His name meant “true king,” and Sargon of Akkad (unknown–2279 B.C.) took advantage of that presumed legitimacy to establish the world’s first empire around 2330 B.C. in Mesopotamia, the fertile land ...

AN ADVANCED civilisation that ruled large swathes of the Middle East 4,000 years ago may have been wiped out by a spot of bad weather. The Akkadian Empire flourished during the Bronze Age and new ...

Appendices: I. Recent explorations in Turkestan in their relation to the Sumerian problem. II. A chronological list of the kings and rulers of Sumer and Akkad.

Gol-e-Zard Cave lies in the shadow of Mount Damavand, which at more than 5,000 metres dominates the landscape of northern Iran. In this cave, stalagmites and stalactites are growing slowly over ...

Fossil coral records provide new evidence that frequent winter shamals, or dust storms, and a prolonged cold winter season contributed to the collapse of the ancient Akkadian Empire in Mesopotamia.