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Sargon II (r. 722-705 BCE) was one of the most important kings of the Neo-Assyrian Empire as founder of the Sargonid Dynasty which would rule the empire for the next century until its fall. He was a great military leader, tactician...

Sargon of Akkad (also known as Sargon the Great, Shar-Gani-Sharri, and Sarru-Kan, meaning "True King" or "Legitimate King") reigned in Mesopotamia from 2334 to 2279 BCE. He is equally famous today as the father of the...

Dur-Sharrukin (modern day Khorsabad, Iraq) was a city built by Sargon II of Assyria (reigned 722-705 BCE) as his new capital. The name means “Fortress of Sargon” and the building project became the king’s near obsession...

The Sargonid Dynasty was the last ruling house of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 722-612 BCE. It began with the reign of Sargon II (reigned 722-705 BCE) and ended with fall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in 612 BCE. Some of the most famous kings...

Ur was a city in the region of Sumer, southern Mesopotamia, in what is modern-day Iraq. According to biblical tradition, the city is named after the man who founded the first settlement there, Ur, though this has been disputed. The city’s...

Assyria was the region located in the ancient Near East which, under the Neo-Assyrian Empire, reached from Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) through Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and down through Egypt. The empire began modestly at the city of Ashur...

The Akkadian poet Enheduanna (2285-2250 BCE) is the world’s first author known by name and was the daughter of Sargon of Akkad (Sargon the Great, 2334-2279 BCE). Whether Enheduanna was, in fact, a blood relative of Sargon’s or...

The Neo-Assyrian Empire (912-612 BCE) was, according to many historians, the first true empire in the world. The Assyrians had expanded their territory from the city of Ashur over the centuries, and their fortunes rose and fell with successive...

Assyria began as a small trading community centered at the ancient city of Ashur and grew to become the greatest empire in the ancient world prior to the conquests of Alexander the Great and, after him, the Roman Empire. While the Assyrians'...

Naram-Sin (reigned 2261-2224 BCE) was the last great king of the Akkadian Empire and grandson of Sargon the Great (reigned 2334-2279 BCE) who founded the empire. He is considered the most important Akkadian king after Sargon (or, according...