mirrored file at http://SaturnianCosmology.Org/ For complete access to all the files of this collection see http://SaturnianCosmology.org/search.php ========================================================== *_Akkadian Empire_* *see the map of Mesopotamia* There are several reasons for taking the year 2350 as a turning point in the history of *Mesopotamia*. For the first time, an *empire* arose on *Mesopotamian soil*. The driving force of that empire was the *Akkadians*, so called after the city of *Akkad*, which *Sargon* chose for his capital (it has not yet been identified but was presumably located on the *Euphrates* between *Sippar* and *Kish*). The name *Akkad* became synonymous with a population group that stood side by side with the *Sumerians*. Southern *Mesopotamia* became known as the "*land of Sumer and Akkad*"; *Akkadian* became the name of a language; and the arts rose to new heights. However, even this turning point was not the first time the *Akkadians* had emerged in history. *Semites* [whether *Akkadians* or a *Semitic* language group that had settled before them] may have had a part in the *urbanization* that took place at the end of the 4th millennium. The earliest *Akkadian* names and words occur in written sources of the 27th century. The names of several *Akkadian* scribes are found in the archives of *Tall Abu Salabikh*, near *Nippur* in central *Babylonia*, synchronous with those of *Shuruppak* (shortly after 2600). The *Sumerian king list* places the 1st dynasty of *Kish*, together with a series of kings bearing *Akkadian* names, immediately after* the Flood*. In *Mari* the *Akkadian* language was probably written from the very beginning. Thus, the founders of the dynasty of *Akkad* were presumably members of a people who had been familiar for centuries with *Mesopotamian culture* in all its forms. According to the* Sumerian king list*, the first five rulers of *Akkad* (*Sargon*, *Rimush*, *Manishtusu*, *Naram-Sin*, and *Shar-kali-sharri*) ruled for a total of 142 years; *Sargon* alone ruled for 56. Although these figures cannot be checked, they are probably trustworthy, because the* king list* for *Ur III*, even if 250 years later, did transmit dates that proved to be accurate. As stated in an annotation to his name in the *king list*, *Sargon* started out as a *cupbearer* to King *Ur-Zababa* of *Kish*. There is an *Akkadian legend* about *Sargon*, describing how he was exposed after birth, brought up by a gardener, and later beloved by the goddess *Ishtar*. Nevertheless, there are *no* historical data about his *career*. Yet it is feasible to assume that in his case a high court office served as springboard for a dynasty of his own. The original inscriptions of the kings of *Akkad* that have come down to posterity are brief, and their *geographic distribution *generally is more informative than is their *content*.The main sources for *Sargon*'s reign, with its high points and catastrophes, are copies made by *Old Babylonian *scribes in *Nippur* from the very extensive originals that presumably had been kept there. They are in part *Akkadian*, in part bilingual *Sumerian-Akkadian* texts. According to these texts, *Sargon* fought against the *Sumerian* cities of *southern Babylonia*, threw down city walls, took prisoner 50 *ensis*, and "*cleansed his weapons in the sea*." He is also said to have captured *Lugalzagesi* of *Uruk*, the former ruler of *Umma*, who had vigorously attacked *UruKAgina* in *Lagash*, forcing his neck under a yoke and leading him thus to the gate of the god *Enlil* at *Nippur*. "*Citizens of Akkad*" filled the offices of *ensi* from the "*nether sea*" (the Persian Gulf) upward, which was perhaps a device used by *Sargon* to further his dynastic aims. Aside from the 34 battles fought in the south, *Sargon* also tells of conquests in northern *Mesopotamia*: *Mari*, *Tuttul* on the *Balikh*, where he venerated the god *Dagan* (Dagon), *Ebla* (Tall Mardikh in *Syria*), the "*cedar forest*" (Amanus or *Lebanon*), and the "*silver mountains*"; battles in *Elam* and the foothills of the *Zagros* are mentioned. *Sargon* also relates that ships from *Meluhha* (Indus region), *Magan* (possibly the coast of *Oman*), and *Dilmun* (Bahrain) made fast in the port of *Akkad*. Impressive as they are at first sight, these reports have only a limited value because they cannot be arranged chronologically, and it is not known whether *Sargon* built a large empire. *Akkadian* tradition itself saw it in this light, however, and a learned treatise of the late 8th or the 7th century lists no fewer than 65 cities and lands belonging to that empire. Yet, even if *Magan* and *Kapturu* (Crete) are given as the *eastern* and *western* limits of the conquered territories, it is impossible to transpose this to the 3rd millennium. *Sargon* appointed one of his daughters priestess of the *moon god* in *Ur*. She took the name of *Enheduanna* and was succeeded in the same office by *Enmenanna*, a daughter of *Naram-Sin*. *Enheduanna* must have been a very gifted woman; two *Sumerian* hymns by her have been preserved, and she is also said to have been instrumental in starting a collection of songs dedicated to