View source for Akkadian Empire

{{Short description|State in Mesopotamia (c. 2334–2154 BC)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox former country
| native_name            = {{native name|akk|𒆳𒌵𒆠}}<br /><span style="font-weight: normal">{{Transliteration|akk|māt Akkadi}}</span><br />{{native name|sux|𒀀𒂵𒉈𒆠}}<br /><span style="font-weight: normal">{{Transliteration|sux|a-ga-de<sub>3</sub><sup>KI</sup>}}</span>
| conventional_long_name = Akkadian Empire
| era                    = [[Bronze Age]]
| government_type        = [[Monarchy|Imperial Monarchy]]
| year_start             = {{circa|2334 BC}}
| year_end               = {{cx|2154 BC}}
| life_span              = {{circa|2334|2154 BC}}
| event1                 = [[Conquests of Sargon of Akkad]]
| date_event1            = {{cx|2340|2284 BC}}
| p1                     = Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia){{!}}Early Dynastic Period
| s1                     = Gutian dynasty of Sumer{{!}}Gutian Period (Sumer)
| image_map2_caption     = Map of the Akkadian Empire (brown) near its height around the reign of [[Naram-Sin of Akkad|Naram-Sin]]. The yellow arrows show the directions in which military campaigns were conducted
| image_map              = Empire akkad.svg
| image_map_caption      = Map of the Akkadian Empire (brown) and the directions in which military campaigns were conducted (yellow arrows)
| capital                = [[Akkad (city)|Akkad]]
| common_languages       = {{plainlist|
* [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] (dominant)
* [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] ([[vernacular]])
}}
| official_languages     = {{plainlist|
* [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] (de jure)
* [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] (honorific and liturgical)
}}
| religion               = [[Ancient Mesopotamian religion|Ancient Mesopotamian Polytheism]]
| leader1                = [[Sargon of Akkad|Sargon]] (first)
| leader2                = [[Shu-turul]] (last)
| year_leader1           = {{cx|2334–2279 BC}}
| year_leader2           = {{cx|2168–2154 BC}}
| title_leader           = [[List of kings of Akkad|Šarrum (Kings)]]
| today                  = {{ubl|[[Iraq]]|[[Iran]]|[[Syria]]|[[Turkey]]|[[Kuwait]]}}
}}
{{History of Iraq|File:Stele_of_Naram-Sin_of_Akkad.jpg}}
The '''Akkadian Empire''' ({{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|k|eɪ|d|i|ən}}) or '''kingdom of Akkad/Agade'''{{refn|{{langx|akk|<sup>[[URU (cuneiform)|URU]]</sup>Akkad [[KI (cuneiform)|KI]]}} "(city of) Akkad"; {{langx|hbo|אַכַּד}} {{Transliteration|hbo|Akkad}}.|group=}} was an ancient kingdom, often thought to be the first known [[empire]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kirby|first=Mayson| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=QePEDwAAQBAJ|title= History of Civilizations |date=2018|publisher=EDTECH|page=116|isbn=978-1-83947-277-0}}</ref> succeeding the long-lived [[city-state]]s of [[Sumer]]. Centered on the city of [[Akkad (city)|Akkad]] ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|k|æ|d}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɑː|k|ɑː|d}})<ref>{{multiref | {{Cite Collins|Akkad}} | {{Cite Dictionary.com|Akkad}} }}{{pb}}{{langx|sux|Agade}}</ref> and its surrounding region in modern-day [[Iraq]], the empire united the Semitic [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] and [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] speakers under one rule and exercised significant influence across [[Mesopotamia]], the [[Levant]], modern-day [[Iran]] and [[Anatolia]], sending military expeditions as far south as [[Dilmun]] and [[Magan (civilization)|Magan]] (modern [[United Arab Emirates]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Bahrain]], [[Kuwait]], [[Qatar]] and [[Oman]]) in the [[Arabian Peninsula]].<ref name="WebsterNinthNewCollege">Mish, Frederick C., Editor in Chief. "Akkad" ''[[iarchive:webstersninthne000merr|Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary]]''. ninth ed. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster 1985. {{ISBN|0-87779-508-8}}).</ref>{{Page needed|date=October 2023}}

Established by [[Sargon of Akkad]] after defeating the Sumerian king [[Lugal-zage-si]], it replaced the system of independent [[Sumero-Akkadian]] [[city-states]] and unified a vast region, stretching from the [[Mediterranean]] to [[Iran]] and from [[Anatolia]] to the [[Persian Gulf]], under a [[centralized government]]. Sargon and his successors, especially his grandson [[Naram-Sin of Akkad|Naram-Sin]], expanded the empire through [[military conquest]], administrative [[reform]]s, and [[cultural integration]]. Naram-Sin took the unprecedented step of declaring himself a [[Imperial cult|living god]] and adopted the title "King of the Four Quarters." The [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] Akkadian language became the empire’s [[lingua franca]], although Sumerian (a [[language isolate]]) remained important in religion and literature. The empire was documented through inscriptions, administrative tablets, and seals, including notable sources like the [[Bassetki Statue]]. [[Enheduanna]], Sargon’s daughter, served as high [[Priestess (religious honorific)|priestess]] and is recognized as the first known named author in history.

The Akkadian Empire reached its political peak between the 24th and 22nd centuries&nbsp;BC, following the conquests by its founder Sargon. Under Sargon and his successors, the Akkadian language was briefly imposed on neighbouring conquered states such as [[Elam]], [[Lullubi]]  [[Hatti]] and [[Gutian people|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.<ref>F Leo Oppenhiem – Ancient Mesopotamia</ref><ref>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'.</ref>

The Akkadian state was characterized by a [[planned economy]] supported by agriculture, taxation, and conquest. It also saw developments in art, technology, and long-distance trade, including connections with the [[Indus Valley]]. Despite its strength, the empire faced internal revolts, [[dynastic]] instability, and external threats. Sargon’s sons, [[Rimush]] and [[Manishtushu]], struggled to maintain control; both died violently. Naram-Sin’s successors were weaker, leading to fragmentation and vulnerability. The empire eventually collapsed due to a combination of internal unrest and severe environmental and economic stress caused by a major drought associated with the 4.2-kiloyear climate event, which led to crop failures, famine, urban decline, and population displacement, followed by an invasion by the Gutians.

==Contemporary epigraphic sources==
[[Epigraphy|Epigraphic]] sources from the Sargonic (Akkadian Empire) period are uncommon, partly because the capital [[Akkad (city)|Akkad]], like the capitals of the later [[Mitanni]] and [[First Sealand dynasty|Sealand]], has not yet been located, though there has been much speculation.<ref name=wallromana1990>{{cite journal |last1=Wall-Romana |first1=Christophe |year=1990 |title=An Areal Location of Agade |journal=Journal of Near Eastern Studies |volume=49 |issue=3 |pages=205–245 |jstor=546244 |doi=10.1086/373442 |s2cid=161165836 }}</ref><ref>{{citation |last1=Weiss |first1=Harvey |author-link=Harvey Weiss |year=1975 |title=Kish, Akkad and Agade |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=95 |issue=3 |pages=434–453 |jstor=599355 |doi=10.2307/599355}}</ref> Some cuneiform tablets have been excavated at cities under Akkadian Empire control such as [[Eshnunna]] and [[Tell Agrab]].<ref>[https://isac.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/shared/docs/mad1.pdf] I.J. Gelb, "Sargon Texts from the Diyala Region", Materials for the Assyrian Dictionary, vol. 1, Chicago, 1961</ref>

Other tablets have become available on the antiquities market and are held in museums and private collections such as those from the Akkadian governor in [[Adab (city)|Adab]].<ref>M. Molina, "Sargonic Cuneiform Tablets in the Real Academia de la Historia : The Carl L. Lippmann Collection", Real Academia de la Historia, 2014 {{ISBN|978-8415069713}}</ref> Internal evidence allows their dating to the Sargonic period and sometimes to the original location. Archives are especially important to historians and only a few have become available.<ref name="Foster" /> 

The Me-sag Archive, which commenced publication in 1958, is considered one of the most significant collections. The tablets, about 500 in number with about half published, are held primarily at the Babylonian Collection of the Yale University and Baghdad Museum with a few others scattered about. The tablets date to the period of late in the reign of Naram-Sin to early in the reign of Shar-kali-shari. They are believed to be from a town between Umma and Lagash and Me-sag to be the governor of Umma.<ref>Markina, Ekaterina, "Akkadian of the Me-ság Archive", in Babel und Bibel 6, edited by Leonid E. Kogan, N. Koslova, S. Loesov and S. Tishchenko, University Park, US: Penn State University Press, pp. 169–188, 2012</ref><ref>Susan Jane Bridges, The Mesag Archive: A Study of Sargonic Society and Economy, Yale University Dissertation, 1981</ref><ref>Robson, Eleanor, and Gábor Zólyomi, "Mesag reports a murder: cuneiform tablets in the collections of Norwich Castle Museum and Cambridge University Library", Iraq 76, pp. 189–203, 2014</ref> An archive of 47 tablets was found at the excavation of [[Tell Suleimah]] in the Hamrin Basin.<ref>Visicato, Giuseppe, "The Sargonic Archive of Tell El-Suleimah", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 51, pp. 17–30, 1999</ref>

