The Akkadian Empire was an empire that existed from approximately 2350 to 2100 BC. It was controlled and guided by the great Sargon of Akkad. The emperor would go on to create the world's first empire, his rule, along with the empire's achievements, would continue to signify its importance and why the empire was so successful. In class we discussed Akkad and what made it successful. Looking at history, we see that Akkad was above all an independent man, as he was able to unify the citizens of the state under a single ideology. But before we dive into his reign as king, a little history of Sargon. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Sargon was the son of La'ibum, a possible former ruler himself. After being abandoned by his family, Sargon was then taken in by a king of Kish, where he grew up alongside him, learning all the methods of becoming a king and was soon after crowned king and immediately began his conquest. . Sargon first began his campaign by invading Syria and Canaan, he also invaded countries west of Mesopotamia. Following his victories, statues were created in his name on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Cities and palaces were also built in his empire. Roads connecting the empire together were also built, obviously named after Sargon. Running the empire is where it gets tricky, as we're still not sure which style had the most influence on leaders after his reign. The management of Sargon's empire consisted of four spheres: political, economic, religious and military. Each of these had substantial success in the empire, the military being the most successful. Indeed, we have writings of kings stating that the reason for their rule was sanctioned by the gods of Mesopotamia. There are paintings depicting the Sargonian kings as commanders-in-chief of armies. We also have records showing that when kings organized expeditions, the local ruler provided them with food and sheltered them. We can assume that Sargon was respected for his ability to rule or perhaps the ruler did so out of fear that his city might be taken if he did not welcome passing kings. Sargon took great pride in his army, we have many stories detailing the accounts of his soldiers and the expeditions they undertook. Sargon took great care of his soldiers by making sure they were well armed. Spears, along with bows and arrows were issued to tactical units. Soldiers were given armor when needed. A special weapon, called a mace, was reserved for kings. It was a weapon made of stone and wood, with the blade made of copper, bronze, or a combination of both. From this information we can see that Sargon took his military matters very seriously. Politics was closely related to military matters. Most city rulers were forced into one position, meaning that many of them were locals to the empire. To convince the citizens to follow his political rule, Sargon ordered the destruction of the walls, the quartering of the soldiers, the forcing of the citizens to provide goods to the crown and the military, the payment of tributes, and the construction of royal statues in the conquered areas and much more. When land was purchased by a king during his expeditions, it was supposedly given to Sargon. As we can see, Sargon had no problem mixing politics with military practice, it can be argued that Sargon used the military so much because he valued force and saw it as the main way to run the empire. The army was not however.