the temples of *Babylonia*. *Sargon* died at a very old age after putting the grounds of the *millitary traditions* of *Mesopotamia*. The inscriptions, also preserved only in copies, of his son *Rimush* are full of reports about battles fought in *Sumer* and *Iran*, just as if there had never been a *Sargonic empire*. It is not known in detail how rigorously *Akkad* wished to control the cities to the south and how much freedom had been left to them; but they presumably clung tenaciously to their inherited local *autonomy*. From a practical point of view, it was probably in any case impossible to organize an *empire* that would embrace all *Mesopotamia*. Since the reports (i.e., copies of inscriptions) left by* Manishtusu*, *Naram-Sin*, and *Shar-kali-sharri* speak time and again of rebellions and victorious battles and since *Rimush*, *Manishtusu*, and *Shar-kali-sharri* are themselves said to have died violent deaths, the problem of what remained of *Akkad'*s greatness obtrudes. Wars and disturbances, the victory of one and the defeat of another, and even regicide constitute only some of the aspects suggested to us by the sources. Whenever they extended beyond the immediate *Babylonian* neighbourhood, the military campaigns of the *Akkadian* kings were dictated primarily by trade interests instead of being intended to serve the conquest and safeguarding of an *empire*. *Akkad*, or more precisely the king, needed *merchandise*, *money*, and *gold* in order to finance *wars*, *buildings*, and the system of *administration* that he had instituted. On the other hand, the original inscriptions that have been found so far of a king like *Naram-Sin* are scattered at sites covering a distance of some 620 miles as the crow flies, following the *Tigris* downriver: *Diyarbakr* on the upper *Tigris*, *Nineveh*, *Tall Birak* (Tell Brak) on the upper *Khabur* River (which had an Akkadian fortress and garrison), *Susa* in *Elam*, as well as* Marad*, *Puzrish-Dagan*, *Adab* (Bismayah), *Nippur*, *Ur*, and *Girsu* in *Babylonia*. Even if all this was not part of an *empire*, it surely constituted an impressive sphere of influence. Also to be considered are other facts that weigh more heavily than high-sounding reports of victories that cannot be verified. After the first kings of the dynasty had borne the title of *king of Kish*, *Naram-Sin* assumed the title "*king of the four quarters of the earth*" [that is, of the universe]. As if he were in fact divine, he also had his name written with the cuneiform sign "*god*," the divine determinative that was customarily used in front of the names of gods; furthermore, he assumed the title of "*god of Akkad*." It is legitimate to ask whether the concept of deification may be used in the sense of elevation to a rank equal to that of the gods. At the very least it must be acknowledged that, in relation to his city and his subjects, the king saw himself in the role played by the local divinity as *protector* of the city and *guarantor* of its well-being. In contemporary judicial documents from *Nippur*, the oath is often taken "*by Naram-Sin*," with a formula identical with that used in swearing by a divinity. Documents from *Girsu* contain *Akkadian* date formulas of the type "/in the year in which Naram-Sin laid the foundations of the Enlil temple at Nippur and of the Inanna temple at Zabalam/." As evidenced by the dating procedures customary in *Ur III* and in the *Old Babylonian* period, the use of such formulas presupposes that the respective city acknowledged as its overlord the ruler whose name is invoked. Under *Akkad*, the *Akkadian* language acquired a literary prestige that made it the equal of *Sumerian*. Under the influence, perhaps, of an *Akkadian* garrison at *Susa*, it spread beyond the borders of *Mesopotamia*. After having employed for several centuries an *indigenous script* patterned after *cuneiform writing*, *Elam* adopted *Mesopotamian script* during the *Akkadian* period and with a few exceptions used it even when writing in *Elamite* rather than *Sumerian* or *Akkadian*. The so-called *Old Akkadian* manner of writing is extraordinarily appealing from the* aesthetic* point of view; as late as the *Old Babylonian era* it served as a model for *monumental inscriptions*. Similarly, the *plastic* and *graphic arts*, especially *sculpture* in the round,* relief work*, and *cylinder seals*, reached a high point of perfection. Thus the reign of the* five* kings of *Akkad* may be considered one of the most productive periods of *Mesopotamian* history. Although separatist forces opposed all unifying tendencies, *Akkad* brought about a broadening of political horizons and dimensions. The period of *Akkad* fascinated historiographers as did few other eras. Having contributed its share to the storehouse of legend, it has never disappeared from memory. With phrases such as "*There will come a king of the four quarters of the earth*," liver omens (soothsaying done by analyzing the shape of a sheep's liver) of the *Old Babylonian* period express the yearning for unity at a time when *Babylonia* had once again disintegrated into a dozen or more small states *Back to the History page* *Home*