Various royal inscriptions by the Akkadian rulers have also been found. Most of the original examples are short, or very fragmentary like the [[Victory Stele of Naram-Sin]] and the Sargonic victory stele from Telloh.<ref>Foster, Benjamin R., "The Sargonic Victory Stele from Telloh", Iraq, vol. 47, pp. 15–30, 1985</ref> A few longer ones are known because of later copies made, often from the much later Old Babylonian period. While these are assumed to be mostly accurate, it is difficult to know if they had been edited to reflect current political conditions.<ref name="Frayne" >Douglas R. Frayne, The Sargonic and Gutian Periods (2334–2113), University of Toronto Press, 1993, {{ISBN|0-8020-0593-4}}</ref> One of the longer surviving examples is the [[Bassetki Statue]], the [[copper]] base of a Narim-Sin statue:

{{Blockquote|"Naram-Sin, the mighty, king  of  Agade, when the four quarters together revolted against him, through the love which the goddess Astar showed him, he was victorious in nine battles in one in 1                                                                          year, and the kings whom they (the rebels[?]) had                                                                         raised (against  him), he captured. In view of the fact that he protected                                                             the foundations of his city from danger, (the citizens of his city requested from Astar in Eanna, Enlil in Nippur, Dagan in Tuttul, Ninhursag in Kes, Ea in Eridu, Sin in Ur, Samas in Sippar, (and) Nergal in Kutha, that (Naram-Sin) be (made) the god of their city, and  they built within Agade a temple (dedicated) to him. As for the one who removes this inscription, may the gods Samas, Astar, Nergal, the bailiff of the king, namely all those gods (mentioned  above) tear out his foundations and destroy his progeny."<ref name="Frayne" />
}}

A number of fragments of royal statues of Manishtushu all bearing portions of a "standard inscription". Aside from a few minor short inscriptions this is the only known contemporary source for this ruler.<ref>Eppihimer, Melissa, "Assembling King and State: The Statues of Manishtushu and the Consolidation of Akkadian Kingship", American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 114, no. 3, pp. 365–80, 2010</ref> An excerpt:

{{Blockquote|"Man-istusu, king of the world: when he conquered Ansan and Sirihum, had ... ships cross the Lower Sea. The cities across the Sea, thirty-two (in number), assembled for battle, but he was victorious (over them). Further, he conquered their cities, [st]ru[c]k down their rulers and aft[er] he [roused them (his troops)], plundered as far as the Silver Mines. He quarried the black stone of the mountains across the Lower Sea, loaded (it) on ships, and moored (the ships) at the quay of Agade"<ref name="Frayne" />
}}

{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=400|caption_align=center
| align    = right
| direction =horizontal
| image1   = P1050576 Louvre Oblélisque de Manishtusu rwk.JPG
| image2   = P1050578 Louvre Obélisque de Manishtusu détail rwk.JPG
| footer=[[Manishtushu#Manishtushu Obelisk|Manishtushu Obelisk]], with close-up of the text. 2270–2255 BC, [[Louvre Museum]]
}}
Before the Akkadian Empire, calendar years were marked by Regnal Numbers. During Sargonic times, a system of year-names was used. This practice continued until the end of the Old Babylonian period, for example, "Year in which the divine Hammu[rabi] the king Esznunna destroyed by a flood.”<ref>Ebeling, E. and Meissner, B., "Reallexikon der Assyriologie (RIA-2), Berlin, 1938</ref> Afterwards, Regnal Numbers were used by all succeeding kingdoms.<ref>Horsnell, Malcolm J. A., "Why Year-Names? An Exploration into the Reasons for Their Use", Orientalia, vol. 72, no. 2, pp. 196–203, 2003</ref> During the Akkadian Empire 3 of the presumed 40 Sargon year-names are known, 1 (presumed 9) of Rimush, 20 (presumed 56) of Naram-Sin, and 18 (presumed 18) of Shar-kali-shari.<ref>[https://cdli-gh.github.io/year-names/HTML/T2K1.htm Marcel Sigrist and Peter Damerow, "Mesopotamian Year Names", Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative, 2001]</ref> Recently, a single year-name had been found "In the year that Dūr-Maništusu was established.”<ref>Alkhafaji, Nashat Ali Omran, "A Double Date Formula of the Old Akkadian King Manishtusu", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 71, pp. 3–9, 2019</ref> There are also, perhaps, a dozen more known, which cannot be firmly linked to a ruler. Especially with the paucity of other inscriptions, year-names are extremely important in determining the history of the Akkadian Empire. As an example, from one year-name, we know that the empire was in conflict with the Gutians long before its end.  It attests the name of a Gutian ruler and marks the construction of two temples in Babylon as recognition of Akkadian victory.

{{Blockquote|"In the year in which Szarkaliszarri laid the foundations of the temples of the goddess Annunitum and of the god Aba in Babylon and when he defeated Szarlak, king of Gutium"<ref>Lambert, Wilfred G., "Babylon: Origins". Babylon: Wissenskultur in Orient und Okzident", edited by Eva Cancik-Kirschbaum, Margarete van Ess and Joachim Marzahn, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 71–76, 2011</ref>}}

The final contemporary source are seals and their sealing dates. These are especially important here, as markers, with the shortage of other Akkadian Empire epigraphics and very useful to historians. As an example, two seals and one sealing were found in the [[Royal Cemetery at Ur]] which contained the name of Sargons's daughter En-hedu-ana. This provided confirmation of her existence. The seals read "En-hedu-ana, daughter of Sargon: Ilum-pal[il] (is) her coiffeur" and "Adda, estate supervisor/majordomo of En-hedu-ana".<ref name="Frayne" /> At [[Urkesh|Tell Mozan]] (ancient Urkesh) brought to light a clay sealing of Tar'am-Agade (Akkad loves <her>), a previously unknown daughter of [[Naram-Sin of Akkad|Naram-Sin]], who was possibly married to an unidentified local ''endan'' (ruler).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Buccellati |first1=Giorgio |last2=Kelly-Buccellati |first2=Marilyn |editor1-first=Lamia |editor1-last=Al-Gailani Werr |title=Of Pots and Plans. Papers on the Archaeology and History of Mesopotamia and Syria presented to David Oates in Honour of his 75th Birthday |year=2002 |publisher=Nabu |location=London |isbn=978-1897750629 |chapter-url=https://urkesh.org/EL-MZ/Buccellati_and_Kelly-Buccellati_2002_Taram_Agade_Daughter_-_MDOG_133.pdf |pages=11–31 |chapter=Tar’am-Agade, Daughter of Naram-Sin, at Urkesh}}</ref>

==Later copies and literary compositions==
[[File:Bronze head of an Akkadian ruler, discovered in Nineveh in 1931, presumably depicting either Sargon or Sargon's grandson Naram-Sin (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden).jpg|thumb|Bronze head of an Akkadian ruler, discovered in [[Nineveh]] in 1931, presumably depicting either [[Sargon of Akkad|Sargon]] or, more probably, Sargon's grandson [[Naram-Sin of Akkad|Naram-Sin]].<ref name="jstor.org">{{cite journal |last1=Mallowan |first1=M. E. L. |year=1936 |title=The Bronze Head of the Akkadian Period from Nineveh |journal=Iraq |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=104–110 |doi=10.2307/4241589 |jstor=4241589 |s2cid=130446624 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kidner |first1=Frank L. |last2=Bucur |first2=Maria |last3=Mathisen |first3=Ralph |last4=McKee |first4=Sally |last5=Weeks |first5=Theodore R. |title=Making Europe: People, Politics, and Culture |date=2007 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-0-618-00479-9 |page=15 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HumKY7fn9cMC&pg=PA15 |language=en}}</ref>]]
So great was the Akkadian Empire, especially Sargon and Narim-Sin, that its history was passed down for millennia. This ranged on one end to purported copies of still existing Sargonic period inscriptions to literary tales made up from the whole cloth at the other.<ref>Westenholz, Joan Goodnick, "Heroes of Akkad", Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 103, no. 1, pp. 327–36, 1983</ref> A few examples:

