Home Introduction Sumer Akkad Babylon Assyrian Neo-Babylon Persia Empire Timeline Bibliography/Credits

Akkad

Akkad ancient region in what is now central Iraq. Akkad was the northern (or northwestern) division of ancient Babylonian civilization. The region was located roughly in the area where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers are closest to each other, and its northern limit extended beyond the line of the modern cities of al-Fallujah and Baghdad.

The climate in northern Mesopotamia is characteristically semiarid with strong seasonally in both precipitation and temperature. Winter are cool and wet where ass summers are hot very dry .Winter precipitation results from the eastward penetration of Atlantic and Mediterranean rain-bearing cyclones embedded within the mid-attitudes westerly flow. The marked seasonality of Mesopotamia rainfall and wind makes this region a rich source of mineral dust to the atmosphere.

Akkadian spoke the Semitic languages, after succeeding the Sumerian, it was spoken for about around, nearly two thousand years. They took up the same language as the Sumerian, because they didn't feel like making a whole new different language, and scientist saw this in their language pattern. All their documents were written in the Cuneiform invented by the Sumerians, but they shortened the alphabet. There still evidence that they used this, because archaeologist found documents tracing back to 2350 BCE. They used clay tablets to write their documents too. There was one found, that traced back to 2900-2800 BCE. It was later translated and revealed the name of kings, some talking about kings from the city Kish. Some of their other famous work includes the famous "Epic of Gilgamesh", the quest of a man for eternal life.

After the Akkadian took over Sumer, the empire lasted for about a century. The power was passed on through descendants. First it was Sargon I, then his grandson Namir-Sin. But he as later overthrown by the people he destroyed the city Agade. He was later replaced after the Sumerian got independence by Ur-Nammu, who used to be a military general; he then had a son who took over the thrown named Shulgi. Both Ur-Nammu and Shulgi used the Hammurabi Code from Babylon.

The Akkadian finally developed the method that’s there is only one god, unlike the Sumerians. They found out there is only one god and that’s it, there wasn’t gods for every little thing. They had temples were ceremonies were taking place and they had a religious priest. Akkadians were some of the people who practiced Christianity.

The Akkadians, like most Ancient Near Eastern kingdoms, also were polytheistic religions. Their gods were anthropomorphic, that’s the gods that take human form. And because the gods took human form, they also had human qualities; the gods could be foolish, intelligent, shy, humorous, jealous, angry or silly. The gods also had unequal status. Their gods were just like the Sumerian, they had the earth four main components. The gods were responsible for the smooth running of that world. The gods ruled the world of men through their earthly representatives, and in the case of the Akkadian kingdom, this meant Sargon. Hopefully, you can already notice the decreased status of the temple priests at Akkad. Although they still exist, and continue to serve a vital role, the mediator between the gods and ordinary men and women, is now Sargon.

Akkad used raw materials to make most of their stuff such as, metals, stone and timber, to build houses, temples, schools, and what not. Also military campaigns by the Akkadians were probably needed to keep the continuous flow of these materials. No large monuments are known in Iran from the time of the Akkadian dynasty, but King Naramsin has influenced some cities in present day Iran. He also built a monument of himself triumphing over his enemies with the help of a goddess Inanna. He put this up to show his strength and authority.

Section Review:

1.Where did the Akkadian language roots come from?

2.How was the empire passed on by?

3. How did Sargon I conquer Sumer?

Home Introduction Sumer Akkad Babylon Assyrian Neo-Babylon Persia Empire Timeline Bibliography/Credits Top