A city on the Euphrates (as yet undiscovered) which gave its name to an ancient northern Semitic kingdom, traditionally founded by Sargon (2334–2279 bc) in north‐central Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). Its power extended over Babylonia, Assyria, and Syria, and even penetrated into Asia Minor, until it was overwhelmed by invading tribes from the east c.2150 bc. The Akkadian language, used in Mesopotamia from about 3000 bc and known from cuneiform inscriptions, is the oldest recorded Hamito‐Semitic language. Two dialects of Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian, were spoken in the Middle East for the next 2000 years before they gave way to Aramaic.