Captivating History - Ancient Near East: A Captivating Guide to Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East, Including Regions Such as Mesopotamia, Ancient Iran, Egypt, Anatolia, and the Levant

According to the scriptures and legends dating from the late 4 th millennium BCE and even centuries later, Sargon wasnt the first ruler of Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent. However, Sargon of Akkad became the first ideal model of a ruler, and he created the first empire known in the history of civilized men. The dynasty of Akkad is known to have commenced with Sargon of Akkad, who was once a cupbearer for Ur-Zababa, the second king of the Fourth Dynasty of Kish, who ruled around 2334 BCE.

Before Sargon rose up to transform the Fertile Crescent into an empire, a feat that had been unseen in the ancient world, dynasties oversaw Mesopotamia, which the people considered to be sacred. And it all began with one man: Alulim. According to the ancient scriptures found in the area and the mythological portion of the Sumerian King List, Alulim was the first king of Mesopotamia, and he ruled over Eridu, a city in southern Mesopotamia, sometime before 2900 BCE. Sumerians believed the gods themselves appointed the rulers, as the kingship is said to have descended from the heavens. Ancient scriptures created by the Sumerians thousands of years ago even list a king that supposedly lived and ruled in Mesopotamia for over 48,000 years. And supposedly, women ruled Kish as well. According to the Sumerian King List, a woman named Kubaba ruled from around 2500 to 2330 BCE. It is very unlikely she ruled for this long, but it is believed that she was the grandmother to none other than Ur-Zababa.

Ur-Zababa, like other rulers before him, resided in the city of Kish, which was located in todays territory of Tell al-Uhaymir. Ur-Zababa and the Kish dynasty was defeated by the king of Uruk in around 2375 BCE. Uruk was another ancient city of Sumer; it was located east of the present-day Euphrates River. Lugal-zage-si, who was originally the king of Umma, another ancient Sumerian city, was the leader behind this attack. He was perhaps the first king to come near the title of emperor before Sargon of Akkad appeared on the scene. Besides Kish and Uruk, Lugal-zage-si is said to have conquered other Sumerian cities, such as Lagash, with his main goal being to form a unified kingdom of Mesopotamia. According to the Sumerian List of Kings, Lugal-zage-si, who ruled Kish for twenty-five years, was overthrown by Sargon of Akkad.