ruler of all Sumeria. How far his empire
extended it is impossible to determine with certainty. He appears to
have overrun Akkad, and even penetrated to the Syrian coast, for in
one inscription it is stated that he "made straight his path from the
Lower Sea (the Persian Gulf) over the Euphrates and Tigris to the
Upper Sea (the Mediterranean)". The allegiance of certain states,
however, depended on the strength of the central power. One of his
successors found it necessary to attack Kish, which was ever waiting
for an opportunity to regain its independence.

According to the Chronicle of Kish, the next ruler of Sumer and Akkad
after Lugal-zaggisi was the famous Sargon I. It would appear that he
was an adventurer or usurper, and that he owed his throne indirectly
to Lugal-zaggisi, who had dethroned the ruler of Akkad. Later
traditions, which have been partly confirmed by contemporary
inscriptions, agree that Sargon was of humble birth. In the previous
chapter reference was made to the Tammuz-like myth attached to his
memory. His mother was a vestal virgin dedicated to the sun god,
Shamash, and his father an unknown stranger from the mountains--a
suggestion of immediate Semitic affinities. Perhaps Sargon owed his
rise to power to the assistance received by bands of settlers from the
land of the Amorites, which Lugal-zaggisi had invaded.

According to the legend, Sargon's birth was concealed. He was placed
in a vessel which was committed to the river. Brought up by a
commoner, he lived in obscurity until the Semitic goddess, Ishtar,
gave him her aid.

A similar myth was attached in India to the memory of Karna, the
Hector of that great Sanskrit epic the _Mahabharata_. Kama's mother,
the Princess Pritha, who afterwards became a queen, was loved by the
sun god, Surya. When in secret she gave birth to her son she placed
him in an ark of wickerwork, which was set adrift on a stream.
Ultimately it reached the Ganges, and it was borne by that river to
the country of Anga, where the child was rescued by a woman and
afterwards reared by her and her husband, a charioteer. In time Karna
became a great warrior, and was crowned King of Anga by the Kaurava
warriors.[147]

Before he became king, Sargon of Akkad, the Sharrukin of the texts,
was, according to tradition, a gardener and watchman attached to the
temple of the war god Zamama of Kish. This deity was subsequently
identified with Merodach, son of Ea; Ninip, son of Enlil; and