ing for a centralized government. However, the whole
program collapsed on 2 June 1852 when Alamán died,
leaving Santa Anna in complete control of the govern-
ment. He named several cronies to important positions
and, on 16 December 1853, officially named himself as
dictator, to serve in perpetuity. The economy was still
in bad condition, and to help defray growing expenses
he sold off the Mesilla Valley in northern Mexico to the
United States, known as the Gadsden Purchase. This set
off a wave of opposition by liberals, and on 1 March
1854, the “Plan of Ayutla” was unveiled, calling for an
end to the Santa Anna regime and the adoption of a
liberal constitution. Santa Anna gathered another army
to march on the liberals at Acapulco. Along the way, his
men attacked villages sympathetic with the rebellion and
slaughtered civilians, but when they tried to attack the
liberal positions, they were repulsed. Forced to return to
Mexico City in disgrace, Santa Anna realized that his re-
gime was finished. On 9 August 1855, he and his family
sailed into exile for the third time. He spent much of the
remainder of his life trying to return. At last, penniless
and blind with his health slowly deteriorating, he was al-
lowed to return home in 1874. He died in Mexico City
on 21 June 1876 at the age of 82 and was buried near
Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Antonio López de Santa Anna is remembered by
many for his attack on the Alamo. In Mexico, however,
he is remembered for his ruthless crackdowns on dissent
and his numerous administrations that gave corruption
a home in the Mexican government.
References: Callcott, Wilfred Hardy, Santa Anna (Ham-
den, Conn.: Archon Books, 1964); Jones, Oakah L., Santa
Anna (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1968); Olivera,
Ruth R., Life in Mexico under Santa Anna, 1822–1855
(Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991); Johnson,
Richard A., The Mexican Revolution of Ayutla, 1854–55:
An Analysis of the Evolution and Destruction of Santa Anna’s
Last Dictatorship (Rock Island, Ill.: Augustana College Li-
brary, 1939).
Sargon II (Sharru-kin) (ca. 763–705 b.c.)
Assyrian king
Sargon II was born around 763 b.c., although his place
of birth is unknown. Historians believe (though are not
certain) that his father was the Assyrian king Tiglathpile-
sar III. Another name by which he was known is Sharru-
kin, meaning “the throne is legitimate.” The name
Sargon first appeared in the Bible, in Isaiah 20:1, which
states: “In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod (when
Sargon the king of Assyria sent him), and fought against
Ashdod, and took it... .” It is probable that Sargon
took his name from Sargon of Akkad (ca. 2334–2279
b.c.), leader of a Mesopotamian dynasty, although its
true origins are now lost to history. If he was a true son
of Tiglathpilesar III, then his brother, Shalmaneser IV,
served as king of Assyria prior to him, but Shalmaneser
either died or was removed from office and replaced by
Sargon in 722 b.c. At once, Sargon was forced to deal
with Marduk-apla-Iddin (known in the Bible as Mero-
dach-Balaban), a chief in Chaldea whose allies he sought
to win over by granting the towns of Assur and Haran
exemption from taxation. There were instances of unrest
in Armenia and Syria, lands that had been conquered
by Tiglathpilesar III, but Sargon’s first major task was to
begin construction of his royal palace at Dur-Sharrukin
(now modern Khorsobad, Iran), a project that would
continue to the end of his reign.
In 721 b.c., Marduk-apla-Iddin, in open defiance
of Sargon, marched his troops into Babylon (now in
modern Iraq) and made a pact with the Elamite king
Ummanigash to become king of Babylon. Sargon turned
first on Ummanigash, who defeated him at Der in 720
b.c. The Babylonian Chronicle notes: “The second year
of Merodach-Balaban: Humban-Nikash, king of Elam,
did battle against Sargon, king of Assyria, in the district
of Der, effected an Assyrian retreat, [and] inflicted a
major defeat on them. Merodach-Balaban and his army,
who had gone to the aid of the king of Elam, did not
reach the battle [so] he withdrew.” Later that same year,
Sargon took on a coalition from the cities of Hamath,
Damascus, and other Syrian towns at Karkara (now Tell
Qarqar, in modern Syria), and defeated them, annexing
Hamath and Damascus. Consolidating his power in the
region, he attacked the numerous towns and villages who
opposed him, taking on first Ekron and Gaza, now in
modern Israel (720 b.c.). He forced King Ahaz of Judah
to pay a tribute for his area’s freedom, then moved north
to lay siege to the city of Tyre (now in modern Leba-
non), finally forcing that city to capitulate. He moved
south, taking Carchemish, on the Euphrates (717 b.c.),
and defeating the Egyptians at Raphia (today’s Gaza) in
716 b.c.
In 714 b.c., Sargon invaded Urartu, now modern
eastern Turkey. For several years, the Urartans had been0 SARgon ii