*[[Gutian rule in Mesopotamia#Great Revolt against Naram-Sin|Great Rebellion Against Naram-Sin]] – At one point in his reign much of the Empire, especially in the old mainly Sumerian city-states, rose up against Naram-Sin. The revolt was crushed but the echoes of the event were passed down in history. Some of the tales, like "Naram-Sin and the Enemy Hordes" (Old Babylonian – purported to be a copy of an inscription at the temple of Nergal in Cutha) and "Gula-AN and the Seventeen Kings against Naram-Sin" were literary compositions which further developed and changed the themes. The earliest examplar, from the Old Babylonian period, is found in several incomplete tablets and fragments, which differ somewhat, purporting to be copies of an inscription on a statue of Naram-Sin standing in the Ekur temple of [[Enlil]] at [[Nippur]]. Because it aligns with known contemporary inscriptions and year name it is considered authentic, which the usual Mesopotamian slant that something  going wrong means you displeased the gods.<ref>Tinney, Steve, "A New Look at Naram-Sin and the ‘Great Rebellion’", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 47, pp. 1–14, 1995</ref><ref>Michalowski, Piotr, "New Sources Concerning the Reign of Naram-Sin", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 233–46, 1980</ref><ref>Westenholz, Joan Goodnick, "Naram-Sin and the Enemy Hordes": The “Cuthean Legend” of Naram-Sin", Legends of the Kings of Akkade: The Texts, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 263–368, 1997</ref>

{{Blockquote|"... By the verdict of the goddess Astar-Annunltum, Naram-Sin, the mighty, [was vic]torious over the Kisite in battle at TiWA. [Further], Ili-resi, the general; Ilum-muda, Ibbi-Zababa, Imtalik, (and) Puzur-Asar, captains of Kis; and Puzur-Ningal, governor of TiWA; Ili-re'a, his captain; Kullizum, captain of Eres; Edam'u, captain of Kutha ..."<ref name="Frayne" />
}}

*[[Gutian rule in Mesopotamia#Curse of Akkad|Cursing of Agade]] – A purely literary composition which was handed down for millennia in Mesopotamia. Composed in the Ur III period, a century or at most two after the events, it is essentially artistic propaganda. After a long period of Akkadian dominance the Sumerians from the south are back in ascendancy. The Ur rule is sometimes called the Neo-Sumerian Empire. This composition lays all the troubles before the rise of Ur at the feet of the Akkadian Empire (because Naram-Sin leveled the Ekur temple of Enlil while rebuilding it causing the eight chief deities of Mesopotamia to withdraw their support and protection from Akkad). While basically fiction, it is still useful to historians.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.2.1.5|title=The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|"...Enlil brought out of the mountains those who do not resemble other people, who are not reckoned as part of the Land, the Gutians, an unbridled people, with human intelligence but canine instincts and monkeys' features. Like small birds they swooped on the ground in great flocks. Because of Enlil, they stretched their arms out across the plain like a net for animals. Nothing escaped their clutches, no one left their grasp. Messengers no longer traveled the highways, the courier's boat no longer passed along the rivers. The Gutians drove the trusty (?) goats of Enlil out of their folds and compelled their herdsmen to follow them, they drove the cows out of their pens and compelled their cowherds to follow them. Prisoners manned the watch. Brigands occupied the highways. The doors of the city gates of the Land lay dislodged in mud, and all the foreign lands uttered bitter cries from the walls of their cities ..."<ref>Cooper, Jerrold S., The Curse of Agade., The Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore/London, 1983</ref><ref>Jacobsen, Thorkild, The Harps that Once .... Sumerian Poetry in Translation. Yale University Press: New Haven/London, 1987</ref>}}

There were a number of these, passed down as part of scribel tradition including The  Birth Legend of Sargon ([[Neo-Assyrian]]), Weidner Chronicle, and the Geographical Treatise on Sargon of Akkad's Empire.<ref>Lenzi, Alan, "Legends of Akkadian Kings", in An Introduction to Akkadian Literature: Contexts and Content, University Park, US: Penn State University Press, pp. 123–132, 2019</ref><ref>E. A. Speiver, "Akkadian Myths and Epics", in Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament with Supplement, edited by James B. Pritchard, Princeton: Princeton University Press, pp. 60–119, 1955</ref><ref>Albright, W. F., "A Babylonian Geographical Treatise on Sargon of Akkad's Empire", Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 45, pp. 193–245, 1925</ref><ref>Al-Rawi, F. N. H. “Tablets from the Sippar Library. I. The ‘Weidner Chronicle’: A Supposititious Royal Letter Concerning a Vision.” Iraq, vol. 52, pp. 1–13, 1990</ref>

==Archaeology==
Identifying architectural remains is hindered by the fact that there are sometimes no clear distinctions between features thought to stem from the preceding [[Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|Early Dynastic period]], and those thought to be Akkadian. Likewise, material that is thought to be Akkadian continues to be in use into the [[Third Dynasty of Ur|Ur III period]].<ref>[https://isac.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/shared/docs/oip129.pdf] Augusta McMahon, "Nippur V. The Early Dynastic to Akkadian Transition: The Area WF Sounding at Nippur", Oriental Institute Publications 129, Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 2006 {{ISBN|1-885923-38-4}}</ref> There is a similar issue with cuneiform tablets. In the early Akkadian Empire tablets and the signs on them are much like those from earlier periods, before developing into the much different Classical Sargonic style.<ref name="Foster" >Foster, Benjamin R., "Archives and Record-keeping in Sargonic Mesopotamia", ZAVA, vol. 72, no. 1, pp. 1–27, 1982</ref>

With the capital, Akkad, still unlocated, archaeological remains of the empire are still to be found, mainly at the cities where they established regional governors. An example is [[Adab (city)|Adab]] where Naram-Sin established direct imperial control after Adab joined the "great revolt".<ref>[https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/234857/1/2019-Palace_Adab_Sargonic_period.pdf] M. Molina, "The palace of Adab during the Sargonic period", D. Wicke (ed.), Der Palast im antiken und islamischen Orient, Colloquien der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 9, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, pp. 151–20, 2019</ref> After destroying the city of [[Mari, Syria|Mari]] the Akkadian Empire rebuilt it as an administrative center with an imperial governor.<ref>Margueron, Jean-Claude, "The Kingdom of Mari", In Crawford, Harriet (ed.). The Sumerian World. Translated by Crawford, Harriet. Routledge, 2013 {{ISBN|978-1-136-21912-2}}</ref> The city of [[Nuzi]] was established by the Akkadians and a number of economic and administrative texts were found there.<ref>Freedman, Nadezhda, "The Nuzi Ebla", The Biblical Archaeologist, 40 (1), pp. 32–33, 1977</ref> Similarly, there are [[Marad]], [[Nippur]], [[Tutub]] and [[Ebla]].<ref>Archi, Alfonso, "Ebla and Its Archives: Texts, History, and Society", Walter de Gruyter, 2015 {{ISBN|978-1-61451-788-7}}</ref><ref>Gibson, McGuire, "A Re-Evaluation of the Akkad Period in the Diyala Region on the Basis of Recent Excavations at Nippur and in the Hamrin", American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 86, no. 4, pp. 531–38, 1982</ref>

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.<ref>J. Oates (2004), pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=EnQ8W6AmCq0C&pg=PA5 5]–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."</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|jstor = 4200303|title = Akkadian Buildings at Tell Brak|journal = Iraq|volume = 51|pages = 193–211|last1 = Oates|first1 = David|last2 = Oates|first2 = Joan|year = 1989|doi = 10.2307/4200303| s2cid=162449952 }}</ref>

==Dating and periodization==
The Akkadian period is generally dated to 2,334–2,154 BC (according to the [[middle chronology]]). The [[Short chronology|short-chronology]] dates of 2,270–2,083 BC are now considered less likely. It was preceded by the [[Early Dynastic Period of Mesopotamia]] (ED) and succeeded by the [[Ur III period|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 dynasty of Sumer|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]]).<ref name=schrakamp>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Schrakamp |first1=Ingo |editor1-first=Roger S. |editor1-last=Bagnall |title=The Encyclopedia of Ancient History |year=2013 |publisher=Blackwell |location=Chicago |doi=10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah24182 |chapter=Sargon of Akkad and his dynasty |pages=6045–6047 |isbn=9781444338386}}</ref><ref name=pruss2004>{{citation |last1=Pruß |first1=Alexander |year=2004 |editor1-last=Lebeau |editor1-first=Marc |editor2-last=Sauvage |editor2-first=Martin |title=Atlas of Preclassical Upper Mesopotamia |chapter=Remarks on the Chronological Periods |pages=7–21 |isbn=978-2503991207 |series=Subartu |volume=13 }}</ref>

