi set the enduring
precedent of a single code of laws
applied to all subjects.

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THE ANCIENT MIDDLE EAST

REIGNING REL I GION

Hammurabis Code
favored men over women.
Adultery by a husband
mightgo unpunished,
but an unfaithful wtfo
would be executed.
did not allow for personal acts of vengeance; that
alone was a significant contribution to law and
order in civil society.
Hammurabi and other ancient conquerors
weren't above seeking vengeance themselves.
There were no rules restraining kings or emperors
from attacking one another, even when they had
formed alliances and pledged eternal friendship.
For instance, Hammurabi turned against his longtime ally the king of Mari, the ruler of a flourishing
city on the upper Euphrates River. Hammurabi
destroyed his rival's palace-along with a temple
to Shamash. In so doing, he ignored an inscription
that cursed anyone who desecrated the shrine
and entreated the gods to cut the offender's
throat and annihilate his offspring.
In strife-torn Mesopotamia, such curses were
often fulfilled. Hammurabi's dynasty lasted only
a few generations before it toppled. But his code
of laws set a vital and enduring precedent. Rulers
down through Napoleon Bonaparte issued their
own codes to unite realms that contained people
of many d if ferent customs and conceptions of
justice- and to discourage them from taking the
law into their own hands.

LEFT: The well-preserved Code of Hammurabi is on


display at the Louvre in Paris, France.

1&

THE MO ST IN FL U ENTIAL FIGURES OF ANCI EN T HI STOR Y

WORLD SURVEY
HAPPENINGS ELSEWHERE , 2000 TO 1500 B .C.

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Africa

EQUATOR

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America

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Australia

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AUSTRONESIAN
MIGRATION
Austronesians travel
in outrigger boats and
reach Vanuatu. They
continue to Fiji and
other South Pacific
islands, where they
establish hierarchical
chiefdoms, introduce
yams and breadfruit,
and raise pigs and chickens. The Austronesian
language family eventually extends from Madagascar to Easter Island.

HARAPPANS RULE
INDUS VALLEY
From large, wellplanned cities, the Indus
Valley civilization trades
copper, ivory, and gemstones with Persia and
Mesopotamia. It has a
sophisticated culture, a
well-organized government, and a writing systern of 400 characters.
Its worship of various
gods and goddesses
may have become a part
of Hinduism.

STONEHENGE
STANDS TALL
The last stage of construction winds down at
Stonehenge, the megalithic monument that
first arose on the Salisbury Plain in England
around 3000 e.c. Made
up of local sarsen stones
and bluestones transported roughly 140 miles
from Wales, the mysterious circle is thought to
have been a religious
center and cemetery.

SHANG DYNASTY
THRIVES
The Shang dynasty
reigns over the lower
reaches of the Yellow
River Valley and the
North China Plain. The
Shang develop a writing
system known as oracle
bone script-that is,
reading cracks in burnt
bones-the foundation of
the Chinese written ianguage. They perfect the
wheel, carve jade, and
make bronze weapons.

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