The Neo-Assyrian Birth Legend of Sargon of Akkad, known since the mid-19th century, was loosely interpreted for popular audiences in an early serial publication, The Story of the Greatest Nations (1913). The authors elaborated on the famous legend with a rather fanciful description of Sargon’s encounter with the goddess: “A legend grew around him, telling that he was a prince, who was exposed to…

Sargon of Akkad was a great Mesopotamian king and conqueror, reigning c. 2334-2279 BCE. Though his origins and early life remain obscure, he has long been associated with gardening. The Sumerian King List, dating from the Ur III period (c. 2100 BCE), described Sargon’s father as a gardener or, more precisely, a ‘date grower.’ This biographical tradition (which has not been historically verified)…

The Neo-Assyrian Birth Legend expanded on the literature about Sargon of Akkad’s humble origins, drawing from biographical traditions as well as folklore themes including the infant exposure motif. In this ‘pseudo-autobiographical’ text, likely composed during the reign of Sargon II (722-706 BCE), Sargon described his early life as foundling raised by a gardener, who became a gardener himself,…