Sargon of Akkad was an Akkadian emperor famous for his conquest of the Sumerian city-states in the 24th and 23rd centuries BC. The founder of the Dynasty of Akkad, Sargon reigned from 2334 to 2279 BC. He became a prominent member of the royal court of Kish, ultimately overthrowing its king before embarking on the conquest of Mesopotamia. Sargon's vast empire is known to have extended from Elam to the Mediterranean Sea, including Mesopotamia, parts of modern-day Iran and Syria, and possibly parts of Anatolia and the Arabian peninsula. He ruled from a new capital, Akkad (Agade), which the Sumerian king list claims he built (or possibly renovated), on the left bank of the Euphrates. Sargon is the first individual in recorded history to create a multiethnic, centrally ruled empire, and his dynasty controlled Mesopotamia for around a century and a half.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1525:

Martin Luther married Katharina von Bora , against the celibacy discipline decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for priests. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharina_Luther

1886:

King Ludwig II of Bavaria was found dead in Lake Starnberg near Munich under mysterious circumstances. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_II_of_Bavaria

1898:

The Yukon Territory was formed in Canada, splitting from the Northwest Territories after the area's population substantially increased due to the Klondike Gold Rush. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yukon

1971:

The New York Times began to publish the Pentagon Papers, a 7,000-page top-secret United States Department of Defense history of the United States' political and military involvement in the Vietnam War. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_Papers

1997:

In one of the worst fire tragedies in recent Indian history, 59 people died and 103 others were seriously injured during a premiere screening of the film Border at the Uphaar Cinema in Green Park, South Delhi. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uphaar_Cinema_fire

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

emvowel (v): (dated, humorous) To replace a portion of a person's name with a dash in printing, in order to avoid libel http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/emvowel

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

A line will take us hours maybe;

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Better go down upon your marrow-bones And scrub a kitchen pavement, or break stones

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Is to work harder than all these, and yet Be thought an idler by the noisy set

Of bankers, schoolmasters, and clergymen The martyrs call the world. --William Butler Yeats http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Butler_Yeats