Coordinates: 33°6′N 44°6′E

Akkadian Empire
The Akkadian Empire (/əˈkeɪdiən/)[4] was the first
Akkadian Empire
𒆳𒌵𒆠
ancient empire of Mesopotamia, centered in the city of
Akkad /ˈækæd/[5] and its surrounding region, which the (Akkadian)
Bible also called Akkad. The empire united Akkadian and māt Akkadi
Sumerian speakers under one rule. The Akkadian Empire
exercised influence across Mesopotamia, the Levant, and
𒀀𒂵𒉈𒆠 (Sumerian)

Anatolia, sending military expeditions as far south as Dilmun a-ga-de3KI

and Magan (modern Bahrain and Oman) in the Arabian c. 2334 – 2154 BC
Peninsula.[6]

During the 3rd millennium BC, there developed a cultural

symbiosis between the Sumerians and the Akkadians, which
included widespread bilingualism.[7] Akkadian, an East
Semitic language,[8] gradually replaced Sumerian as a spoken
language somewhere between the 3rd and the 2nd millennia
BC (the exact dating being a matter of debate).[9]

The Akkadian Empire reached its political peak between the

24th and 22nd centuries BC, following the conquests by its
founder Sargon of Akkad.[10] Under Sargon and his
successors, the Akkadian language was briefly imposed on
neighboring conquered states such as Elam and Gutium.
Akkad is sometimes regarded as the first empire in history,
though the meaning of this term is not precise, and there are
earlier Sumerian claimants.[11][12]

After the fall of the Akkadian Empire, the people of

Mesopotamia eventually coalesced into two major Akkadian-
Bronze head of an Akkadian ruler,
speaking nations: Assyria in the north, and, a few centuries discovered in Nineveh in 1931,
later, Babylonia in the south. presumably depicting either Sargon or,
more probably, Sargon's grandson Naram-
Sin.[1] Reproduction in the Roemer- und
Pelizaeus-Museum Hildesheim, the
Contents original from the National Museum of Iraq
having been lost in the 2003 lootings.[2][1]
History of research
Dating and periodization
Timeline of rulers
History and development of the empire
Pre-Sargonic Akkad
Sargon of Akkad
Rimush and Manishtushu
Naram-Sin
Submission of Sumerian kings
Collapse Map of the Akkadian Empire (brown) and
the directions in which military campaigns
 y p g
Drought were conducted (yellow arrows)

Government Capital Akkad

Economy Official languages Akkadian

Foreign trade Sumerian

Culture Common languages Akkadian

Sumerian
Art (declining)
Seals
Religion Ancient
Language Mesopotamian
Poet–priestess Enheduanna religion
Curse of Akkad Government Monarchy
Technology Šarrum
Achievements • c. 2334–2279 BC Sargon (first)
• c. 2170–2154 BC Shu-turul (last)
See also
Historical era Bronze Age
Notes
• Established c. 2334 BC
Bibliography
• Conquests of c. 2340 – 2284 BC
External links Sargon of Akkad
• Disestablished c. 2154 BC
Area
History of research 2350 BC[3] 30,000 km2
(12,000 sq mi)
2300 BC[3] 650,000 km2
The Bible refers to Akkad as The Great City in Genesis
(250,000 sq mi)
10:10–12, which states: 2250 BC[3] 800,000 km2
(310,000 sq mi)
"The beginning of his [Nimrod's] kingdom was
2200 BC[3] 250,000 km2
Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the (97,000 sq mi)
land of Shinar. Out of that land he went forth into
Assyria, and builded Nineveh, and Rehoboth-Ir, Preceded by Succeeded by
and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and
Early Gutian
Calah (the same is the great city)."[13] Dynastic Period
Period (Sumer)
Nimrod's historical identity is unknown or debated, but Second Third
Nimrod has been identified as Sargon of Akkad by some,[14] Mariote Mariote
and others have compared him with the legendary Kingdom Kingdom
Gilgamesh, founder of Uruk.[15][16] Today, scholars have Umma Ebla
documented some 7,000 texts from the Akkadian period,
written in both Sumerian and Akkadian. Many later texts Today part of Iraq
from the successor states of Assyria and Babylonia also deal Iran
Syria
with the Akkadian Empire.[16] Kuwait
Turkey
Understanding of the Akkadian Empire continues to be
hampered by the fact that its capital Akkad has not yet been located, despite numerous attempts.[17][18]
Precise dating of archaeological sites is hindered by the fact that there are no clear distinctions between
artifact assemblages thought to stem from the preceding Early Dynastic period, and those thought to be
Akkadian. Likewise, material that is thought to be Akkadian continues to be in use into the Ur III period.[19]

Many of the more recent insights on the Akkadian Empire have come from excavations in the Upper Khabur
area in modern northeastern Syria which was to become a part of Assyria after the fall of Akkad. For
example, excavations at Tell Mozan (ancient Urkesh) brought to light a sealing of Tar'am-Agade, a
previously unknown daughter of Naram-Sin, who was possibly married to an unidentified local endan
(ruler).[20] The excavators at nearby Tell Leilan (ancient Shekhna/Shubat-Enlil) have used the results from
their investigations to argue that the Akkadian Empire came to an end due to a sudden drought, the so-called
4.2 kiloyear event.[21] The impact of this climate event on Mesopotamia in general, and on the Akkadian
Empire in particular, continues to be hotly debated.[22]

Excavation at the modern site of Tell Brak has suggested that the Akkadians rebuilt a city ("Brak" or
"Nagar") on this site, for use as an administrative center. The city included two large buildings including a
complex with temple, offices, courtyard, and large ovens.[23][24]

Dating and periodization

The Akkadian Period is generally dated to either: c. 2334 BC – c. 2154 BC (according to the middle
chronology timeline of the Ancient Near East), or c. 2270 BC – c. 2083 BC (according to the short
chronology timeline of the Ancient Near East.) It was preceded by the Early Dynastic Period of
Mesopotamia (ED) and succeeded by the Ur III Period, although both transitions are blurry. For example: it
is likely that the rise of Sargon of Akkad coincided with the late ED Period and that the final Akkadian
kings ruled simultaneously with the Gutian kings alongside rulers at the city-states of both: Uruk and
Lagash. The Akkadian Period is contemporary with: EB IV (in Israel), EB IVA and EJ IV (in Syria), and EB
IIIB (in Turkey.)[16][25]

Timeline of rulers

The relative order of Akkadian kings is clear. The absolute dates of their reigns are approximate (as with all
dates prior to the late Bronze Age collapse c. 1200 BC).[26]

Middle
Ruler Chronology Family tree
All dates BC

Sargon 2334–2279

Rimush 2278–2270

Manishtushu 2269–2255

Naram-Sin 2254–2218

Shar-Kali-
2217–2193
Sharri

Dudu 2189–2169

Shu-turul 2168–2154

History and development of the empire

Pre-Sargonic Akkad

The Akkadian Empire takes its name from the region and the city of
Akkad, both of which were localized in the general confluence area
of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Although the city of Akkad has
not yet been identified on the ground, it is known from various
textual sources. Among these is at least one text predating the reign
of Sargon. Together with the fact that the name Akkad is of non-
Akkadian origin, this suggests that the city of Akkad may have
already been occupied in pre-Sargonic times.[17][30]
Akkad before expansion (in green).
The territory of Sumer under its last
Sargon of Akkad king Lugal-Zage-Si appears in
orange. Circa 2350 BC
Sargon of Akkad defeated and captured Lugal-zage-si in the Battle
of Uruk and conquered his empire. The earliest records in the
Akkadian language date to the time of Sargon. Sargon was claimed
to be the son of La'ibum or Itti-Bel, a humble gardener, and possibly
a hierodule, or priestess to Ishtar or Inanna. One legend related to
Sargon in Assyrian times says that

My mother was a changeling, my father I knew not.

