II. An Eternal Victory
Sargon defeated and conquered both northern and southern Sumer. From cupbearer, he became king of most Mesopotamia. Uruk, Umma, Lagash, Ur, Elam, Susa, Sabum, Awan, Mari, and Ebla were all defeated by the legendary Akkadian king. There had to be something more than just mankind in this ruler. Since a very young age, legend says that Ishtar took care of him; Dagan —the god of the clouds— favored his enterprise; Sargon was “divinely chosen” as a means of the destiny to Mesopotamia.[1] It was thought so; it was written and depicted so.
After Sargon’s death, the subdued peoples of the cities of Mesopotamia arose against the Akkadian rule. The descendants of the victorious king were faced with continuous challenges to their dominion. First, came Rimush who by force of blood recovered and strengthen Akkadian supremacy over its empire. Then, king Manishtusu reigned within certain stability left by his predecessor, but could not root out the endless conspiracies inside and outside Agade state. Both rulers were assassinated within palace machinations.
Naram-Sin —the fourth king of Agade— inherited the empire among instability and challenge toward Sargon’s legacy. It was only a matter of time until the four corners of the Akkadian rule came back after the center. Nonetheless, …
Naram-Sin the mighty, king of Agade, when the four quarters of the earth attacked him together, through the love of Ishtar bore him was victorious in nine battles in a single year and captured the kings whom they had raised up against him.[2]
Such a prodigy meant for Naram-Sin his apotheosis. Who but a god would succeed in such a challenge? “Because he defended his city in crisis, the people of his city asked of him that he be the god of their city Agade, […] and they built his temple in Agade.”[3]
Nevertheless, the god-king continued to face rebellions during his reign; he might have reached divinity but that was not enough to overcome politics in his empire. The struggle for power and the challenges from the oppressed political groups did not stop. However, despite the never-ending uprisings in the subdues cities of the empire, Naram-Sin triumphed over them and managed to keep —and even to expand— Akkadian rule until the end of his days.
The “Victory Stele of Naram-Sin” has deep political connotations. It is depicted on it the battle of king Naram-Sin against the Lullabite people. What is relevant is not the battle itself nor the outcomes of it, but its representation on a memorial deployed in a public space. Its dimensions —2 meters, height, and 1.5 meters, width— make this rose-sandstone monument big enough to be seen and to amaze the spectator. This piece was not made just to commemorate a victory but to make it eternal and outstanding, perpetual in the minds of those who saw it. The more visible is the triumph and the more marks it leaves the more lasting are its sequels.