Elayi's book is the only existing biography of Sargon II, the famous Assyrian king, who was a megalomaniac and a warlord. Among the most important questions addressed in the book are the following: what was his precise role in the disappearance of the kingdom of Israel? How did he succeed in enlarging the borders of the Assyrian Empire by several successful campaigns? How did he organize his empire (administration, trade, agriculture, libraries)? What was the so-called 'sin" of Sargon?