The brothers of my father loved the hills. My city is
Azurpiranu (the wilderness herb fields), which is
situated on the banks of the Euphrates. My changeling
mother conceived me, in secret she bore me. She set me Sargon on his victory stele, with a
in a basket of rushes, with bitumen she sealed my lid. royal hair bun, holding a mace and
She cast me into the river which rose not over me. The wearing a flounced royal coat on his
left shoulder with a large belt (left),
river bore me up and carried me to Akki, the drawer of
followed by an attendant holding a
water. Akki, the drawer of water, took me as his son and
royal umbrella.[27][28] The name of
reared me. Akki the drawer of water, appointed me as
Sargon in cuneiform ("King Sargon")
his gardener. While I was gardener Ishtar granted me
appears faintly in front of his
her love, and for four and (fifty?) ... years I exercised
face.[27][29] Louvre Museum.
kingship.[31]

Later claims made on behalf of Sargon were that his mother was an "entu" priestess (high priestess). The
claims might have been made to ensure a pedigree of nobility, since only a highly placed family could
achieve such a position.[32]

Originally a cupbearer (Rabshakeh) to a king of Kish with a Semitic name, Ur-Zababa, Sargon thus became
a gardener, responsible for the task of clearing out irrigation canals. The royal cupbearer at this time was in
fact a prominent political position, close to the king and with various high level responsibilities not
suggested by the title of the position itself.[33] This gave him access to a disciplined corps of workers, who
also may have served as his first soldiers. Displacing Ur-Zababa, Sargon was crowned king, and he entered
upon a career of foreign conquest.[34] Four times he invaded Syria and Canaan, and he spent three years
thoroughly subduing the countries of "the west" to unite them with Mesopotamia "into a single empire".

However, Sargon took this process further, conquering many of the surrounding regions to create an empire
that reached westward as far as the Mediterranean Sea and perhaps Cyprus (Kaptara); northward as far as
the mountains (a later Hittite text asserts he fought the Hattian king Nurdaggal of Burushanda, well into
Anatolia); eastward over Elam; and as far south as Magan (Oman) — a region over which he reigned for
purportedly 56 years, though only four "year-names" survive. He
consolidated his dominion over his territories by replacing the earlier
opposing rulers with noble citizens of Akkad, his native city where
loyalty would thus be ensured.[35]

Trade extended from the

silver mines of Anatolia to
the lapis lazuli mines in
modern Afghanistan, the
cedars of Lebanon and the
copper of Magan. This
consolidation of the city-
states of Sumer and Akkad
reflected the growing
economic and political
power of Mesopotamia. The
empire's breadbasket was the
rain-fed agricultural system
of Assyria and a chain of
fortresses was built to
control the imperial wheat
Prisoners escorted by a soldier, on a
production.
Akkadian official in the retinue of
victory stele of Sargon of Akkad,
Images of Sargon were Sargon of Akkad, holding an axe
circa 2300 BCE.[36][37] The hairstyle
of the prisoners (curly hair on top
erected on the shores of the
and short hair on the sides) is
Mediterranean, in token of
characteristic of Sumerians, as also his victories, and cities and palaces were built at home with the
seen on the Standard of Ur.[38] spoils of the conquered lands. Elam and the northern part of
Louvre Museum. Mesopotamia (Assyria/Subartu) were also subjugated, and rebellions
in Sumer were put down. Contract tablets have been found dated in
the years of the campaigns against Canaan and against Sarlak, king
of Gutium. He also boasted of having subjugated the "four-quarters" — the lands surrounding Akkad to the
north (Assyria), the south (Sumer), the east (Elam), and the west (Martu). Some of the earliest
historiographic texts (ABC 19, 20) suggest he rebuilt the city of Babylon (Bab-ilu) in its new location near
Akkad.[39]

Sargon, throughout his long life, showed special deference to the Sumerian deities, particularly Inanna
(Ishtar), his patroness, and Zababa, the warrior god of Kish. He called himself "The anointed priest of Anu"
and "the great ensi of Enlil" and his daughter, Enheduanna, was installed as priestess to Nanna at the temple
in Ur.

Troubles multiplied toward the end of his reign. A later Babylonian text states:

In his old age, all the lands revolted against him, and they besieged him in Akkad (the city)
[but] he went forth to battle and defeated them, he knocked them over and destroyed their vast
army.

It refers to his campaign in "Elam", where he defeated a coalition army led by the King of Awan and forced
the vanquished to become his vassals.[40]

Also shortly after, another revolt took place:

 the Subartu (mountainous tribes of Assyria) the upper country—in their turn attacked, but they
submitted to his arms, and Sargon settled their habitations, and he smote them grievously.

Rimush and Manishtushu

Sargon had crushed opposition even at old age. These

difficulties broke out again in the reign of his sons, where
revolts broke out during the nine-year reign of Rimush (2278–
2270 BC), who fought hard to retain the empire, and was
successful until he was assassinated by some of his own
courtiers. According to his inscriptions, he faced widespread
revolts, and had to reconquer the cities of Ur, Umma, Adab,
Lagash, Der, and Kazallu from rebellious ensis:[42] Rimush
introduced mass slaughter and large scale destruction of the Akkadian soldiers slaying enemies, circa
Sumerian city-states, and maintained meticulous records of his 2300 BC, possibly from a Victory Stele of
destructions.[43] Most of the major Sumerian cities were Rimush.[41]
destroyed, and Sumerian human losses were enormous:[43][44]

Sumerian casualties from the campaigns of Rimush[43]

Adab and Umma and Ur and (Three battles in

Destroyed cities: Kazallu TOTAL
Zabala KI.AN Lagash Sumer)

Killed 15,718 8,900 8,049 12,052 11,322 56,041

Captured and
14,576 3,540 5,460 5,862 _ 29,438
enslaved

"Expelled and
_ 5,600 5,985 _ 14,100 25,685
annihilated"

Total casualties 111,164

Rimush's elder brother, Manishtushu (2269–2255 BC) succeeded him. The latter seems to have fought a sea
battle against 32 kings who had gathered against him and took control over their pre-Arab country,
consisting of modern-day United Arab Emirates and Oman. Despite the success, like his brother he seems to
have been assassinated in a palace conspiracy.[45][43]

Naram-Sin

Manishtushu's son and successor, Naram-Sin (2254–2218 BC), due to vast military conquests, assumed the
imperial title "King Naram-Sin, king of the four-quarters" (Lugal Naram-Sîn, Šar kibrat 'arbaim), the four-
quarters as a reference to the entire world. He was also for the first time in Sumerian culture, addressed as
"the god (Sumerian = DINGIR, Akkadian = ilu) of Agade" (Akkad), in opposition to the previous religious
belief that kings were only representatives of the people towards the gods.[46][47] He also faced revolts at the
start of his reign,[48] but quickly crushed them.

