Sargon Gilgamesh-Pilagga Azulpolassar

Sargon Gilgamesh-Pilagga Azulpolassar is the Praetor of the Hexarchy. Born Sargon-Pilagga Gilgamesh-nadinshumi Azulpolassar U-Arumenanesser, he was titled as the Third Prince of The Hexarchy before his election as Praetor. Originally, he had no technical surname to speak of, like most others in the country. In accordance to the Naming Conventions Act of 1694, he changed and shortened his name to reflect the new demand for surnames appearing in the country, due to pressures from foreign governments to identify the citizens of this otherwise exotic country. In contemporary language, his name translates roughly into: "Sargon, grandson of Agga, son of Gilgamesh, protected by Azul." He studied international relations at the Imperial University in Cardenas in Wechua, New Alexandria, where he earned a master's degree in that field. His primary duty as a "traveling ambassador" for the country is, essentially, to communicate with the public on topics relating to his country's incredibly diverse culture and enhance the country's reputation. Unlike his older brothers, he chose to adopt the legal surname "Azulpolassar" for himself, rather than wait for any children of his to pick something entirely different.

He is the third child of Praetor Gilgamesh II of The Hexarchy and his wife, Esharra of Azul'an. Currently 67 years old, he was born in 1670 AN in the then-national capital of Azul'an. He was only a small child when The Hexarchy finally achieved its independence as a unified nation-state in 1685 AN. He is also the first of his family born after the period of war that had preceded these efforts. As such, his arrival heralded the start of an era of stability in the region, and as such he has been able to develop an especially deep cultural appreciation for his homeland, even more so than his two older brothers.

Given that he was elected Praetor already at the age of sixty in 1730 AN, rumors have it that he may step aside for a child of his own, just as Praetor Gilgamesh II did nearly 40 years into his own reign. In 1701 AN, Sargon married Mako Himeji, a Ralgonese socialist from Kobol (herself belonging to a settler community formed prior to the Hexarchy's annexation of the region in 1685 AN. They currently have two sons and three daughters. The eldest, Sargon II, is 35 years old, and is presumed heir. The other children preferred diplomatic posts, or went on to found business ventures instead of going into politics, achieving no noteworthiness in their own right thus far.

Early Life & Education

After graduating his elementary education through private tutors, he went through an alternative form of high school at the nascent University of Kobol, as the country's formal secondary education system was otherwise still in development at the time. As part of his studies with these same tutors, he was frequently brought with them on their trips abroad following the Hexarchy's recognition of independence by various world powers in 1685, ten years after the country had formed and somewhat stabilized its core territory. By the time these basic studies were completed, he was sent back home to complete his secondary education at the University of Kobol, one of the few such institutions in the rapidly modernizing country equipped for the task at this tumultuous period of time.

Like a few other higher education institutions in the country, the University had already been staffed with scholars from Adrestia and other parts of the world friendly to The Hexarchy's government at the time, and was thus adequately prepared to tutor children of regional rulers. The University had, by this time, set up an affiliate high school meant to train children of elites in modern governance. By the time Sargon graduated in 1688, his grandfather Praetor Gilgamesh I had already assumed the eponymous office. Seeing a future dominated by his own children, Sargon's father wasted no time in sending all of his children of appropriate age abroad for their education. Thus, he was sent to the University of Gondolin in Adrestia, where he would graduate with honors in 1693 AN with a dual degree in Global Business and in International Affairs.

After graduating from U Gondolin, Sargon traveled to New Alexandria, where he toured the country and eventually took up graduate studies at the Imperial University at Cardenas. While there, he earned a master degree in International Relations, with a focus on building on the woefully sparse scholarship that regards The Hexarchy.

Political Career & Diplomatic Work

Having come from what was, until very recently, a backwards country fraught with danger from hostile fauna and savage peoples, the country still suffered a very poor reputation abroad. As such, Sargon was eventually tasked with embarking on public ambassador work, with the end goal to enlighten the world on his country's rich cultural heritage, but also bring lessons from his host countries back for his own people to use in their efforts to truly bring the Hexarchy and its most remote, wild peoples into the modern age.

