Sargon I was a ruler from an area in northern Mesopotamia known as Akkad. At about 2300 B. C., Sargon moved his armies south and conquered the Sumerian city-states. These city-states merged with Akkad, and the area was now called Sumer and Akkad. Thus, Sargon I created the world's first empire. He extended the Akkadian empire to include all of Mesopotamia.

Under Sargon, Akkadian became the language of all people. Sumerianwas still used for relous purposes, though. The Akkadians adopted Sumerian religion and worshipped the Sumerian gods. Their language was written Sumerian cuneiform. Sargon ruled for 50 years, but shortly after his death, the empire fell.