1. Sumer city-states weakened each other by fighting over land and water. 2. In 2300 B.C., Sumer was conquered by King Sargon of Akkad. 3. Sargon actually united the city-states and improved their government and military. 4. Sumer remained under Akkadian control for nearly 200 years.

1. Sargon was a great military general. 2. He taught soldiers how to fight in formations a) Soldiers with shields would be in front, with a layer of soldiers with spears behind them. 3. Eventually, Sargon controlled all of Mesopotamia. 4. He destroyed all the city- state walls to make sure they stayed loyal to him.

1. Sargon ruled for 56 years before he died. a) He had become the world’s first emperor. 2. He created a capital city in Agade in northern Mesopotamia. 3. Agade was a center of culture, and became the richest and most powerful city in the world.

1. The Akkadians ruled Sumer, but Sumerian culture survived. a) The Akkadians used Sumer’s irrigation systems. b) The Akkadians wrote in cuneiform. c) The Akkadians even worshipped the same gods, using different names.

1. The Akkadians had their own culture, too. 2. They created 3D sculptures called steles. 3. The most famous stele is the Victory Stele a) Created to celebrate a victory by Sargon’s grandson, King Naram- sin.

1. The Akkadian Empire was hard to control because of its size. 2. After 200 years, the Akkadian empire fell apart in 2100 B.C. a) Sumer returned to a city- state system, but it was much weaker. 3. Sumer existed until 1800 B.C. when it was finally conquered by Hammurabi.