Coordinates: 33°6′N 44°6′E / 33.1°N 44.1°E / 33.1; 44.1

The Akkadian Empire (Akkadian ^URUAkkad KI, Hittite KUR A.GA.DÈ.KI "land of Akkad"; Biblical Hebrew אַכַּד Akkad) was an empire centered in the city of Akkad (Sumerian: Agade) and its surrounding region in Mesopotamia.

During the 3rd millennium BC, there developed a very intimate cultural symbiosis between the Sumerians and the Akkadians, which included widespread bilingualism.Akkadian gradually replaced Sumerian as a spoken language somewhere around the turn of the 3rd and the 2nd millennium BC (the exact dating being a matter of debate).

The Akkadian Empire reached its political peak between the 24th and 22nd centuries BC, following the conquests of its founder Sargon of Akkad (2334–2279 BC). Under Sargon and his successors, Akkadian language was briefly imposed on neighboring conquered states such as Elam. Akkad is sometimes regarded as the first empire in history, though there are earlier Sumerian claimants.^{[citation needed]}

The precise archaeological site of the city of Akkad has not yet been found.^{[citation needed]} The form Agade appears in Sumerian, for example in the Sumerian King List; the later Assyro-Babylonian form Akkadû ("of or belonging to Akkad") was likely derived from this. The etymology and meaning of Akkad (written a.ga.dè^KI or URI^KI) are unknown. Centuries later, the neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus mentioned in his archaeological records that Ishtar's worship in Agade was later superseded by that of the goddess Anunit, whose shrine was at Sippar—suggesting proximity of Sippar and Agade. Despite numerous searches, the city has never been found. One theory holds that Agade was situated opposite Sippar on the left bank of the Euphrates, and was perhaps the oldest part of the city of Sippar. Another theory is that the ruins of Akkad are to be found beneath modern Baghdad. Reputedly it was destroyed by invading Gutians with the fall of the Akkadian Empire.

Sargon of Akkad, also known as Sargon the Great "the Great King" (Akkadian Šarru-kīnu, meaning "the true king" or "the king is legitimate"), was a Semitic Akkadian emperor famous for his conquest of the Sumerian city-states in the 23rd and 22nd centuries BC. The founder of the Dynasty of Akkad, Sargon reigned in the last quarter of the third millennium BC. He became a prominent member of the royal court of Kish, killing the king and usurping his throne before embarking on the quest to conquer Mesopotamia. He was originally referred to as Sargon I until records concerning an Assyrian king also named Sargon (now usually referred to as Sargon I) were unearthed.

Sargon's vast empire is thought to have included large parts of Mesopotamia, and included parts of modern-day Iran, Asia Minor and Syria. He ruled from a new, but as yet archaeologically unidentified capital, Akkad (Agade), which the Sumerian king list claims he built (or possibly renovated). He is sometimes regarded as the first person in recorded history to create a multiethnic, centrally ruled empire, although the Sumerians Lugal-anne-mundu and Lugal-zage-si also have a claim. His dynasty controlled Mesopotamia for around a century and a half.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui (Hindi: नवाज़ुद्दीन सिद्दीक़ी, Urdu: نواز اُلدین صِدٌیقی, also known as Nowaz) is an Indian actor who has appeared in some of Bollywood's major films including, Black Friday, New York, Peepli Live, and Kahani. He will be appearing in Aamir Khan's 2012 release, Talaash (2012 film). Siddiqui is a graduate of The National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi, India. He worked in theatre for many years before moving to films.

Rani Mukerji (born Rani Mukherjee on 21 March 1978) is an Indian film actress who works in Hindi movies. Born to the Mukherjee-Samarth family, she made her acting debut with a cameo appearance in the Bengali film Biyer Phool (1996), on the insistence of her mother. The following year, Mukerji made her Hindi film debut with Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat, and subsequently had her first, and still biggest commercial success with Karan Johar's romance Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), which won her a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. She later starred in several films that fared below expectations, before featuring in the critically acclaimed drama Saathiya, for which she won her first Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress.

In 2004, her performances in the hit romantic comedy Hum Tum and the critically acclaimed Yuva earned her the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress awards, respectively, at the 50th Filmfare Awards. She later received unanimous praise for her portrayal of a blind, deaf and mute woman in Black (2005), for which she garnered two more Filmfare Awards: Best Actress and Actress - Critics. She went on to play leading roles in the comedy Bunty Aur Babli (2005) and the adult drama Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), both of which emerged as major commercial successes in India as well as overseas. Mukerji thus established herself as a leading actress of Hindi cinema. She then played a series of roles, a majority of which were under the Yash Raj Films banner, that stereotyped her as a weepy, sacrificing woman. None of these films performed well at the box office. However, in 2011, she earned praise for her portrayal of a headstrong, independent woman in the semi-biographic thriller No One Killed Jessica.

Moustapha Akkad (Arabic: مصطفى العقاد‎; July 1, 1930 – November 11, 2005) was a Syrian American film producer and director, best known for producing the series of Halloween films and directing Mohammad, Messenger of God and Lion of the Desert. He was killed along with his daughter Rima Akkad Monla in 2005 in Amman, Jordan by a suicide bomber.

Akkad was born July 1, 1930 in Aleppo, Syria. His father, then a customs officer, gave him $200 and a copy of the Quran before he left for the United States to study film direction and production at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Akkad spent a further three years studying for a Master's degree at the University of Southern California (USC), where he met the director Sam Peckinpah. Peckinpah became Akkad's mentor in Hollywood and hired him as a consultant for a film about the Algerian revolution that never made it to the big screen, but he continued to encourage him until he found a job as a producer at CBS.

In 1976, he produced and directed Mohammad, Messenger of God (released as The Message in 1977 in the United States), starring Anthony Quinn and Irene Papas. Akkad faced resistance from Hollywood to make the film in Morocco.