While in New Alexandria, Prince Sargon maintained a modest pace to his studies, instead frequently touring the country and promoting his homelands' culture to those who would listen. While it was still far too early to tell, it became clear over the years that he had become a favorite to become the next Praetor due to his rapidly strengthening qualifications, charisma, and growing connections with political leaders abroad. He is also heavily involved in volunteer work within the country, and may often be seen working with one advocacy group or another. Due to his own background, he can empathize with economically and politically challenged peoples, as he spent his own childhood in an environment clouded by war. He continued this work even after his return to the Hexarchy in 1718 to take up government work.

He has also been involved in business regarding the Council of Six since 1718 AN, when he stepped in as Representative of Azul'an in the Six Nations Assembly, a representative body eventually set up for serving both party-level and individual representation. With the Praetor Gilgamesh II reaching old age, he is set to retire, allowing him to shape the future election processes in choosing the next Praetor. During 1722 AN, this was expected to happen in the near future due to the Praetor's desire to enjoy his old age as long as he could.

Reign

Tenure as Praetor

Sargon was elected Praetor in 1730 AN, almost immediately on the abdication of his now-aged father, Praetor Gilgamesh II. As a result of this election, Sargon resigned all of his other offices and posts, taking up his position as the country's effective ruler, essentially having supplanted all his siblings due to his experience in outward diplomacy and training abroad, whereas his brothers were either cemented in existing places as regional lords, or uninterested entirely in politics. Upon taking the mantle of leadership, Sargon resolved to reign no longer than necessary to train his replacement, believing that the Hexarchy's growth and stability were achieved in large part due to his predecessor's ability to maintain his rule over the country for a very long period of time before weakening due to old age. This same long reign, however, held its perceived drawbacks in the eyes of the country's elite.

During his ascension to the Praetorship, the Council openly stated, however, that this same advanced age contributed to major foreign policy failures, such as Gilgamesh II allowing Hurmu to aggressively and quickly gobble up so much territory to the west during the late 1720's AN following its merger with Phinbella. Given that the widespread sentiment among the country's elite was that this remaining territory was so-called "destined for integration into the Hexarchy" (belonging instead to the "native rulers of western Keltia"), there were strongly mixed sentiments regarding the Hexarchy's relationship with foreign powers, leading to a quiet power struggle regarding the Praetor's discretion in balancing foreign and domestic interests and desires among the country's elites, merchants, tribes, and other classes.

Thus, before he formally took power, Sargon resolved as a compromise that any future Praetor would be obligated to retire either at 80 years of age or 40 years of rule, whichever came first. His first action as Praetor were to order solidification of the country's weak western frontier, with an eye of caution cast to the Great Sandy Desert, and stabilizing the military's hold on the mountainous terrain near Naith, and over Anzu-Nergal as a whole.

Reign as Praetor

Sargon's reign as Praetor proved uncharacteristically quiet. While many reforms were passed in strengthening the country's bureaucracy and introducing democratic forms of government at local levels, his foreign policy was, in contrast, one of quiet coexistence with the Hexarchy's neighbors. Knowing that confrontations with colonial powers such as Hurmu would be a fruitless drain on national resources, he instead turned his gaze towards strengthening the government's hold on its own territories instead. He justified such policies to a hawkish Council by presenting the idea that the Hexarchy's own internal geography did not allow it to both settle and protect those regions to begin with. In short, it was not the colonizers' fault for seeing what amounted to free real estate; it was The Hexarchy's lack of reach and control over its own lands that allowed this to happen. He cited the Battle of the Behemoth in 1690 AN as one example of results of the country's failure to secure its territory, never mind its ability to defend its internal lands and enable the nation to cast its gaze outwards once more.

Thus, Sargon's national policy focused on populating and fortifying the same frontiers formerly in The Green that were so sparsely inhabited that surrounding powers had little issue in pressing their respective claims. Now-border regions such as Lotharia within the Great Sandy Desert and Lysstyrer were the focus of his settlement policies, with particular focus on New Nippur and on building its respective warm-water ports. The near-total lack of high-level diplomatic activity outside of maintaining current relations with neighboring powers allowed the government to focus on strengthening unity and collective defense, given it had more frontiers bordering The Green than most other powers on Micras.