===Timeline of rulers===
{{Main|List of kings of Akkad}}

The relative order of Akkadian kings is clear, while noting that the Ur III version of the Sumerian King List inverts the order of Rimush and Manishtushu.<ref>Steinkeller, P., "An Ur III manuscript of the Sumerian King List", in: W. Sallaberger [e.a.] (ed.), Literatur, Politik und Recht in Mesopotamien. Festschrift fü r Claus Wilcke. OBC 14. Wiesbaden, 267–29, 2003</ref><ref>Thomas, Ariane. "The Akkadian Royal Image: On a Seated Statue of Manishtushu" Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 105, no. 1-2, 2015, pp. 86–117</ref> The absolute dates of their reigns are approximate (as with all dates prior to the [[Late Bronze Age collapse]] ''c.'' 1200 BC).<ref name="Mieroop2007" >{{cite book |last1=van de Mieroop |first1=M. |author-link=Marc Van de Mieroop |title=A History of the Ancient Near East, ca. 3000–323 BC |year=2007 |publisher=Blackwell |location=Malden |isbn=978-0-631-22552-2}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" 
|-
! Ruler
!
! Middle chronology<br/><small>All dates BC</small>
!Family tree
|-
|[[Sargon of Akkad|Sargon]]
|[[File:Sargon_of_Akkad_on_his_victory_stele.jpg|30px]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 2334–2279
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan=7|[[File:Akkadkings.jpg|400px]]
|-
|[[Rimush]]
|[[File:Rimush_victory_stele_archer.jpg|30px]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 2278–2270
|-
|[[Manishtushu]]
|[[File:Statue_de_Manishtusu_-_Sb_47_-_Antiquités_orientales_du_Louvre.jpg|30px]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 2269–2255
|-
|[[Naram-Sin of Akkad|Naram-Sin]]
|[[File:Relief_of_Naram-Sin_(portrait).jpg|30px]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 2254–2218
|-
|[[Shar-Kali-Sharri]]
|[[File:Impression_of_an_Akkadian_cylinder_seal_with_inscription_The_Divine_Sharkalisharri_Prince_of_Akkad_Ibni-Sharrum_the_Scribe_his_servant.jpg|30px]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 2217–2193
|-
|[[Dudu of Akkad|Dudu]]
|[[File:Alabaster_vase_of_Dudu_of_Akkad_Louvre_Museum_AO_31549.jpg|30px|Alabaster vase of Dudu of Akkad Louvre Museum AO 31549]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 2189–2169
|-
|[[Shu-turul]]
|[[File:Votive_hammer_of_Shu-turul_Room_56_Display_case_11_British_Museum_(with_reconstruction_of_the_inscription).jpg|30px|Votive_hammer_of_Shu-turul]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 2168–2154
|}

==History and development of the empire==

===Pre-Sargonic Akkad===
[[Image:Umma2350.PNG|thumb|Akkad before expansion (in green). The territory of [[Sumer]] under its last king [[Lugal-Zage-Si]] appears in orange. Circa 2350 BC]]
[[File:Sargon on his victory stele.jpg|thumb|Sargon on his victory stele, with a royal [[hair bun]], holding a mace and wearing a flounced royal coat on his left shoulder with a large belt (left), followed by an attendant holding a royal umbrella.<ref name="AOA">{{cite book |last1=Foster |first1=Benjamin R. |title=The Age of Agade: Inventing Empire in Ancient Mesopotamia |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781317415527 |page=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O680CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="LN">{{cite journal |last1=Nigro |first1=Lorenzo |title=The Two Steles of Sargon: Iconology and Visual Propaganda at the Beginning of Royal Akkadian Relief |journal=Iraq |volume=60 |date=1998 |publisher=British Institute for the Study of Iraq |page=92 |doi=10.2307/4200454 |jstor=4200454 |hdl=11573/109737 |s2cid=193050892 }}</ref> The name of Sargon in cuneiform ("King Sargon") appears faintly in front of his face.<ref name="AOA"/><ref name="LN93-94"/> [[Louvre Museum]].]]
[[File:Akkadian official in the retinue of Sargon of Akkad, holding an axe.jpg|thumb|Akkadian official in the retinue of Sargon of Akkad, holding an axe]]
The Akkadian Empire takes its name from the [[Akkad (region)|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 language|Akkadian]] origin, this suggests that the city of Akkad may have already been occupied in pre-Sargonic times.<ref name=wallromana1990/><ref>{{citation |last1=Foster |first1=Benjamin R.|editor1-first=Roger S. |editor1-last=Bagnall |title=The Encyclopedia of Ancient History |year=2013 |publisher=Blackwell |location=Chicago |doi=10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah01005 |chapter=Akkad (Agade) |pages=266–267 |isbn=9781444338386}}</ref>

===Sargon of Akkad===
{{Main|Sargon of Akkad}}

The earliest records in the Akkadian language date to the time of Sargon of Akkad, who defeated the [[Sumer]]ian king [[Lugal-zage-si]] at the [[Battle of Uruk]] and conquered his former territory, establishing the Akkadian Empire. Sargon was claimed to be the son of a gardener in the [[Sumerian King List]]. Later legends named his father as La'ibum or Itti-Bel and his birth mother as a priestess (or possibly even a [[hierodule]]) of [[Ishtar]], the Akkadian equivalent of the Sumerian goddess [[Inanna]]. One legend of Sargon from [[Neo-Assyrian]] times quotes him as saying

{{Blockquote|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 in a basket of rushes, with bitumen she sealed my lid. She cast me into the river which rose not over me. The river bore me up and carried me to Akki, the drawer of water. Akki, the drawer of water, took me as his son and reared me. Akki the drawer of water, appointed me as his gardener. While I was gardener Ishtar granted me her love, and for four and (fifty?) ... years I exercised kingship.<ref name=Roux />}}

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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stiebing |first1=H. William Jr. |title=Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture |publisher=Pearson Longman; University of New Orleans |year=2009 |page=69}}</ref>

Originally a [[cupbearer]] ([[Rabshakeh]]) to a king of [[Kish (Sumer)|Kish]] with a [[Semitic languages|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.<ref>{{citation |title=Sargon |doi=10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e1101500}}</ref> 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.<ref>Samuel Noah Kramer, ''The Sumerians'', Chicago University Press, 1971, {{ISBN|0-226-45238-7}}</ref> 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 language|Hittite]] text asserts he fought the [[Hattians|Hattian]] king [[Nurdaggal]] of [[Burushanda]], well into [[Anatolia]]); eastward over [[Elam]]; and as far south as [[Magan (civilization)|Magan]] ([[Oman]])&nbsp;— 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 was thus ensured.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stiebing |first1=H. William Jr. |title=Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture |publisher=Pearson Longman; University of New Orleans |year=2009 |page=70}}</ref>

[[File:Prisoners on the victory stele of an Akkadian king circa 2300 BCE Louvre Museum Sb 3.jpg|thumb|left|Prisoners escorted by a soldier, on a victory stele of Sargon of Akkad, circa 2300 BC.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Potts |first1=D. T. |title=The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State |date=1999 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521564960 |page=104 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mc4cfzkRVj4C&pg=PA104 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Harper |first1=Prudence O. |title=Royal City of Susa: Ancient Near Eastern Treasures in the Louvre |date=1992 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/RoyalCityofSusaAncientNearEasternTreasuresintheLouvre/page/n182 162]–163 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |url=https://archive.org/details/RoyalCityofSusaAncientNearEasternTreasuresintheLouvre |language=en}}</ref> The hairstyle of the prisoners (curly hair on top and short hair on the sides) is characteristic of Sumerians, as also seen on the [[Standard of Ur]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nigro |first1=Lorenzo |title=The Two Steles of Sargon: Iconology and Visual Propaganda at the Beginning of Royal Akkadian Relief |journal=Iraq |volume=60 |date=1998 |pages=85–102 |publisher=British Institute for the Study of Iraq |doi=10.2307/4200454 |jstor=4200454 |hdl=11573/109737 |s2cid=193050892 }}</ref> [[Louvre Museum]].]]
Trade extended from the [[silver]] mines of Anatolia to the [[lapis lazuli]] mines in modern [[Afghanistan]], the [[Cedrus libani|cedars]] of [[Lebanon]] and the [[copper]] of [[Magan (civilization)|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 and a chain of fortresses was built to control the imperial wheat production.

