First King of the World: Who was Naram-Sin?

“Naram-Sin, son of Manistusu, ruled for 56 years” - an entry carved into the Sumerian King List. Naram-Sin (r. 2,255 - 2,218 BCE) ruled over the Akkadian Empire and under his rule the military threats both within and without the Empire grew. He kept his grandfather Sargon the Great’s empire intact and safe, reaching the apex of their power.

Famous image of Naram-Sin wearing a horned hat in his victory stele

Sons of Sargon the Great of Akkad

Establishing an empire is one thing, maintaining it is another. This beset the successors of Sargon the Great after their patriarch passed away, living them with history's earliest known empire. Unprecedented, Sargon's sons and grandson worked extremely hard to follow a tough act.

Akkadians battling the Sumerians (left)

World's Earliest Success Story - Who was Sargon the Great?

Sargon the Great of Akkad founded the Akkadian Empire (r. 2,334 - 2,279 BCE) defying boundaries in military tactics and administration to create a multi-lingual great power. His achievements inspired future empire-builders in the region. In modern sense, Sargon the Great is the world's first success story - from "an orphan" left adrift in a river to a forger of an empire that dominated the Mesopotamia for more than a century.
Famously called "Mask of Sargon"
but suspected to be Naram-Sin,
Sargon's grandson

5 Sources on Sargon the Great of Akkad

Sargon the Great, one history earliest recorded Empire-builder, a Rockstar of the ancient world, had a mysterious and legendary life. Much of the mysticism of his biography stemmed from the lack of complete sources on his exploits and below are just some of the primary sources pertaining to this early conqueror.


The Rise and Fall of the Isaurian Dynasty

A dynasty that plunged the Byzantine Empire into a sectarian division between those who venerated icons in their worship and those who saw it as idolatry. The Isaurian Dynasty (717 - 802) confronted the continuous threat of Muslim as well as Bulgar expansion and the emergence of the Frankish Empire. It met an ending under a woman Basileus.

Founders: Who is Emperor Leo III the Isaurian?

Emperor Leo III (r. 717 - 740) of the Byzantine Empire established the Isaurian Dynasty that ruled the Eastern Roman Empire until 802. He put an end to almost 20 years of political instability that witnessed several Emperors, coups, rebellions, monastic vows, and mutilation. He ended a turmoil, only to create a new controversy that characterized the house he had established.

Byzantine Covert Operations - Leo III in the Caucasus

Covert operations and proxy wars filed the history of the Cold War – a battle between 2 superpowers of the 20th century. Covert operations and proxy wars, however, already existed way before and used by many of the great empires in history to weaken or humiliate rival powers. Such as the case of the Byzantine Empire and the Umayyad Caliphate in the late 7th and early 8th century, when Emperor Justinian II sent his spartharios, the future Emperor Leo III, to the Alans and help them defeat the Abasgians who switched their fealty in favor of the Muslim Empire.

Map of the kingdom of Lazica, by Cplakidas, CC BY-SA 3.0