Naram-Sin also recorded the Akkadian conquest of Ebla as well as Armanum and its king.[50] The location
of Armanum is debated: it is sometimes identified with a Syrian kingdom mentioned in the tablets of Ebla as
Armi, whose location is also debated; while historian Adelheid Otto identifies it with the Citadel of Bazi at
the Tell Banat complex on the Euphrates River between Ebla and Tell Brak,[51][50] others like Wayne
Horowitz identify it with Aleppo.[52] Further, while most scholars place Armanum in Syria, Michael C.
Astour believes it to be located north of the Hamrin Mountains in northern Iraq.[53]
 To better police Syria, he
built a royal residence at Tell
Brak, a crossroads at the
heart of the Khabur River
basin of the Jezirah. Naram-
Sin campaigned against
Magan which also revolted;
Naram-Sin "marched against
Magan and personally
caught Mandannu, its king",
where he instated garrisons
to protect the main roads.
The chief threat seemed to
be coming from the northern
Zagros Mountains, the
Lulubis and the Gutians. A
campaign against the Lullubi
led to the carving of the Portrait of Naram-Sin, with
"Victory Stele of Naram- inscription in his name.
Victory Stele of Naram-Sin,[49]
celebrating victory against the Suen", now in the Louvre.
Lullubi from Zagros 2260 BC. He is Hittite sources claim Naram-
wearing a horned helmet, a symbol Sin of Akkad even ventured into Anatolia, battling the Hittite and
of divinity, and is also portrayed in a Hurrian kings Pamba of Hatti, Zipani of Kanesh, and 15 others. This
larger scale in comparison to others newfound Akkadian wealth may have been based upon benign
to emphasize his superiority.[46] climatic conditions, huge agricultural surpluses and the confiscation
Brought back from Sippar to Susa of the wealth of other peoples.[54]
as war prize in the 12th century BC.
The economy was highly planned. Grain was cleaned, and rations of
grain and oil were distributed in standardized vessels made by the
city's potters. Taxes were paid in produce and labour on public walls, including city walls, temples,
irrigation canals and waterways, producing huge agricultural surpluses.[55]

In later Assyrian and Babylonian texts, the name Akkad, together with Sumer, appears as part of the royal
title, as in the Sumerian LUGAL KI-EN-GI KI-URI or Akkadian Šar māt Šumeri u Akkadi,[56] translating to
"king of Sumer and Akkad".[57] This title was assumed by the king who seized control of Nippur,[56] the
intellectual and religious center of southern Mesopotamia.

During the Akkadian period, the Akkadian language became the lingua franca of the Middle East, and was
officially used for administration, although the Sumerian language remained as a spoken and literary
language. The spread of Akkadian stretched from Syria to Elam, and even the Elamite language was
temporarily written in Mesopotamian cuneiform. Akkadian texts later found their way to far-off places, from
Egypt (in the Amarna Period) and Anatolia, to Persia (Behistun).

Submission of Sumerian kings

The submission of some Sumerian rulers to the Akkadian Empire, is recorded in the seal inscriptions of
Sumerian rulers such as Lugal-ushumgal, governor (ensi) of Lagash ("Shirpula"), circa 2230-2210 BCE.
Several inscriptions of Lugal-ushumgal are known, particularly seal impressions, which refer to him as
governor of Lagash and at the time a vassal (𒀵, arad, "servant" or "slave") of Naram-Sin, as well as his
successor Shar-kali-sharri.[58][59][60][61][62] One of these seals proclaims:
 “Naram-Sin, the mighty God of Agade, king of the four corners of the world, Lugalushumgal,
the scribe, ensi of Lagash, is thy servant.”

— Seal of Lugal-ushumgal as vassal of Naram-sin.[59][63]

It can be considered that Lugalushumgal was a collaborator of the Akkadian Empire, as was Meskigal, ruler
of Adab.[64] Later however, Lugal-ushumgal was succeeded by Puzer-Mama who, as Akkadian power
waned, achieved independence from Shar-Kali-Sharri, assuming the title of "King of Lagash" and starting
the illustrious Second Dynasty of Lagash.[65][66]

Collapse

The empire of Akkad fell, perhaps in the 22nd century BC, within
180 years of its founding, ushering in a "Dark Age" with no
prominent imperial authority until Third Dynasty of Ur. The region's
political structure may have reverted to the status quo ante of local
governance by city-states.[67]

Shu-turul appears to have restored some centralized authority;

however, he was unable to prevent the empire eventually collapsing
outright from the invasion of barbarian peoples from the Zagros
Mountains known as the Gutians.

Little is known about the Gutian period, or how long it endured.

Cuneiform sources suggest that the Gutians' administration showed
little concern for maintaining agriculture, written records, or public
safety; they reputedly released all farm animals to roam about
Mesopotamia freely and soon brought about famine and rocketing
grain prices. The Sumerian king Ur-Nammu (2112–2095 BC) The Gutians capturing a Babylonian
cleared the Gutians from Mesopotamia during his reign. city, as the Akkadians are making a
stand outside of their city. 19th
The Sumerian King List, describing the Akkadian Empire after the century illustration.
death of Shar-kali-shari, states:

Who was king? Who was not king? Irgigi the king; Nanum, the king; Imi the king; Ilulu, the
king—the four of them were kings but reigned only three years. Dudu reigned 21 years; Shu-
Turul, the son of Dudu, reigned 15 years. ... Agade was defeated and its kingship carried off to
Uruk. In Uruk, Ur-ningin reigned 7 years, Ur-gigir, son of Ur-ningin, reigned 6 years; Kuda
reigned 6 years; Puzur-ili reigned 5 years, Ur-Utu reigned 6 years. Uruk was smitten with
weapons and its kingship carried off by the Gutian hordes.

However, there are no known year-names or other archaeological evidence verifying any of these later kings
of Akkad or Uruk, apart from several artefact referencing king Dudu of Akkad and Shu-turul.[68] The named
kings of Uruk may have been contemporaries of the last kings of Akkad, but in any event could not have
been very prominent.

In the Gutian hordes, (first reigned) a nameless king; (then) Imta reigned 3 years as king;
Shulme reigned 6 years; Elulumesh reigned 6 years; Inimbakesh reigned 5 years; Igeshuash
reigned 6 years; Iarlagab reigned 15 years; Ibate reigned 3 years; ... reigned 3 years; Kurum
 reigned 1 year; ... reigned 3 years; ... reigned 2 years; Iararum reigned 2 years; Ibranum reigned
1 year; Hablum reigned 2 years; Puzur-Sin son of Hablum reigned 7 years; Iarlaganda reigned 7
years; ... reigned 7 years; ... reigned 40 days. Total 21 kings reigned 91 years, 40 days.

