The Sumerians were eventually overwhelmed by their Akkadian neighbours to the north. Sargon, cupbearer to Ur-Zababa of Kish, overthrew his master and marched to Uruk where he defeated Lugalzagesi. Sargon then attacked and crushed the nearby states of Ur, Lagash and Umma. He and his army then washed their blooded weapons in the sea, a gesture announcing that Sumer had been conquered.
For his capital Sargon founded Agade, not yet found although descriptions indicate that it was in the upper part of the southern Mesopotamian plain. To reduce the possibility of rebellion Sargon destroyed the walls of conquered cities and instead of making the defeated kings as vassal rulers he replaced them with Akkadian governors. The fact that so many cities repeatedly rebelled despite these precautions indicates the hatred the conquered people had for the Akkadians.
Having consolidated his victory over Sumer, Sargon led expeditions to western Iran. To the north he conducted victorious campaigns against Mari, Ebla and further west ‘as far as the Cedar Forest (Lebanon or Amanus) and the ‘Silver Mountain (Taurus)’. Towards the end of his reign Sargon had to deal with attempts by the city-states to regain their old independence. They besieged Agade but Sargon defeated them and destroyed their army.
A general revolt broke out after Sargon’s death, which his son and successor Rimush (r.c.2214-c.2206 BC) put down with extreme vigour. During his reign he led a successful campaign against Elam. According to a later legend Rimush was murdered in a palace coup. He was replaced by his brother Manishtusu (r.c.2205-c.2191 BC), who campaigned into eastern Elam and launched a major campaign ‘across the Lower Sea’, or Persian Gulf.
Facing revolts from the start of his reign Sargon’s grandson Naram-Sin (r.c.2190-c.2154 BC) defeated a coalition led by Kish and another led by Uruk. In the west he ‘slew’ Arman (Aleppo?) and Ebla. In the north he campaigned against the Hurrians and built a city at Nagar (=Tell Brak), a key position that controlled the roads of Jazira. In the extreme south he conquered Magan (=Oman). In the central Zagros region he defeated the powerful Lullubi.Naram-Sin was the last great monarch of the dynasty. Whether it was outside pressure that led to the collapse of the empire is unclear. Sharkallisharri (r.c.2153-c.2129 BC) managed to retain control during his reign but he probably had to fend off attacks on his frontiers. Following his reign there was a period of anarchy during which a number of local rulers (Lagash II, Uruk IV, Kish) were able to re-establish their independence, and the Gutians built up a small power base in the Diyala region. By the time the power struggle within Agade had been resolved, the territory of the last two rulers, Dudu (r.c.2125-c.2104 BC) and Shudurul (r.c.2104-c.2083 BC), had shrunk to the city’s immediate vicinity
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