Sargon of Akkad (or Agade; r. ca. 2334–2279 BCE), founder of a Sumero-Akkadian (often just called Old Akkadian) dynasty in Mesopotamia, was the creator of the first world state in history, as he controlled territory from western Iran to Anatolia and the Mediterranean Sea. He was also one of the first to have a continuous standing army. The details of Sargon’s reign and his military exploits are obscure and cannot be put in chronological order. He was the ruler of Agade, a city that has not yet been located but was presumably near the modern-day ruins of Babylon. Sargon may have first undertaken expeditions to western Iran and northern Mesopotamia and claims to have conquered the powerful Syrian polities of Mari and Ebla, reaching the Mediterranean Sea. Although it is not at all possible to discern the nature of these conquests, there is contemporary archaeological evidence for the destruction at Ebla that may be associated with Sargon. He also invaded the Sumerian states to his south, conquering Ur, Umma, and Uruk, the city of Lugalzagesi, who had claimed to be the leader of the Sumerian cities.