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Chronicle II of XII

The Akkadian Empire & the Third Dynasty of Ur

Ancient Mesopotamia

Sargon's first empire and the Sumerian renaissance of Ur that followed.

Span
2334 – 2004 BC
Entries
9
The Victory Stele of Naram-Sin, king of Akkad
Frontispiece · The Victory Stele of Naram-Sin, king of AkkadVia Wikimedia Commons
  1. 2334 BC

    Akkadian EmpirePolitical

    Sargon founds the first empire

    Sargon of Akkad overthrows Lugalzagesi, conquers all Sumer, and builds a realm reaching from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
  2. 2300 BC

    Akkadian EmpireCultural

    Enheduanna, the first author

    Sargon's daughter, high priestess of the moon god at Ur, writes hymns signed with her own name — the earliest author known to history.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 1
  3. 2254 BC

    Akkadian EmpireReligious

    Naram-Sin, king of the four quarters

    Sargon's grandson Naram-Sin raises the empire to its height and becomes the first Mesopotamian king to declare himself a living god.

    The Victory Stele of Naram-Sin, king of Akkad
    The Victory Stele of Naram-Sin, king of Akkad · Via Wikimedia Commons
    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
  4. 2190 BC

    Gutian InterludeEvent

    The fall of Akkad

    Drought, revolt, and raids by the mountain Gutians break the Akkadian Empire, an end later poets blamed on the anger of the gods.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
  5. 2144 BC

    Gutian InterludeCultural

    Gudea of Lagash

    While the Gutians hold the north, the pious governor Gudea makes Lagash a centre of temple-building and art.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
  6. 2112 BC

    Third Dynasty of UrPolitical

    Ur-Nammu revives Sumer

    Ur-Nammu drives out the Gutians, unites the south under Ur, and proclaims the oldest law code yet discovered.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
  7. 2100 BC

    Third Dynasty of UrReligious

    The Great Ziggurat of Ur

    Ur-Nammu raises the towering ziggurat to the moon god Nanna, the best-preserved of all Mesopotamian temple-mountains.

    The restored Great Ziggurat of Ur in southern Iraq
    The restored Great Ziggurat of Ur in southern Iraq · Via Wikimedia Commons
    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 2
  8. 2094 BC

    Third Dynasty of UrPolitical

    Shulgi and the perfect state

    King Shulgi builds a vast bureaucracy, standardizes weights and calendars, and has himself worshipped as a god.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 2

  9. 1 more entry, to 2004 BC