The period between c. 2112 BC and 2004 BC is known as the Ur III period.
Documents again began to be written in Sumerian, although Sumerian was
becoming a purely literary or liturgical language, much as Latin later would
be in Medieval Europe.[31]

One explanation for the end of the Akkadian empire is simply that the
Akkadian dynasty could not maintain its political supremacy over other
independently powerful city-states.[67][70]

Drought

One theory associates regional decline at the end of the Akkadian period "Cylinder Seal with King or
(and of the First Intermediary Period following the Old Kingdom in Ancient God and Vanquished Lion"
Egypt) was associated with rapidly increasing aridity, and failing rainfall in (Old Akkadian).[69] The
the region of the Ancient Near East, caused by a global centennial-scale Walters Art Museum.
drought.[71][72] Harvey Weiss has shown that

[A]rchaeological and soil-stratigraphic data define the origin, growth, and collapse of Subir, the
third millennium rain-fed agriculture civilization of northern Mesopotamia on the Habur Plains
of Syria. At 2200 BC, a marked increase in aridity and wind circulation, subsequent to a
volcanic eruption, induced a considerable degradation of land-use conditions. After four
centuries of urban life, this abrupt climatic change evidently caused abandonment of Tell
Leilan, regional desertion, and the collapse of the Akkadian empire based in southern
Mesopotamia. Synchronous collapse in adjacent regions suggests that the impact of the abrupt
climatic change was extensive.[21]

Peter B. deMenocal has shown "there was an influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation on the streamflow
of the Tigris and Euphrates at this time, which led to the collapse of the Akkadian Empire".[73] More recent
analysis of simulations from the HadCM3 climate model indicate that there was a shift to a more arid
climate on a timescale that is consistent with the collapse of the empire.[74]

Excavation at Tell Leilan suggests that this site was abandoned soon after the city's massive walls were
constructed, its temple rebuilt and its grain production reorganized. The debris, dust, and sand that followed
show no trace of human activity. Soil samples show fine wind-blown sand, no trace of earthworm activity,
reduced rainfall and indications of a drier and windier climate. Evidence shows that skeleton-thin sheep and
cattle died of drought, and up to 28,000 people abandoned the site, seeking wetter areas elsewhere. Tell Brak
shrank in size by 75%. Trade collapsed. Nomadic herders such as the Amorites moved herds closer to
reliable water suppliers, bringing them into conflict with Akkadian populations. This climate-induced
collapse seems to have affected the whole of the Middle East, and to have coincided with the collapse of the
Egyptian Old Kingdom.[21]

This collapse of rain-fed agriculture in the Upper Country meant the loss to southern Mesopotamia of the
agrarian subsidies which had kept the Akkadian Empire solvent. Water levels within the Tigris and
Euphrates fell 1.5 meters beneath the level of 2600 BC, and although they stabilized for a time during the
following Ur III period, rivalries between pastoralists and farmers increased. Attempts were undertaken to
prevent the former from herding their flocks in agricultural lands, such as the building of a 180 km (112 mi)
wall known as the "Repeller of the Amorites"
between the Tigris and Euphrates under the Ur III
ruler Shu-Sin. Such attempts led to increased
political instability; meanwhile, severe depression
occurred to re-establish demographic equilibrium
with the less favorable climatic
conditions. [78][79][80]

Richard Zettler has critiqued the drought theory,

observing that the chronology of the Akkadian
empire is very uncertain and that available
evidence is not sufficient to show its economic
dependence on the northern areas excavated by
Weiss and others. He also criticizes Weiss for
taking Akkadian writings literally to describe
certain catastrophic events.[81]
According to Joan Oates, at Tell Brak, the soil
"signal" associated with the drought lies below the
level of Naram-Sin's palace. However, evidence
Impression of a cylinder seal of the time of Akkadian
King Sharkalisharri (c.2200 BC), with central
inscription: "The Divine Sharkalisharri Prince of Akkad,
Ibni-Sharrum the Scribe his servant". The long-horned
buffalo is thought to have come from the Indus Valley,
and testifies to exchanges with Meluhha (the Indus
Valley civilization) in a case of Indus-Mesopotamia
relations. Circa 2217–2193 BC. Louvre
Museum.[75][76][77]

may suggest a tightening of Akkadian

control following the Brak 'event', for
example, the construction of the
heavily fortified 'palace' itself and the
apparent introduction of greater
numbers of Akkadian as opposed to
local officials, perhaps a reflection of
unrest in the countryside of the type
that often follows some natural
catastrophe.

Furthermore, Brak remained occupied and functional after the fall of the Akkadians.[82]

In 2019, a study by Hokkaido University on fossil corals in Oman provides an evidence that prolonged
winter shamal seasons led to the salinization of the irrigated fields; hence, a dramatic decrease in crop
production triggered a widespread famine and eventually the collapse of the ancient Akkadian
Empire.[83][84]

Government
The Akkadian government formed a "classical standard" with which all future Mesopotamian states
compared themselves. Traditionally, the ensi was the highest functionary of the Sumerian city-states. In later
traditions, one became an ensi by marrying the goddess Inanna, legitimising the rulership through divine
consent.

Initially, the monarchical lugal (lu = man, gal =Great) was subordinate to the priestly ensi, and was
appointed at times of troubles, but by later dynastic times, it was the lugal who had emerged as the
preeminent role, having his own "é" (= house) or "palace", independent from the temple establishment. By
the time of Mesalim, whichever dynasty controlled the city of Kish was recognised as šar kiššati (= king of
Kish), and was considered preeminent in Sumer, possibly because
this was where the two rivers approached, and whoever controlled
Kish ultimately controlled the irrigation systems of the other cities
downstream.

As Sargon extended his conquest from the "Lower Sea" (Persian

Gulf), to the "Upper Sea" (Mediterranean), it was felt that he ruled
"the totality of the lands under heaven", or "from sunrise to sunset",
as contemporary texts put it. Under Sargon, the ensis generally
retained their positions, but were seen more as provincial governors.
The title šar kiššati became recognised as meaning "lord of the
universe". Sargon is even recorded as having organised naval
expeditions to Dilmun (Bahrain) and Magan, amongst the first
Akkadian Empire soldiers on the
organised military naval expeditions in history. Whether he also did Victory Stele of Naram-Sin, circa
in the case of the Mediterranean with the kingdom of Kaptara 2250 BC
(possibly Cyprus), as claimed in later documents, is more
questionable.

With Naram-Sin, Sargon's grandson, this went further than with Sargon, with the king not only being called
"Lord of the Four-Quarters (of the Earth)", but also elevated to the ranks of the dingir (= gods), with his own
temple establishment. Previously a ruler could, like Gilgamesh, become divine after death but the Akkadian
kings, from Naram-Sin onward, were considered gods on earth in their lifetimes. Their portraits showed
them of larger size than mere mortals and at some distance from their retainers.[85]

One strategy adopted by both Sargon and Naram-Sin, to maintain control of the country, was to install their
daughters, Enheduanna and Emmenanna respectively, as high priestess to Sin, the Akkadian version of the
Sumerian moon deity, Nanna, at Ur, in the extreme south of Sumer; to install sons as provincial ensi
governors in strategic locations; and to marry their daughters to rulers of peripheral parts of the Empire
(Urkesh and Marhashe). A well documented case of the latter is that of Naram-Sin's daughter Tar'am-Agade
at Urkesh.[86]

Records at the Brak administrative complex suggest that the Akkadians appointed locals as tax
collectors.[87]

Economy
The population of Akkad, like nearly all pre-
modern states, was entirely dependent upon the
agricultural systems of the region, which seem to
have had two principal centres: the irrigated
farmlands of southern Iraq that traditionally had a
yield of 30 grains returned for each grain sown and
the rain-fed agriculture of northern Iraq, known as
the "Upper Country."
Cylinder seal of the scribe Kalki, showing Prince Ubil-
Southern Iraq during Akkadian period seems to
Eshtar, probable brother of Sargon, with dignitaries (an
have been approaching its modern rainfall level of archer in front, the scribe holding a tablet following the
less than 20 mm (0.8 in) per year, with the result
Prince, and two dignitaries with weapons).[29][88]
that agriculture was totally dependent upon
irrigation. Before the Akkadian period the
progressive salinisation of the soils, produced by poorly drained irrigation, had been reducing yields of
wheat in the southern part of the country, leading to the conversion to more salt-tolerant barley growing.
Urban populations there had peaked already by 2,600 BC, and demographic pressures were high,
contributing to the rise of militarism apparent immediately before the Akkadian period (as seen in the Stele
of the Vultures of Eannatum). Warfare between city states had led to a population decline, from which
Akkad provided a temporary respite.[89] It was this high degree of agricultural productivity in the south that
enabled the growth of the highest population densities in the world at this time, giving Akkad its military
advantage.