Images of Sargon were erected on the shores of the Mediterranean, in token of his victories, and cities and palaces were built at home with the spoils of the conquered lands. Elam and the northern part of Mesopotamia 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 [[Gutian period|Gutium]]. He also boasted of having subjugated the "four-quarters"&nbsp;— the lands surrounding Akkad to the north, the south (Sumer), the east (Elam), and the west ([[Amorites|Martu]]). Some of the earliest historiographic texts ([[Babylonian Chronicles|ABC 19, 20]]) suggest he rebuilt the city of Babylon (''Bab-ilu'') in its new location near Akkad.<ref>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 [http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/saoc62.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730041524/http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/saoc62.pdf|date=30 July 2012}}'' Proceedings of the 51st [[Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale]]'', Oriental Institute SAOC 62, pp. 25–33, 2005</ref>

Troubles multiplied toward the end of his reign. A later Babylonian text states:
{{Blockquote|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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stiebing |first1=H. William Jr. |title=Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture |publisher=Pearson Longman; University of New Orleans |year=2009 |page=71}}</ref>

Also shortly after, another revolt took place:
{{Blockquote|the Subartu 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===
{{Main|Rimush|Manishtushu}}
[[File:P1150890 Louvre stèle de victoire Akkad AO2678 rwk.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Akkadian soldiers slaying enemies, circa 2300 BC, possibly from a Victory Stele of Rimush.<ref name="ML">{{cite web |title=Musée du Louvre-Lens – Portail documentaire – Stèle de victoire du roi Rimush (?) |url=http://ressources.louvrelens.fr/EXPLOITATION/oeuvre-ao-2678.aspx |website=ressources.louvrelens.fr |language=fr-FR}}</ref>]]
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 (Akkad)|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 (city)|Adab]], [[Lagash]], [[Der (Sumer)|Der]], and [[Kazallu]] from rebellious ''[[Ensi (Sumerian)|ensis]]'':<ref name="WJH93"/> Rimush introduced mass slaughter and large scale destruction of the Sumerian city-states, and maintained meticulous records of his destructions. Most of the major Sumerian cities were destroyed, and Sumerian human losses were enormous:<ref name="WJH93">{{cite book |last1=Hamblin |first1=William J. |title=Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC: Holy Warriors at the Dawn of History |date=2006 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-52062-6 |pages=93–94 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=biyDDd0uKGMC&pg=PT93 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Crowe |first1=D. |title=War Crimes, Genocide, and Justice: A Global History |date=2014 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-137-03701-5 |page=10 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tSnFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT10 |language=en}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" align="center" style="margin-left: 1em;" style="font-size: 80%;"
|-
| colspan="7" align="center" cellspacing="0" style="background:lightgrey; color:black" |Sumerian casualties from the campaigns of Rimush<ref name="WJH93"/>
|-
|Destroyed cities:
| align=center rowspan=1 |'''[[Adab (city)|Adab]]''' and '''[[Zabala (Sumer)|Zabala]]'''
|align=center rowspan=1|'''[[Umma]]''' and '''KI.AN'''
| colspan="1" align=center |'''[[Ur]]''' and '''[[Lagash]]'''
| colspan="1" align=center |'''[[Kazallu]]'''
| colspan="1" align=center |'''(Three battles in [[Sumer]])'''
| colspan="1" align=center |TOTAL
|-
| Killed
|15,718
|8,900
|8,049
|12,052
|11,322
|56,041
|-
| Captured and enslaved
|14,576
|3,540
|5,460
|5,862
|_
|29,438
|-
| "Expelled and annihilated"
|_
|5,600
|5,985
|_
|14,100
|25,685
|-
|}

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-[[Arabs|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.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Stiebing|first1=H. William Jr.|title= Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture|publisher=Pearson Longman; University of New Orleans|year=2009|page=72}}</ref><ref name="WJH93"/>

===Naram-Sin===
{{Main|Naram-Sin of Akkad}}
[[File:Stele of Naram-Sin of Akkad.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Naram-Sin, with inscription in his name]]
Manishtushu's son and successor, [[Naram-Sin of Akkad|Naram-Sin]] (2254–2218 BC), due to vast military conquests, assumed the imperial title "King Naram-Sin, [[King of the Four Corners|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.<ref name="H.William 2009 p.74"/><ref>[https://isac.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/shared/docs/ois4.pdf] Piotr Michalowski, "The Mortal Kings of Ur: A Short Century of Divine Rule in Ancient Mesopotamia", in Religion and Power: Divine Kingship in the Ancient World and Beyond – Nicole Brisch ed., pp. 33–45, Oriental Institute Seminars 4, Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 2012 {{ISBN|978-1-885923-55-4}}</ref>
He also faced revolts at the start of his reign,<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Steve |last1=Tinney |title=A New Look at Naram-Sin and the Great Rebellion |journal=Journal of Cuneiform Studies |volume=47 |pages=1–14 |year=1995 |doi=10.2307/1359810 |jstor=1359810 |s2cid=163629316 }}</ref> but quickly crushed them.

[[File:Victory_stele_of_Naram_Sin_9068.jpg|thumb|[[Victory Stele of Naram-Sin]], celebrating victory against the [[Lullubi]] from [[Zagros]] 2260 BC. He is wearing a horned helmet, a symbol of divinity, and is also portrayed in a larger scale in comparison to others to emphasize his superiority.<ref name="H.William 2009 p.74">{{cite book |last1=Stiebing |first1=H. William Jr. |title=Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture |publisher=Pearson Longman |year=2009 |page=74 |isbn=978-0-321-42297-2 }}</ref> Brought back from [[Sippar]] to [[Susa]] as war prize in the 12th century BC.]]
Naram-Sin also recorded the Akkadian conquest of [[Ebla]] as well as [[Armanum]] and its king.<ref name="Otto2006">{{cite journal |first1=Adelheid |last1=Otto |title=Archaeological Perspectives on the Localization of Naram-Sin's Armanum |journal=Journal of Cuneiform Studies |volume=58 |pages=1–26 |year=2006 |doi=10.1086/JCS40025220 |s2cid=163490130 }}</ref>

[[File:TellBrakNaramsinN.jpg|thumb|Palace of [[Naram-Sin of Akkad|Naram-Sin]] at [[Tell Brak]].]] 
To better police Syria, he built a royal residence at Tell Brak, a crossroads at the heart of the [[Khabur (Euphrates)|Khabur River]] basin of the [[Al-Jazira, Mesopotamia|Jezirah]]. Naram-Sin campaigned against Magan which also revolted; Naram-Sin "marched against [[Majan (civilization)|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 "Victory Stele of Naram-Suen", now in the [[Musée du Louvre|Louvre]]. [[Hittites|Hittite]] sources claim Naram-Sin of Akkad even ventured into [[Anatolia]], battling the Hittite and [[Hurrian]] kings [[Pamba (king)|Pamba]] of [[Hattians|Hatti]], Zipani of [[Kanesh]], and 15 others.

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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fagan |first1=Brian |year=2004 |title=The Long Summer: how climate changed civilisation |publisher=Granta Books |isbn=1-86207-644-8 }}</ref> This newfound Akkadian wealth may have been based upon benign climatic conditions, huge agricultural surpluses and the confiscation of the wealth of other peoples.<ref name="William J. Burroughs 2008">{{cite book |first1=William J. |last1=Burroughs |title=Climate Change in Prehistory: The end of the age of chaos |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-521-07010-2 }}</ref>

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'',<ref name="Mieroop2007" /> translating to "king of Sumer and Akkad".<ref>Ulanowski, Krzysztof, "The Rituals of Power: The Akkadian Tradition in Neo-Assyrian Policy", Tradition and Innovation in the Ancient Near East. Ed. by A. Arch, Winona Lake, Indiana Eisenbrauns, pp. 237-250, 2015</ref> This title was assumed by the king who seized control of [[Nippur]], 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 Sumerian 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 [[Ancient Egypt|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 (Sumerian)|ensi]]) of [[Lagash]] ("Shirpula"), circa 2230–2210 BC. Several inscriptions of Lugal-ushumgal are known, particularly seal impressions, which refer to him as governor of [[Lagash]] and at the time a vassal ({{cuneiform|6|𒀵}}, ''arad'', "servant" or "slave") of Naram-Sin, as well as his successor [[Shar-kali-sharri]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Sumerian Dictionary |url=http://oracc.iaas.upenn.edu/epsd2/cbd/sux/A.html |website=oracc.iaas.upenn.edu |access-date=3 April 2020 |archive-date=1 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301170519/http://oracc.iaas.upenn.edu/epsd2/cbd/sux/A.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="HR"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Woolley |first1=Leonard |title=The Summerians |date=1938 |page=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.166848/page/n130 83] |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.166848}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Art Of Ancient Mesopotamia ( Art Ebook) |page=53}}</ref> One of these seals proclaims:

{{Blockquote|“Naram-Sin, the mighty God of Agade, king of the four corners of the world, Lugal-ushumgal, the scribe, ''[[ensi (Sumerian)|ensi]]'' of [[Lagash]], is thy servant.”|[[:File:Lugal-ushumgal_servant_of_Naram-sin_(with_transcription).jpg|Seal of Lugal-ushumgal as vassal of Naram-sin]].<ref name="HR">{{cite book |last1=Radau |first1=Hugo |title=Early Babylonian History: Down to the End of the Fourth Dynasty of Ur |date=2005 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-59752-381-3 |pages=6–7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8HVLAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=CDLI-Archival View RT 165 |url=https://cdli.ucla.edu/search/archival_view.php?ObjectID=P216941 |website=cdli.ucla.edu}}</ref>}}

