The world's first empire, known as Akkad, was founded some 4,300 years ago, between
the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers. The empire was ruled from a city—also known as
Akkad—that is believed to have lain just south of modern-day Baghdad, and its influence
extended north into what is now Syria, west into Anatolia, and east into Iran. The
Akkadians were well organized and well armed and, as a result, also wealthy: Texts from
the time testify to the riches, from rare woods to precious metals, that poured into the
capital from faraway lands.