flourished 23rd century BC
Ancient Mesopotamian ruler (r. 2334–2279 BC).
What is known of him comes from legends and tales; his capital city, Agade, has never been located. Perhaps originally a royal cupbearer, he came to prominence by defeating a Sumerian king, thereby attaining an empire in southern Mesopotamia and becoming the first emperor whose native tongue was Akkadian rather than Sumerian. He enlarged the empire from Iraq to Anatolia, and trade flourished with the Indus valley, Oman, the Persian Gulf coast, Cappadocia, and perhaps Greece.