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The Sargon Geography

Tribute to Sargon

1 From [...] the bridge of Baza at the border of the road to the land of Meluhha,
2 to the Cedar Mountain is the land of Hanu: nine kings.
3 From the Cedar Mountain to Anšan is the land of Subartu.
4 [...] bringing tribute and carrying gifts to Sargon,
5 who ruled the lands/peoples of the whole world.

Lands and Their Borders

6 From [...] on the bank of the river Euphrates to Supri is the land of Mari.
7 From [...] to Iabuše is the land of Rapiqu.
8 From [...] to Maškan-šarri is the land of Assyria.
9 between the Tigris and Euphrates;
10 From [...] to Lubdi is the land of Arrapha.
11 between the Upper and Lower Zab rivers.
12 From Uruna to Sinu is the land of Lullubi.
13 From Ebla to Bit-Nanib is the land of Armani.
14 From Hizzat to Abul-Adad is the land of Akkad.
15 From Abul-Adad to Hallaba is the land of Guti.
16 From Hallaba to Zumirini is the land of Niqqu.
17 From Šurbu to Ibrat is the land of Der.
18 From Ibrat to Išpatum is the land of Lagaš.
19 From Kullabi to the sea are the people of Kutumta.
20 From ... to Mangisu is the land of Hurim.
21 From Damru to Sippar is the land of Akkad.
22 From Tirgan of Gutium to Uzarilulu is the land of Edamarus.
23 From Uzarilulu to Bit-Sin is the land of Mari.
24 From Bit-Sin to Maškan-šapir is the land of Malgi.
25 From Šar-Sin to the waters of Marrud, the bitter waters, is the land of Emutbal.
26 From Bit-Hubba to Rahabu is the land of Isin.
27 From Bit-Gabagal to Eriaba is the land of [...]
28 From Turgu to the Mountain River is the land of Mutiabal.
29 From the Gate of Susa to Gimdub is the land of Amurru at the border of Mari, the land of Sumer and Akkad.
30 The distance from the tail of the Euphrates to the border of Meluhha, Magan, is 120 double-hours.

Sargon Measures His Conquests

31 Sargon, king of the world, conquered all the land under heaven;⁠
32 he marked out its borders and measured its perimeter.
33 The perimeter of the land of Marhaši is 40 double-hours.
34 The perimeter of the land of Tukriš is 60 double-hours.
35 The perimeter of the land of Elam is 90 double-hours.
36 The perimeter of the land of Akkad is 180 double-hours.
37 The perimeter of the land of Subartu is 120 double-hours.
38 The perimeter of the land of Amurru from Lebanon to Turukki is 120 double-hours.
39 The perimeter of the land of Lullubi is 90 double-hours.
40 The perimeter of the land of Anšan is 90 double-hours.

Lands Beyond the Seas

41 Anaku and Kaptara, lands beyond the Upper Sea,
42 Dilmun and Magan, lands beyond the Lower Sea,
43 and the lands from sunrise to sunset, all the lands together,
44 which Sargon, king of the world, conquered three times.

Places and Peoples

45 From Anšan to Egypt, Tyre, and Suršatak;
46 from Byblos to [...] Lullupun and Magan;
47 Baza, [...] and the land of Udani which borders on Sumer, everything there is.
48 [...] Moab, [...] Tema, also called Til Temania.
49 [...] Edom and Ginnirtum.
50 [...] Munni, [...], Lapu, also called Til Halapu.
51 [...] Aklitu, Amurru and the southern peoples, Lullubu and the northern peoples,
52 who do not know how to build. Lower Akriyaš,
53 Maršuna, Angi, and all of Kutalla,
54 Hanigalbat, whose settlements lie far away,
55 Duda, Marašman, Zer/Quliyaš, and Surginiyaš,
56 Handakiyaš, in front of [...]; the scepter, the wood of justice.
57 Karzina, above it, whose hair is shaped with a razor,
58 consumed by fire, who do not practice burial.
59 Meat, milk, and roasted grain are their food; their insides know no bread from an oven, and their bellies no beer.

Closing Fragments

60 These are [...] opposite the sea.
61 It extends beyond [...] the Euphrates.
62 The Suteans, Lullubeans [...]
63 He put clothing on [...]
64 Gutium [...]
65 [...]

Texts in conversation

Compare The Sargon Geography 31–32 and Genesis 7:19

Ancient Near East, Assyrian · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Genesis 7 describes water covering every mountain under heaven, similar to the description of Sargon's conquest of all the land under heaven in the Sargon Geography. This type of hyperbole may emphasize the importance of events rather than geography.

Passages

The Sargon Geography 31–32

Ancient Near East, Assyrian
31 Sargon, king of the world, conquered all the land under heaven; 32 he marked out its borders and measured its perimeter.
800–600 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in The Sargon Geography

Genesis 7:19

Hebrew Bible
17 The flood engulfed the earth for 40 days. As the waters increased, they lifted the ark and raised it above the earth. 18 The waters completely overwhelmed the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the waters. 19 The waters completely inundated the earth so that even all the high mountains under the entire sky were covered. 20 The waters rose more than 20 feet above the mountains. 21 And all living things that moved on the earth died, including the birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all humankind. 22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

References

"... The geographical extent of the flood is described in a variety of ways: “all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered” (Genesis 7:19) “covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits” (Gen 7:20) “there was water over all the surface of the earth” (Genesis 8:9) Several factors, however, make these statements less specific than we might imagine. In keeping with the use of hyperbole, the rhetoric of universalism can be attested in numerous places in the Bible (for a few examples see Genesis 41:57; Exodus 9:6 [compare Exodus 9:19]; Deuteronomy 2:25). Examples in ancient literature that use universalistic language rhetorically are not difficult to find. A text known as Sargon’s Geography states, “Sargon, King of the Universe, conquered the totality of the land under heaven” ..."
Tremper Longman III and John H. Walton, The Lost World of the Flood: Mythology, Theology, and the Deluge Debate (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2018), 48.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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The Sargon Geography 31–32 and Genesis 7:19

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