Sea shell of a murex bearing the
name of Rimush, king of Kish,
c. 2270 BC, Louvre, traded from the
Mediterranean coast where it was
used by Canaanites to make a
purple dye.
The water table in this region was very high and replenished
regularly—by winter storms in the headwaters of the Tigris and
Euphrates from October to March and from snow-melt from March
to July. Flood levels, that had been stable from about 3,000 to 2,600
BC, had started falling, and by the Akkadian period were a half-
meter to a meter lower than recorded previously. Even so, the flat
country and weather uncertainties made flooding much more
unpredictable than in the case of the Nile; serious deluges seem to
have been a regular occurrence, requiring constant maintenance of
irrigation ditches and drainage systems. Farmers were recruited into
regiments for this work from August to October—a period of food
shortage—under the control of city temple authorities, thus acting as
a form of unemployment relief. Gwendolyn Leick has[90] suggested
that this was Sargon's original employment for the king of Kish,
giving him experience in effectively organising large groups of men;
a tablet reads, "Sargon, the king, to whom Enlil permitted no rival—
5,400 warriors ate bread daily before him".[91]

Harvest was in the late spring and during the dry summer months. Nomadic Amorites from the northwest
would pasture their flocks of sheep and goats to graze on the crop residue and be watered from the river and
irrigation canals. For this privilege, they would have to pay a tax in wool, meat, milk, and cheese to the
temples, who would distribute these products to the bureaucracy and priesthood. In good years, all would go
well, but in bad years, wild winter pastures would be in short supply, nomads would seek to pasture their
flocks in the grain fields, and conflicts with farmers would result. It would appear that the subsidizing of
southern populations by the import of wheat from the north of the Empire temporarily overcame this
problem,[92] and it seems to have allowed economic recovery and a growing population within this region.

Foreign trade

As a result, Sumer and Akkad had a surplus of

agricultural products but was short of almost
everything else, particularly metal ores, timber and
building stone, all of which had to be imported.
The spread of the Akkadian state as far as the
"silver mountain" (possibly the Taurus Mountains),
the "cedars" of Lebanon, and the copper deposits of
Magan, was largely motivated by the goal of
securing control over these imports. One tablet
reads:
Location of foreign lands for the Mesopotamians,
including Elam, Magan, Dilmun, Marhashi and
"Sargon, the king of Kish, triumphed Meluhha.
in thirty-four battles (over the cities)
up to the edge of the sea (and)
destroyed their walls. He made the
 ships from Meluhha, the ships from
Magan (and) the ships from Dilmun tie
up alongside the quay of Agade.
Sargon the king prostrated himself
before (the god) Dagan (and) made
supplication to him; (and) he (Dagan)
gave him the upper land, namely Mari,
Yarmuti, (and) Ebla, up to the Cedar
Forest (and) up to the Silver
Mountain"

— Inscription by Sargon of Akkad

(ca.2270–2215
BCE)[93][94][95][96]

International trade developed during the Akkadian period. Indus-Mesopotamia relations also seem to have
expanded: Sargon of Akkad (circa 2300 or 2250 BC), was the first Mesopotamian ruler to make an explicit
reference to the region of Meluhha, which is generally understood as being the Baluchistan or the Indus
area.[95]

Culture

Art

In art, there was a great emphasis Nasiriyah Victory Stele of Naram-Sin

on the kings of the dynasty,
alongside much that continued
earlier Sumerian art. Little
architecture remains. In large
works and small ones such as
seals, the degree of realism was
considerably increased,[98] but
the seals show a "grim world of
cruel conflict, of danger and
uncertainty, a world in which
man is subjected without appeal
Soldier with sword, naked captives, on the Nasiriyah stele of Naram-Sin.[97]
to the incomprehensible acts of
distant and fearful divinities who
he must serve but cannot love.
This sombre mood ... remained characteristic of Mesopotamian art..."[99]

Akkadian sculpture is remarkable for its fineness and realism, which shows a clear advancement compared
to the previous period of Sumerian art.[100][101]
 The Bassetki statue, another The Manishtushu statue
example of Akkadian artistic
realism

Seals

The Akkadians used visual arts as a vehicle of ideology. They developed a new style for cylinder seals, by
reusing traditional animal decorations but organizing them around inscriptions, which often became central
parts of the layout. The figures also became more sculptural and naturalistic. New elements were also
included, especially in relation to the rich Akkadian mythology.
 Inscription "Adda, the scribe", Akkadian seal, Agricultural
hunting god with bow and an scene. Louvre Museum
arrow, Ishtar with weapons
rising from her shoulders,
emerging sun-god Shamash,
Zu bird of destiny, water god Ea
with bull between legs, two-
faced attendant god Usimu with
right hand raised.[102]

Summer God and Dumuzi. Ea wrestling with a water

Louvre Museum buffaloe, and bull-man Endiku
fighting with a lion.

Language

During the 3rd millennium BC, there developed a very intimate cultural symbiosis between the Sumerians
and the Akkadians, which included widespread bilingualism.[7] The influence of Sumerian on Akkadian
(and vice versa) is evident in all areas, from lexical borrowing on a massive scale, to syntactic,
morphological, and phonological convergence.[7] This has prompted scholars to refer to Sumerian and
Akkadian in the third millennium as a sprachbund.[7] Akkadian gradually replaced Sumerian as a spoken
language somewhere around 2000 BC (the exact dating being a matter of debate),[9] but Sumerian continued
to be used as a sacred, ceremonial, literary, and scientific language in Mesopotamia until the 1st century
AD.[103]

Poet–priestess Enheduanna

Sumerian literature continued in rich development during the Akkadian period. Enheduanna, the "wife
(Sumerian dam = high priestess) of Nanna [the Sumerian moon god] and daughter of Sargon"[104] of the
temple of Sin at Ur, who lived c. 2285–2250 BC, is the first poet in history whose name is known. Her
known works include hymns to the goddess Inanna, the Exaltation of Inanna and In-nin sa-gur-ra. A third
work, the Temple Hymns, a collection of specific hymns, addresses the sacred temples and their occupants,
the deity to whom they were consecrated. The works of this poet are significant, because although they start
 out using the third person, they shift to the
first person voice of the poet herself, and
they mark a significant development in the
use of cuneiform. As poet, princess, and
priestess, she was a person who, according
to William W Hallo, "set standards in all
three of her roles for many succeeding
centuries"[105]

In the Exultation of Inanna,

Enheduanna depicts Inanna as

Tablet in Akkadian
language recording
domestic animals, Bismaya,
reign of Shar-kali-sharri, c.
2100 BC, clay - Oriental
Institute Museum,
University of Chicago
disciplining mankind as a
goddess of battle. She thereby
unites the warlike Akkadian
Ishtar's qualities to those of the
gentler Sumerian goddess of Enheduanna, daughter of
love and fecundity. She likens Sargon of Akkad, circa
Inanna to a great storm bird 2300 BC.
who swoops down on the lesser
gods and sends them fluttering
off like surprised bats. Then, in
probably the most interesting
part of the hymn, Enheduanna
herself steps forward in the first
person to recite her own past
glories, establishing her
credibility, and explaining her
present plight. She has been
banished as high priestess from
the temple in the city of Ur and
from Uruk and exiled to the
steppe. She begs the moon god
Nanna to intercede for her
because the city of Uruk, under
the ruler Lugalanne, has
rebelled against Sargon. The
rebel, Lugalanne, has even
destroyed the temple Eanna,
one of the greatest temples in
the ancient world, and then
made advances on his sister-in-
law.[106]