It can be considered that Lugal-ushumgal was a collaborator of the Akkadian Empire, as was [[Meskigal]], ruler of [[Adab (city)|Adab]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Cambridge Ancient History |date=1971 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=436 |isbn=9780521077910 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KorxAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Álvarez-Mon |first1=Javier |last2=Basello |first2=Gian Pietro |last3=Wicks |first3=Yasmina |title=The Elamite World |date=2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-32983-1 |page=254 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yClKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT254 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Cambridge Ancient History |date=1971 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=998 |isbn=9780521077910 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KorxAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>

=== Collapse ===
[[File:The Gutians capturing a Babylonian city.jpg|thumb|The [[Gutian dynasty of Sumer|Gutians]] capturing a Babylonian city, as the Akkadians are making a stand outside of their city. 19th century illustration.]]
{{See also|Gutian dynasty of Sumer}}
The empire of Akkad likely fell in the 22nd century BC, within 180 years of its founding, ushering in a "[[Dark Ages (historiography)|Dark Age]]" with no prominent imperial authority until the [[Third Dynasty of Ur]]. The region's political structure may have reverted to the ''status quo ante'' of local governance by [[city-state]]s.<ref name=Zettler24>Zettler (2003), pp. 24–25.</ref>

By the end of Sharkalisharri's reign, the empire had begun to unravel.
<ref>Nicholas Kraus, The Weapon of Blood: Politics and Intrigue at the Decline of Akkad, Zeitschrift für Assyriologie & Vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 108, iss. 1, pp. 1–9, June 2018</ref>
After several years of chaos (and four kings), [[Shu-turul]] and Dudu appear to have restored some centralized authority for several decades; however, they were unable to prevent the empire from eventually collapsing outright, eventually ceding power to [[Gutian period|Gutians]], based in Adab, who had been conquered by Akkad during the reign of Sharkalisharri.<ref>Kraus, Nicholas. "The Weapon of Blood: Politics and Intrigue at the Decline of Akkad" Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 108, no. 1, 2018, pp. 1–9.</ref>

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) cleared the Gutians from Mesopotamia during his reign.

The ''Sumerian King List'', describing the Akkadian Empire after the death of Shar-kali-shari, states:
{{Blockquote|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-nigin|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]].<ref>{{cite web |title=CDLI-Found Texts |url=https://cdli.ucla.edu/search/search_results.php?SearchMode=Text&requestFrom=Search&DatesReferenced=dudu |website=cdli.ucla.edu}}</ref> 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.

{{Blockquote|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.}}
[[File:Akkadian - Cylinder Seal with King or God and Vanquished Lion - Walters 42674 - Side D.jpg|upright|thumb|"Cylinder Seal with King or God and Vanquished Lion" (Old Akkadian).<ref>{{cite web |publisher= [[The Walters Art Museum]]
 |url= http://art.thewalters.org/detail/4594
 |title= Cylinder Seal with King or God and Vanquished Lion}}</ref> The Walters Art Museum.]]

The period between {{circa|2112}} BC and 2004 BC is known as the Ur III period. Documents again began to be written in [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]], although Sumerian was becoming a purely literary or liturgical language, much as Latin later became in [[Medieval]] [[Europe]].<ref name=Roux>[[Georges Roux]] (1996), ''Ancient Iraq'' (3rd Edition)(Penguin Harmondsworth)</ref>

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.<ref name=Zettler24 /><ref>Norman Yoffee, "The Collapse of Ancient Mesopotamian States and Civilization", in The Collapse of Ancient States and Civilizations, ed. Norman Yoffee and George L. Cowgill, University of Arizona Press, 1991</ref>

==== Natural causes: drought, seasonal weather patterns ====
{{Main|4.2-kiloyear event}}

One theory, which remains controversial, associates regional decline at the end of the Akkadian period (and of the [[First Intermediary Period]] following the [[Old Kingdom]] in [[Ancient Egypt]]) with rapidly increasing aridity, and failing rainfall in the region of the Ancient Near East, caused by a global centennial-scale [[drought]], sometimes called the [[4.2 kiloyear event]].<ref>{{cite journal | author = Richard A. Kerr | year = 1998 | title = Sea-Floor Dust Shows Drought Felled Akkadian Empire | journal = Science | volume = 279 | issue = 5349 | pages = 325–326 | doi = 10.1126/science.279.5349.325 |bibcode = 1998Sci...279..325K | s2cid = 140563513 }}</ref><ref name="Weiss1993">{{cite journal | last1 = Weiss | first1 = H | year = 1993 | title = The Genesis and Collapse of Third Millennium North Mesopotamian Civilization | journal = Science | volume = 261 | issue = 5124 | pages = 995–1004 | doi = 10.1126/science.261.5124.995 | pmid = 17739617 | bibcode = 1993Sci...261..995W | s2cid = 31745857 |display-authors=etal | url = http://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/ILUR/article/view/61022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wiener |first1=Malcolm H. |date=2014 |title=The Interaction of Climate Change and Agency in the Collapse of Civilizations ca. 2300–2000 BC |journal=Radiocarbon |volume=56 |issue=4 |pages=S1–S16 |doi=10.2458/azu_rc.56.18325 |bibcode=2014Radcb..56S...1W |citeseerx=10.1.1.692.2170 |s2cid=128775473 }}</ref> [[Harvey Weiss]] has shown that {{blockquote|[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.<ref name="Weiss1993" />}} Peter B. de Menocal 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".<ref>{{cite journal |last=de Menocal |first=P.B. |title=North Atlantic influence on Tigris–Euphrates streamflow |journal=International Journal of Climatology |volume=20 |issue=8 |pages=853–863 |date=30 June 2000|doi=10.1002/1097-0088(20000630)20:8<853::AID-JOC497>3.0.CO;2-M |bibcode=2000IJCli..20..853C }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cookson |first1=Evangeline |last2=Hill |first2=Daniel J. |last3=Lawrence |first3=Dan |date=2019-06-01 |title=Impacts of long term climate change during the collapse of the Akkadian Empire |url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440318306198 |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science |language=en |volume=106 |pages=1–9 |doi=10.1016/j.jas.2019.03.009 |bibcode=2019JArSc.106....1C |s2cid=133772098 |issn=0305-4403|archive-url=http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/145596/ |archive-date=2 May 2019}}</ref>

[[File: Impression of an Akkadian cylinder seal with inscription The Divine Sharkalisharri Prince of Akkad Ibni-Sharrum the Scribe his servant.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|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 [[Indian Buffalo|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]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Cylinder Seal of Ibni-Sharrum |url=https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/cylinder-seal-ibni-sharrum |website=Louvre Museum}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Site officiel du musée du Louvre |url=http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=12067 |website=cartelfr.louvre.fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Brian A. |last2=Feldman |first2=Marian H. |title=Critical Approaches to Ancient Near Eastern Art |date=2013 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=9781614510352 |page=187 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F4DoBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA187 |language=en}}</ref>]]
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&nbsp;people abandoned the site, presumably seeking wetter areas elsewhere. Tell Brak shrank in size by 75%. Trade collapsed. [[Nomad]]ic herders such as the [[Amorite]]s 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.<ref name="Weiss1993"/>

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&nbsp;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 {{convert|180|km|0|abbr=on}} wall known as the "Repeller of the Amorites" between the Tigris and Euphrates under the Ur III ruler [[Shu-Suen|Shu-Sin]]. Such attempts led to increased political instability; meanwhile, severe depression occurred to re-establish [[Demography|demographic equilibrium]] with the less favorable climatic conditions.<ref>Christie, Peter (2008) ''The Curse of Akkad: Climate upheavals that rocked human history'', Annick Press, pp. 31–48</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = deMenocal | first1 = Peter B. | year = 2001 | title = Cultural responses to climate change during the late Holocene | url = https://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~peter/site/Papers_files/deMenocal.2001.pdf | journal = Science | volume = 292 | issue = 5517| pages = 667–673 | doi = 10.1126/science.1059827 | pmid = 11303088 | bibcode = 2001Sci...292..667D | s2cid = 18642937 }}</ref><ref>"[https://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~peter/site/Papers_files/Cullen.et.al.2000.pdf Climate change and the collapse of the Akkadian empire: Evidence from the deep sea]" ''Geology'' 28(4), April 2000.</ref>

[[Richard L. Zettler|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.<ref>Zettler (2003), pp. 18–21.</ref>

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 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.<ref>J. Oates (2004), p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=EnQ8W6AmCq0C&pg=PA11 11]–13. "A French soil-micromorphologist, Marie-Agnès Courty, 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)."</ref>

