Western History 6: What was the Akkadian Empire?

It was the first Empire to emerge within the Mesopotamian civilization and covered an area about the size of modern day Turkey. The founder of the Empire was king Sargon (name means true king) the Great who ruled between 2334 –2279 BCE. The Akkadians were a semitic people and the Empire bought together the Semites and the various Sumerian groups. Sargon imposed the Akkadian language on a number of groups including the rival Elam and although the Empire lasted for two centuries (it collapsed around 2154 BCE) it appears to have been provided the foundation for both the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires that followed. The Akkadian Empire was centred on the city state of Akkad and followed the Sumarian religion with its deities: Anu (heaven), Enlil (air), Enki (freshwater and male fertility) and Ninhursag (goddess of the Earth