Curse of Akkad

Later material described how the fall of Akkad was due to Naram-Sin's attack upon the city of Nipper. When
prompted by a pair of inauspicious oracles, the king sacked the E-kur temple, supposedly protected by the
god Enlil, head of the pantheon. As a result of this, eight chief deities of the Anunnaki pantheon were
supposed to have come together and withdrawn their support from Akkad.[107]
 For the first time since cities were built and
founded,
The great agricultural tracts produced no
grain,
The inundated tracts produced no fish,
The irrigated orchards produced neither
syrup nor wine,
The gathered clouds did not rain, the
masgurum did not grow.
At that time, one shekel's worth of oil was
only one-half quart,
One shekel's worth of grain was only one-
half quart. . . .
These sold at such prices in the markets of
all the cities!
Goddess Ishtar on an Akkadian
He who slept on the roof, died on the roof,
seal, 2350–2150 BC.
He who slept in the house, had no burial,
People were flailing at themselves from
hunger.

The kings of Akkad were legendary among later Mesopotamian civilizations, with Sargon understood as the
prototype of a strong and wise leader, and his grandson Naram-Sin considered the wicked and impious
leader (Unheilsherrscher in the analysis of Hans Gustav Güterbock) who brought ruin upon his
kingdom.[108][109]

Technology
Tablets from the periods reads, "(From the earliest days) no-one had
made a statue of lead, (but) Rimush king of Kish, had a statue of
himself made of lead. It stood before Enlil; and it recited his
(Rimush's) virtues to the idu of the gods". The copper Bassetki
Statue, cast with the lost wax method, testifies to the high level of
skill that craftsmen achieved during the Akkadian period.[110]

Achievements
The empire was bound together by roads, along which there was a
regular postal service. Clay seals that took the place of stamps bear
the names of Sargon and his son. A cadastral survey seems also to Life-size Bassetki Statue from the
reign of Naram-Sin of Akkad with an
have been instituted, and one of the documents relating to it states
inscription mentioning the
that a certain Uru-Malik, whose name appears to indicate his
construction of a temple in Akkad.
Canaanite origin, was governor of the land of the Amorites, or
National Museum of Iraq.
Amurru as the semi-nomadic people of Syria and Canaan were
called in Akkadian. It is probable that the first collection of
astronomical observations and terrestrial omens was made for a
library established by Sargon. The earliest "year names", whereby each year of a king's reign was named
after a significant event performed by that king, date from Sargon's reign. Lists of these "year names"
henceforth became a calendrical system used in most independent Mesopotamian city-states. In Assyria,
however, years came to be named for the annual presiding limmu official appointed by the king, rather than
for an event.
See also
Cities of the ancient Near East
Religions of the ancient Near East
History of Mesopotamia
Timeline of the Assyrian Empire