In 2019, a study by [[Hokkaido University]] on fossil corals in [[Oman]] provides an evidence that prolonged winter [[Shamal (wind)|shamal]] seasons led to the [[Soil salinity|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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Watanabe |first1=Takaaki K. |last2=Watanabe |first2=Tsuyoshi |last3=Yamazaki |first3=Atsuko |last4=Pfeiffer |first4=Miriam |title=Oman corals suggest that a stronger winter shamal season caused the Akkadian Empire (Mesopotamia) collapse |journal=Geology |volume=47 |issue=12 |pages=1141–1145 |publisher=GeoScienceWorld |year=2019 |doi=10.1130/G46604.1 |bibcode=2019Geo....47.1141W|s2cid=204781389 |url=https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article-pdf/47/12/1141/4870170/1141.pdf }}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.global.hokudai.ac.jp/blog/strong-winter-dust-storms-may-have-caused-the-collapse-of-the-akkadian-empire/ |title=Strong winter dust storms may have caused the collapse of the Akkadian Empire |website=Hokkaido University |date=24 October 2019}}</ref>

==Government==
[[File:Akkadian Empire soldiers on the victory stele of Naram-Sin circa 2250 BC.jpg|thumb|Akkadian Empire soldiers on the [[Victory Stele of Naram-Sin]], circa 2250 BC]]{{main|History of institutions in Mesopotamia}}
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-state]]s. 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 ''ensi''s 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 organised military naval expeditions in history. Whether he also did in the case of the Mediterranean with the kingdom of [[Keftiu|Kaptara]] (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.<ref>Leick, Gwendolyn (2001) "Mesopotamia: Invention of the City" (Penguin Books)</ref>

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.<ref>[http://128.97.6.202/attach/Buccellati%202002%20Taram%20Agade%20Daughter%20of%20Naram%20Sin.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010104858/http://128.97.6.202/attach/Buccellati|date=10 October 2017}} 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</ref>

Records at the Brak administrative complex suggest that the Akkadians appointed locals as [[tax collector]]s.<ref>J. Oates (2004), p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=EnQ8W6AmCq0C&pg=PA10 10].</ref>

==Economy==
[[File:Cylinder seal of the scribe Kalki (photograph).jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Cylinder seal of the scribe Kalki, showing Prince Ubil-Eshtar, probable brother of Sargon, with dignitaries (an archer in front, the scribe holding a tablet following the Prince, and two dignitaries with weapons).<ref name="LN93-94">{{cite journal |last1=Nigro |first1=Lorenzo |title=The Two Steles of Sargon: Iconology and Visual Propaganda at the Beginning of Royal Akkadian Relief |journal=Iraq |volume=60 |date=1998 |publisher=British Institute for the Study of Iraq |pages=93–94 |doi=10.2307/4200454 |jstor=4200454 |hdl=11573/109737 |s2cid=193050892 }}</ref>]]
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."

Southern Iraq during Akkadian period seems to have been approaching its modern rainfall level of less than {{convert|20|mm|1|abbr=on}} per year, with the result that agriculture was totally dependent upon irrigation. Before the Akkadian period, the progressive [[soil salinity|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 [[demography|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 in Ancient Sumeria|Warfare]] between city states had led to a population decline, from which Akkad provided a temporary respite.<ref>Thompson, William J. (2003), "Complexity, Diminishing Marginal Returns and Serial Mesopotamian Fragmentation," ''Journal of World Systems Research''</ref> 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.

[[File:Murex Rimush Louvre AO21404.jpg|thumb|left|Sea shell of a [[murex]] bearing the name of [[Rimush]], king of Kish, {{circa|lk=no|2270}} BC, [[Musée du Louvre|Louvre]], traded from the Mediterranean coast where it was used by [[Canaan#Canaanites|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<ref>Leick Gwendolyn (2003), "Mesopotamia: The invention of the city" (Penguin)</ref> 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".<ref>Kramer 1963:324, quoted in Charles Keith Maisels, ''The Emergence of Civilization'' ch. "The institutions of urbanism", 1990:179.</ref>

Harvest was in the late spring and during the dry summer months. [[Nomad]]ic [[Amorites]] from the northwest pastured their flocks of sheep and goats to graze on the [[crop residue]] and were watered from the river and irrigation canals. For this privilege, they had to pay a tax in [[wool]], [[meat]], [[milk]], and [[cheese]] to the temples, who distributed these products to the bureaucracy and priesthood. In good years, all went well, but in bad years, wild winter pastures were in short supply, nomads sought to pasture their flocks in the grain fields, resulting in conflicts with farmers. It appeared that the subsidizing of southern populations by the import of wheat from the north of the Empire temporarily overcame this problem,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bourke|first1=Stephen|title=The Middle East: the cradle of civilization revealed|date=2008|publisher=Thames & Hudson|isbn=9780500251478|page=89}}</ref> and it seems to have allowed economic recovery and a growing population within this region.

===Foreign trade===
[[File:Moyen_Orient_3mil_aC.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Location of foreign lands for the Mesopotamians, including [[Elam]], [[Magan (civilization)|Magan]], [[Dilmun]], [[Marhashi]] and [[Meluhha]].]]
{{See also|Indus–Mesopotamia relations}}
As a result of their economic and agricultural policies, 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, an Old Babylonian Period copy of an original inscription, reads:

{{Blockquote|"Sargon, the king of Kish, triumphed 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 (civilization)|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 BC)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ray |first1=Himanshu Prabha |title=The Archaeology of Seafaring in Ancient South Asia |date=2003 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521011099 |page=85 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHHzP4uVpn4C&pg=PA85 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Indus Civilization and Dilmun, the Sumerian Paradise Land |url=https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/the-indus-civilization-and-dilmun-the-sumerian-paradise-land/ |website=www.penn.museum}}</ref><ref name="JR14">{{cite book |last1=Reade |first1=Julian E. |title=The Indus-Mesopotamia relationship reconsidered (Gs Elisabeth During Caspers) |date=2008 |publisher=Archaeopress |isbn=978-1-4073-0312-3 |pages=14–17 |url=https://www.academia.edu/28245304 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Stein |first1=Stephen K. |title=The Sea in World History: Exploration, Travel, and Trade [2 volumes] |date=2017 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9781440835513 |page=38 |language=en}}</ref>}}

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 [[Balochistan]] or the [[Indus]] area.<ref name="JR14"/>

==Culture==
===Akkadian art===
{{multiple image|total_width=450|perrow=2|caption_align=center
| align    = right
| direction =horizontal
| header=Nasiriyah Victory Stele of Naram-Sin
| image1   = Nasiriyah_Victory_Stele_of_Naram-Sin._From_Mesopotamia,_Iraq,_c._2300_BCE._Iraq_Museum.jpg
| image2   = Nasiriyah Victory Stele of Naram-Sin, from Mesopotamia, Iraq, c. 2300 BCE. Iraq Museum.jpg
| footer=Soldier with sword, naked captives, on the Nasiriyah stele of [[Naram-Sin of Akkad|Naram-Sin]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McKeon |first1=John F. X. |title=An Akkadian Victory Stele |journal=Boston Museum Bulletin |date=1970 |volume=68 |issue=354 |page=239 |issn=0006-7997 |jstor=4171539}}</ref>
}}
In art, there was a great emphasis 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,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Frankfort |first1=Henri |author-link=Henri Frankfort |title=The art and architecture of the ancient Orient |date=1970 |publisher=Penguin Books (now Yale History of Art)|isbn=0-14-056107-2 |pages=83–91 |edition=4th rev. impression with additional bibliography |url=}}</ref> but the seals show a "grim world of cruel conflict, of danger and uncertainty, a world in which man is subjected without appeal to the incomprehensible acts of distant and fearful divinities who he must serve but cannot love. This sombre mood ... remained characteristic of Mesopotamian art..."{{sfn|Frankfort|1970|p=71}}

Akkadian sculpture is remarkable for its fineness and realism, which shows a clear advancement compared to the previous period of [[Sumerian art]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus |date=2003 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |isbn=978-1-58839-043-1 |pages=204–205 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8l9X_3rHFdEC&pg=PA204 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=McKeon |first1=John F. X. |title=An Akkadian Victory Stele |journal=Boston Museum Bulletin |date=1970 |volume=68 |issue=354 |pages=226–243 |jstor=4171539 }}</ref>
{{clear}}
<gallery widths="200" heights="200" perrow="4">
File:Bassetki Statue, Akkadian period, 23rd century BCE, from Bassetki, Iraq. Iraq Museum.jpg|The [[Bassetki statue]], another example of Akkadian artistic realism
File:Statue de Manishtusu - Sb 47 - Antiquités orientales du Louvre.jpg|The [[Manishtushu]] statue
File:Statue of an Akkadian ruler of Assur city. From Assur, Iraq, c. 2300 BCE. Pergamon Museum.jpg|Statue of an Akkadian ruler. From Assur, Iraq, c. 2300 BC. Pergamon Museum.
File:Fragment of the statue of a devotee, with inscription in the name of Naram-Sin.jpg|Fragment of the statue of a devotee, with inscription in the name of Naram-Sin: "To the god Erra, for the life of Naram-Sin, the powerful, his companion, the king of the four regions, Shu'astakkal, the scribe, the majordomo, has dedicated his statue".<ref>{{cite web |title=Site officiel du musée du Louvre |url=http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not&idNotice=12209 |website=cartelfr.louvre.fr}}</ref>
</gallery>

====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.

