In 2334 BCE the Akkadians conquered and united the Sumerian city state kingdoms to create the world’s first empire. The Akkadian’s ruled over much of Mesopotamia, what is now modern-day Iraq, Syria and Turkey, but after only 140 years the Akkadian Empire fractured. Entire regions of Mesopotamia descended into chaos and the Akkadian Empire’s very existence was lost to history. Now archaeologists scour the Middle East searching for information about how they became so powerful and why they collapsed.