Notes
1. Mallowan, M. E. L. (1936). "The Bronze Head of the Akkadian Period from Nineveh". Iraq. 3
(1): 104–110. doi:10.2307/4241589 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F4241589). JSTOR 4241589 (ht
tps://www.jstor.org/stable/4241589).
2. Kidner, Frank L.; Bucur, Maria; Mathisen, Ralph; McKee, Sally; Weeks, Theodore R. (2007).
Making Europe: People, Politics, and Culture (https://books.google.com/books?id=HumKY7fn9
cMC&pg=PA15). Cengage Learning. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-618-00479-9.
3. Taagepera, Rein (1979). "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to
600 A.D.". Social Science History. 3 (3/4): 115–138. doi:10.2307/1170959 (https://doi.org/10.2
307%2F1170959). JSTOR 1170959 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1170959).
4. Akkadian: URUAkkad KI; Hittite: KUR A.GA.DÈ.KI "land of Akkad"; Biblical Hebrew ‫ אַ ּכַד‬Akkad.
5. Sumerian: Agade
6. Mish, Frederick C., Editor in Chief. "Akkad" Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary. ninth
ed. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster 1985. ISBN 0-87779-508-8).
7. Deutscher, Guy (2007). Syntactic Change in Akkadian: The Evolution of Sentential
Complementation (https://books.google.com/books?id=XFwUxmCdG94C). Oxford University
Press US. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-0-19-953222-3.
8. Hasselbach, Rebecca (2005). Sargonic Akkadian: A Historical and Comparative Study of the
Syllabic Texts (https://books.google.com/books?id=eiHXt0yIWiIC&pg=PA2). Otto Harrassowitz
Verlag. p. 2. ISBN 9783447051729.
9. Woods, C. (2006). "Bilingualism, Scribal Learning, and the Death of Sumerian" (http://oi.uchica
go.edu/pdf/OIS2.pdf) (PDF). S.L. Sanders (ed) Margins of Writing, Origins of Culture: 91–120.
Chicago.
10. Zettler (2003), p. 20. "Brinkman's chronology places Sargon's accession at 2334, his
successors, Naram-Suen and Sharkalisharri, under whom the dynasty presumably collapsed,
at 2254–2218 and 2217–2193, respectively, and the Third Dynasty of Ur at 2112–2004.
however, Brinkman noted that if Hallo's 40-year Gutian interregnum is correct then the Dynasty
of Akkade would have to be dated 2293–2113. The middle chronology, however, is under
attack, with various scholars arguing strongly in favor of a low(er) chronology and for various
reasons. Without going into detail, Boese has placed Sargon's accession at shortly after 2250
(1982), Gasche, Armstrong, Cole and Gurzadyan at 2200 (1998) and Reade at 2180 (2001),
with the Third Dynasty of Ur moved according."
11. F Leo Oppenhiem – Ancient Mesopotamia
12. Liverani (1993), p. 3. "The factual criticism is that empires existed even before Akkad: or more
properly that the term and concept of 'empire' has been recently applied (on not worse grounds
than in the case of Akkad) to other older cases, from the Uruk of the late-Uruk period to the
Ebla of the royal archives, to the very state formations of the Sumerian south in the period
called in fact 'proto-imperial'. In no case is the Akkad empire an absolute novelty [...] 'Akkad
the first empire' is therefore subject to criticism not only as for the adjective 'first' but especially
as for the noun 'empire'.
13. American Standard Version (1901)
14. Petrovich, Douglas N. (2013). "Identifying Nimrod of Genesis 10 with Sargon of Akkad by
Exegetical and Archaeological Means" (https://www.academia.edu/2184113/_2013_Identifying
_Nimrod_of_Genesis_10_with_Sargon_of_Akkad_by_Exegetical_and_Archaeological_Means)
. Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society.
15. Dalley, Stephanie (1997). The Legacy of Mesopotamia (https://books.google.com/books?id=U
hVfijsPxOMC&pg=PA116). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 116. ISBN 9780198149460.
16. Schrakamp, Ingo (2013). "Sargon of Akkad and his dynasty". In Bagnall, Roger S. (ed.). The
Encyclopedia of Ancient History. Chicago: Blackwell. pp. 6045–6047.
doi:10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah24182 (https://doi.org/10.1002%2F9781444338386.wbeah
24182). ISBN 9781444338386.
17. Wall-Romana, Christophe (1990). "An Areal Location of Agade". Journal of Near Eastern
Studies. 49 (3): 205–245. doi:10.1086/373442 (https://doi.org/10.1086%2F373442).
JSTOR 546244 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/546244).
18. Weiss, Harvey (1975), "Kish, Akkad and Agade", Journal of the American Oriental Society, 95
(3): 434–453, doi:10.2307/599355 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F599355), JSTOR 599355 (http
s://www.jstor.org/stable/599355)
19. McMahon, Augusta (2006). The Early Dynastic to Akkadian Transition. The Area WF Sounding
at Nippur (http://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/oip129.pdf)
(PDF). Chicago: Oriental Institute. ISBN 978-1-885923-38-7. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
20. Buccellati, Giorgio; Kelly-Buccellati, Marilyn (2002). "Tar'am-Agade, Daughter of Naram-Sin, at
Urkesh" (http://www.urkesh.org/urkesh/website/attach/Buccellati%202002%20Taram%20Agad
e%20Daughter%20of%20Naram%20Sin.pdf) (PDF). In Al-Gailani Werr, Lamia (ed.). Of Pots
and Plans. Papers on the Archaeology and History of Mesopotamia and Syria presented to
David Oates in Honour of his 75th Birthday. London: Nabu. pp. 11–31. ISBN 978-1897750629.
Retrieved 18 March 2015.
21. Weiss, H; et al. (1993). "The Genesis and Collapse of Third Millennium North Mesopotamian
Civilization" (http://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/ILUR/article/view/61022). Science. 261 (5124):
995–1004. Bibcode:1993Sci...261..995W (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1993Sci...261..99
5W). doi:10.1126/science.261.5124.995 (https://doi.org/10.1126%2Fscience.261.5124.995).
PMID 17739617 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17739617).
22. Wiener, Malcolm H. (2014). "The Interaction of Climate Change and Agency in the Collapse of
Civilizations ca. 2300–2000 BC". Radiocarbon. 56 (4): S1–S16. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.692.2170 (ht
tps://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.692.2170).
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23. J. Oates (2004), pp. 5 (https://books.google.com/books?id=EnQ8W6AmCq0C&pg=PA5)–8.
"Following the destruction of the city sometime in the twenty-third century BC, Nagar was
rebuilt by officials of the Akkadian Dynasty as a major centre of their provincial administration,
a fact clearly attested in the cuneiform documents from this site."
24. Oates, David; Oates, Joan (1989). "Akkadian Buildings at Tell Brak". Iraq. 51: 193–211.
doi:10.2307/4200303 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F4200303). JSTOR 4200303 (https://www.jsto
r.org/stable/4200303).
25. Pruß, Alexander (2004), "Remarks on the Chronological Periods", in Lebeau, Marc; Sauvage,
Martin (eds.), Atlas of Preclassical Upper Mesopotamia, Subartu, 13, pp. 7–21, ISBN 978-
2503991207
26. van de Mieroop, M. (2007). A History of the Ancient Near East, ca. 3000–323 BC. Malden:
Blackwell. ISBN 978-0-631-22552-2.
27. Foster, Benjamin R. (2015). The Age of Agade: Inventing Empire in Ancient Mesopotamia (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=O680CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA3). Routledge. p. 3.
ISBN 9781317415527.
28. Nigro, Lorenzo (1998). "The Two Steles of Sargon: Iconology and Visual Propaganda at the
Beginning of Royal Akkadian Relief". Iraq. British Institute for the Study of Iraq. 60: 92.
doi:10.2307/4200454 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F4200454). JSTOR 4200454 (https://www.jsto
r.org/stable/4200454).
29. Nigro, Lorenzo (1998). "The Two Steles of Sargon: Iconology and Visual Propaganda at the
Beginning of Royal Akkadian Relief". Iraq. British Institute for the Study of Iraq. 60: 93–94.
doi:10.2307/4200454 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F4200454). JSTOR 4200454 (https://www.jsto
r.org/stable/4200454).
30. Foster, Benjamin R. (2013), "Akkad (Agade)", in Bagnall, Roger S. (ed.), The Encyclopedia of
Ancient History, Chicago: Blackwell, pp. 266–267, doi:10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah01005
(https://doi.org/10.1002%2F9781444338386.wbeah01005), ISBN 9781444338386
31. Georges Roux (1996), Ancient Iraq (3rd Edition)(Penguin Harmondsworth)
32. Stiebing Jr, H. William (2009). Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture. Pearson Longman;
University of New Orleans. p. 69.
33. Sargon, doi:10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e1101500 (https://doi.org/10.1163%2F1574-9347_bnp_
e1101500)
34. Samuel Noah Kramer, The Sumerians, Chicago University Press, 1971, ISBN 0-226-45238-7
35. Stiebing Jr, H. William (2009). Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture. Pearson Longman;
University of New Orleans. p. 70.
36. Potts, D. T. (1999). The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient
Iranian State (https://books.google.com/books?id=mc4cfzkRVj4C&pg=PA104). Cambridge
University Press. p. 104. ISBN 9780521564960.
37. Harper, Prudence O. (1992). Royal City of Susa: Ancient Near Eastern Treasures in the Louvre
(https://archive.org/details/RoyalCityofSusaAncientNearEasternTreasuresintheLouvre).
Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 162 (https://archive.org/details/RoyalCityofSusaAncientNearE
asternTreasuresintheLouvre/page/n182)–163.
38. Nigro, Lorenzo (1998). "The Two Steles of Sargon: Iconology and Visual Propaganda at the
Beginning of Royal Akkadian Relief". Iraq. British Institute for the Study of Iraq. 60: 85.
doi:10.2307/4200454 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F4200454). JSTOR 4200454 (https://www.jsto
r.org/stable/4200454).
39. Dalley proposes that these sources may have originally referred to Sargon II of the Assyria
rather than Sargon of Akkad. Stephanie Dalley, "Babylon as a Name for Other Cities Including
Nineveh", in [1] (http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/saoc62.pdf) Proceedings of the 51st Rencontre
Assyriologique Internationale, Oriental Institute SAOC 62, pp. 25–33, 2005
40. Stiebing Jr, H. William (2009). Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture. Pearson Longman;
University of New Orleans. p. 71.
41. "Musée du Louvre-Lens - Portail documentaire - Stèle de victoire du roi Rimush (?)" (http://ress
ources.louvrelens.fr/EXPLOITATION/oeuvre-ao-2678.aspx). ressources.louvrelens.fr (in
French).
42. Hamblin, William J. (2006). Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC: Holy Warriors at the
Dawn of History (https://books.google.com/books?id=biyDDd0uKGMC&pg=PT93). Routledge.
pp. 93–94. ISBN 978-1-134-52062-6.
43. Hamblin, William J. (2006). Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC: Holy Warriors at the
Dawn of History (https://books.google.com/books?id=biyDDd0uKGMC&pg=PT93). Routledge.
pp. 93–94. ISBN 978-1-134-52062-6.
44. Crowe, D. (2014). War Crimes, Genocide, and Justice: A Global History (https://books.google.
com/books?id=tSnFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT10). Springer. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-137-03701-5.
45. Stiebing Jr, H. William (2009). Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture. Pearson Longman;
University of New Orleans. p. 72.
46. Stiebing, H. William, Jr. (2009). Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture. Pearson Longman.
p. 74. ISBN 978-0-321-42297-2.
47. Michalowski, Piotr (2008). "The Mortal Kings of Ur: A Short Century of Divine Rule in Ancient
Mesopotamia" (http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/ois4.pdf) (PDF). Oriental Institute Seminars. 4. The
Oriental Institute. pp. 33–45. ISBN 978-1-885923-55-4.
48. Tinney, Steve (1995). "A New Look at Naram-Sin and the Great Rebellion". Journal of
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inherently unstable polity, generating an 'uneasy' power sharing between local elites and royal
appointees particularly apparent in the redistribution of provincial lands to royal officials and
the requisitioning of labor and resources. [...] Yoffee cited certain external factors as
contributing to the collapse of the Dynasty of Akkade as well. he suggested that the Dynasty
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climate change during the collapse of the Akkadian Empire" (http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/145
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rg/10.1016%2Fj.jas.2019.03.009). ISSN 0305-4403 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0305-4403).
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75. "Cylinder Seal of Ibni-Sharrum" (https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/cylinder-seal-ibni-shar
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76. "Site officiel du musée du Louvre" (http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idN
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(https://books.google.com/books?id=F4DoBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA187). Walter de Gruyter. p. 187.
ISBN 9781614510352.
78. Christie, Peter (2008) The Curse of Akkad: Climate Upheavals that Rocked Human History,
Annick Press, pp. 31–48
79. deMenocal, Peter B. (2001). "Cultural Responses to Climate Change During the Late
Holocene" (https://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~peter/site/Papers_files/deMenocal.2001.pdf)
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v/11303088).
80. "Climate change and the collapse of the Akkadian empire: Evidence from the deep sea (http
s://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~peter/site/Papers_files/Cullen.et.al.2000.pdf)" Geology 28(4), April
2000.
81. Zettler (2003), pp. 18–21.
82. J. Oates (2004), p. 11 (https://books.google.com/books?id=EnQ8W6AmCq0C&pg=PA11)–13.
"A French soil-micomorphologist, Marie-Agnés County, a leading figure in assessing the
evidence for this 'event', has now identified at Brak the earliest clearly dated Near Eastern soil
'signal' in a level unquestionably preceding the construction of Naram-Sin's Palace, that is, well
before the collapse of the Akkadian Empire (see Courty 2001 and associated bibliography)."
83. Watanabe, Takaaki K.; Watanabe, Tsuyoshi; Yamazaki, Atsuko; Pfeiffer, Miriam (2019). "Oman
corals suggest that a stronger winter shamal season caused the Akkadian Empire
(Mesopotamia) collapse". Geology. GeoScienceWorld. 47 (12): 1141–1145.
Bibcode:2019Geo....47.1141W (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2019Geo....47.1141W).
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84. "Strong winter dust storms may have caused the collapse of the Akkadian Empire" (https://ww
w.global.hokudai.ac.jp/blog/strong-winter-dust-storms-may-have-caused-the-collapse-of-the-ak
kadian-empire/). Hokkaido University. 24 October 2019.
85. Leick, Gwendolyn (2001) "Mesopotamia: Invention of the City" (Penguin Books)
86. [2] (http://128.97.6.202/attach/Buccellati%202002%20Taram%20Agade%20Daughter%20of%2
0Naram%20Sin.pdf) Tar'am-Agade, Daughter of Naram-Sin, at Urkesh, Buccellati, Giorgio and
Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati, in of Pots and Plans. Papers on the Archaeology and History of
Mesopotamia and Syria presented to David Oates in Honour of his 75th Birthday, London:
Nabu Publications, 2002
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88. "Cylinder seal of Ubil-Eshtar" (https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collec
tion_object_details.aspx?objectId=368710&partId=1&images=true). British Museum.
89. Thompson, William J. (2003), "Complexity, Diminishing Marginal Returns and Serial
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92. Bourke, Stephen (2008). The Middle East: the cradle of civilization revealed. Thames &
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00. Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus (https://b
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pp. 204–205. ISBN 978-1-58839-043-1.
01. McKeon, John F. X. (1970). "An Akkadian Victory Stele". Boston Museum Bulletin. 68 (354):
226–243. JSTOR 4171539 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/4171539).
02. "The Adda Seal" (https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_
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04. Winter, Irene J. (1987), "Women in Public: The Disk of Enheduanna, The Beginning of the
Office of En-Priestess, the Weight of the Visual Evidence." La Femme dans le Proche-Orient
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Ams Pr Inc, 1979, ISBN 0-404-60263-0
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Bibliography
Liverani, Mario, ed. (1993). Akkad: The First World Empire: Structure, Ideology Traditions".
Padova: Sargon srl. ISBN 978-8-81120-468-8
Oates, Joan (2004). "Archaeology in Mesopotamia: Digging Deeper at Tell Brak". 2004 Albert
Reckitt Archaeological Lecture. In Proceedings of the British Academy: 2004 Lectures; Oxford
University Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0-19726-351-8.
Sallaberger, Walther; Westenholz, Aage (1999), Mesopotamien. Akkade-Zeit und Ur III-Zeit,
Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis, 160/3, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, ISBN 978-3-525-
53325-3
E. A. Speiser, Some Factors in the Collapse of Akkad, Journal of the American Oriental
Society, vol. 72, no. 3, pp. 97–101, (Jul. - Sep. 1952)
Zettler, Richard L. (2003). "Reconstructing the World of Ancient Mesopotamia: Divided
Beginnings and Holistic History". Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient. 46
(1): 3–45. doi:10.1163/156852003763504320 (https://doi.org/10.1163%2F1568520037635043
20). JSTOR 3632803 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/3632803).

