Akkadian Empire · About 2334-2154 BC

Sargon of Akkad: the first empire

A cupbearer from Kish conquered the cities of Sumer and claimed to rule from the Gulf to the Mediterranean. Students follow Sargon of Akkad, meet his daughter Enheduanna, and debate why the first empire fell.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, 2334 BC to 2200 BC
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

A cupbearer from Kish conquered the cities of Sumer and claimed to rule from the Gulf to the Mediterranean. Students follow Sargon of Akkad, meet his daughter Enheduanna, and debate why the first empire fell.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain how Sargon built the Akkadian Empire and how he held it together.
  • Locate the main places of the empire, from the Lower Sea to the Upper Sea.
  • Weigh at least two explanations for the fall of the Akkadian Empire.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

2334 BC

The rise of Akkad

Open the map in 2334 BC and turn on Historical Events. Find the marker for the rise of the Akkadian Empire. The city of Akkad itself has never been found. Where do you think it might lie?

Open this view on the map
b

2300 BC

From sea to sea

Zoom out. Sargon boasted that he ruled from the Lower Sea to the Upper Sea: the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean. Find both. How many weeks might an army need to march between them?

Open this view on the map
c

2200 BC

The great drought

Jump to 2200 BC and turn on Weather of History. Read about the great drought. How might failing rains weaken an empire that needed grain for its army? Historians still debate how big a role it played.

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. According to legend, Sargon was not born a prince but served the king of Kish as cupbearer. Why might a ruler tell such a story about himself?
  2. Sargon put his own officials, and his daughter, in charge in conquered cities. Why was that a clever move?
  3. Akkadian became a language of government and letters across the Near East for centuries. Why does a shared language help an empire?
  4. Sargon's grandson Naram-Sin called himself a god. How might that help, or hurt, a ruler?
  5. The empire lasted less than 200 years. Was it brought down by drought, invaders or its own weakness? What would you need to know to decide?
4

Game round

10 min

Play one round of Rule History as Cyrus the Great, who also built an empire across Mesopotamia, about 1,800 years after Sargon. Compare: what did Cyrus do to keep conquered peoples loyal, and what did Sargon do?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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