Final answer:
Lugalzagesi governed Uruk prior to its conquest by Sargon the Great, who later ruled it as part of his Akkadian Empire, the first empire in history. Sargon's administrative and military innovations heavily influenced the structure and governance of future empires in Mesopotamia.
Step-by-step explanation:
Lugalzagesi ruled Uruk, the largest city in Mesopotamia during the early part of Sargon the Great's reign. Uruk was subsequently conquered by Sargon and his Akkadian forces, leading to a significant transformation in the political landscape of the region. The independent city-states’ era diminished as cities like Akkad, Ur, Babylon, and Nineveh rose to prominence, impacting the administrative and military approaches in Mesopotamia. Sargon's model of empire-building influenced subsequent rulers, such as those of the Ur III dynasty, which utilized more sophisticated bureaucratic systems to govern their territories.
Throughout his reign, Sargon boasted about his beginnings as an illegitimate child and his rise from a gardener to a ruler through a coup. Appointing governors to manage conquered cities, his empire was designed to channel wealth back to the capital of Akkad. However, resentment from subjugated cities precipitated the collapse of the Akkadian Empire after about a century and a half. The legacy of his conquests and administrative techniques, however, endured much longer, influencing later Mesopotamian polities and rulers.