External links
Iraq's Ancient Past (http://www.penn.museum/sites/iraq/) – Penn Museum
Year Names of Narim-Sin – CDLI (http://cdli.ucla.edu/tools/yearnames/HTML/T2K3.htm)
Year Named of Shar-kali-Sharri – CDLI (http://cdli.ucla.edu/tools/yearnames/HTML/T2K4.htm)
Site on Enheduanna at Virginia Tech University (https://web.archive.org/web/20091212064322/
http://www.cddc.vt.edu/feminism/Enheduanna.html)
 Ancient Syria and Mesopotamia
Southern
Syria Northern Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
c. 3500–
Semitic nomads Sumerian city-states
2350 BCE
c. 2350–
2200 BCE
Akkadian Empire
c. 2200–
2100 BCE
Gutians
c. 2100–
Third Dynasty of Ur (Sumerian Renaissance)
2000 BCE
c. 2000– Old Assyrian Empire Isin/Larsa and other
1800 BCE
Mari and other Amorite city-states
(Northern Akkadians) Amorite city-states
c. 1800–
1600 BCE
Old Hittite Kingdom Old Babylonian Empire (Southern Akkadians)
c. 1600–
1400 BCE
Mitanni (Hurrians)
c. 1400–
Middle Hittite Kingdom Karduniaš (Kassites)
1200 BCE
Bronze Age Collapse Middle Assyria
c. 1200–
Arameans
1150 BCE ("Sea Peoples")
c. 1150–911
BCE Neo-Hittite Aram- Arameans
Phoenicia Middle Babylonia Chal-
911–729 city-states Damascus
BCE
de-
Neo-Assyrian Empire ans
729–609
BCE
626–539
Neo-Babylonian Empire (Chaldeans)
BCE
539–331
BCE
Achaemenid Empire
336–301
BCE
Macedonian Empire (Ancient Greeks and Macedonians)
311–129
Seleucid Empire
BCE
129–63
BCE
Seleucid Empire
Parthian Empire
63 BCE–
243 CE
Roman Empire/Byzantine Empire
(Syria)
243–636 CE Sassanid Empire

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