{{clear}}
<gallery widths="200px" heights="100px" perrow="4">
File:Adda Seal Akkadian Empire 2300 BC.jpg|upright=1.8|Inscription "Adda, the scribe", hunting god with bow and an arrow, [[Ishtar]] with weapons rising from her shoulders, emerging sun-god [[Shamash]], [[Zu (mythology)|Zu]] bird of destiny, water god [[Ea (Babylonian god)|Ea]] with bull between legs, two-faced attendant god Usimu with right hand raised.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Adda Seal |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=368706&partId=1&searchText=89115&page=1 |website=British Museum}}</ref>
File:Akkadian seal Agricultural scene Louvre Museum.jpg|Akkadian seal depicting an agricultural scene. Louvre Museum
File:Le dieu de l ete et dumuzi.jpg|Summer God and [[Dumuzi]]. Louvre Museum
File:Periodo accadico, sigillo in calcare verde con eroi a sei ricci che sottomettono un bufalo d'acqua e un leone, 2350-2150 ac ca.jpg|[[Ea (Babylonian god)|Ea]] wrestling with a water buffalo, and bull-man [[Enkidu]] fighting with a lion.
</gallery>

===Language===
{{See also|Sumerian language|Akkadian language}}
During the 3rd millennium BC, there developed a very intimate cultural symbiosis between the Sumerians and the Akkadians, which included widespread [[wikt:bilingualism|bilingualism]].<ref name="Deutscher">{{cite book|author=Deutscher, Guy|title=Syntactic Change in Akkadian: The Evolution of Sentential Complementation|publisher=[[Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press US]]|year=2007|isbn=978-0-19-953222-3|pages=20–21|author-link=Guy Deutscher (linguist)}}</ref> The influence of Sumerian on [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] (and vice versa) is evident in all areas, from lexical borrowing on a massive scale, to syntactic, morphological, and phonological convergence.<ref name="Deutscher"/> This has prompted scholars to refer to Sumerian and Akkadian in the third millennium as a ''[[sprachbund]]''.<ref name="Deutscher"/>

Akkadian gradually replaced Sumerian as a spoken language somewhere around 2000 BC (the exact dating being a matter of debate),<ref name="woods">[https://isac.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/shared/docs/ois2_2007.pdf], Christopher Woods, "Bilingualism, Scribal Learning, and the Death of Sumerian", in S.L. Sanders (ed) Margins of Writing, Origins of Culture, pp. 91–120, Oriental Institute Seminars 2, Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 2007 {{ISBN|1-885923-39-2}}</ref> but Sumerian continued to be used as a sacred, ceremonial, literary, and scientific language in Mesopotamia until the 1st century AD.<ref>Cooper, J. S., "Sumerian and Akkadian in Sumer and Akkad", Orientalia, n.s., 42, pp. 239–46, 1973</ref><ref>[https://isac.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/shared/docs/ois2_2007.pdf], Piotr Michalowski, "The Lives of the Sumerian Language", in S.L. Sanders (ed) Margins of Writing, Origins of Culture, pp. 163–190, Oriental Institute Seminars 2, Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 2007 {{ISBN|1-885923-39-2}}</ref>

===Poet–priestess Enheduanna===
[[File:Enheduanna, daughter of Sargon of Akkad.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Enheduanna]], daughter of [[Sargon of Akkad]], circa 2300 BC]]
Sumerian literature continued in rich development during the Akkadian period. [[Enheduanna]], the "wife (Sumerian ''dam'' = high priestess) of [[Sin (mythology)|Nanna]] [the Sumerian moon god] and daughter of Sargon"<ref>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 Antique''. (Paris: Editions Recherche sur les Civilisations)</ref> of the temple of Sin at Ur, who lived {{circa|lk=no|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 temples and their occupants, the deities 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"<ref>Enheduanna, ''The Exaltation of Inanna''. Translated by William W. Hallo and J. J. A. Van Dijk,
Ams Pr Inc, 1979, {{ISBN|0-404-60263-0}}</ref>

In the ''Exultation of Inanna'',
{{Blockquote|Enheduanna depicts Inanna as disciplining mankind as a goddess of battle. She thereby unites the warlike Akkadian Ishtar's qualities to those of the gentler Sumerian goddess of love and fecundity. She likens Inanna to a great storm bird 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.<ref>[https://www.feminism.researche-editions.cddc.vt.edu/Enheduanna.html] Binkley, Roberta, "Enheduanna: An Overview of Her Writings", Feminist Theory Website, 1998</ref>}}

[[File:Ishtar on an Akkadian seal.jpg|thumb|Goddess [[Ishtar]] on an Akkadian seal, 2350–2150 BC]]

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(ruler of mischief)'' in the analysis of [[Hans Gustav Güterbock]]) who brought ruin upon his kingdom.<ref>Jerrold S. Cooper, "Paradigm and Propaganda: The Dynasty of Akkade in the 21st Century", in Liverani, Mario, ed. Akkad: The First World Empire: Structure, Ideology Traditions, Padova: Sargon srl, 1993 {{ISBN| 978-8-81120-468-8}}</ref><ref>Bill T. Arnold, "The Weidner Chronicle and the Idea of History in Israel and Mesopotamia"; in ''Faith, Tradition, and History: Old Testament Historiography in Its Near Eastern Context''; [[Alan Millard|Millard]], Hoffmeier & Baker, eds.; Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 1994; {{ISBN|0-931464-82-X}}; p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=qYudy66ymrUC&pg=PA138 138].</ref>

==Technology==
A tablet 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.<ref name="Mieroop2007" />

==See also==
* [[List of cities of the ancient Near East]]
* [[List of Mesopotamian deities]]
* [[History of Mesopotamia]]
* [[List of Mesopotamian dynasties]]

{{clear}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{History of Iraq|File:Impression_of_an_Akkadian_cylinder_seal_with_inscription_The_Divine_Sharkalisharri_Prince_of_Akkad_Ibni-Sharrum_the_Scribe_his_servant.jpg}}
* [[Mario Liverani|Liverani, Mario]], ed. (1993). ''Akkad: The First World Empire: Structure, Ideology Traditions''. Padova: Sargon srl. {{ISBN|978-8-81120-468-8}}
* [[Joan Oates|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}}.
* {{Cite journal|jstor=3632803|title=Reconstructing the World of Ancient Mesopotamia: Divided Beginnings and Holistic History|journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient|volume=46|issue=1|pages=3–45|last1=Zettler|first1=Richard L.|year=2003|doi=10.1163/156852003763504320}}

==Further reading==
===Overviews===
* {{cite book| last1 = Foster| first1= Benjamin R.| title = The Age of Agade: Inventing empire in ancient Mesopotamia| location= Londres and New York| publisher= Routledge / Taylor & Francis Group| year= 2016}}
* {{cite book| language=fr| last1 =Lafont| first1=Bertrand| chapter=Akkad, l'empire charismatique (2330-2100) | title=Mésopotamie : De Gilgamesh à Artaban (3300-120 av. J.-C.)| location=Paris| publisher=Belin| series=Mondes anciens| year=2017|pages=165-199}}
* {{cite book|last1=McMahon|first1= Augusta | chapter= The Akkadian Period: Empire, Environment, and Imagination |title = A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East| editor= Daniel T. Potts | location= Malden and Oxford| publisher= Blackwell Publishers | series= Blackwell companions to the ancient world| year= 2012| pages= 649-667}}
* {{cite book|last1 =Michalowski| first1=Piotr |chapter=The Kingdom of Akkad in Contact with the World  |editor=Karen Radner, Nadine Moeller and Daniel T. Potts | title=The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East, Volume 2: From the End of the Third Millennium bc to the Fall of Babylon| location= New York| publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2020|pages=686-764}}
* {{cite book|last1 =Schrakamp| first1=Ingo |chapter=The Kingdom of Akkad: A View from Within  |editor=Karen Radner, Nadine Moeller and Daniel T. Potts | title=The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East, Volume 2: From the End of the Third Millennium bc to the Fall of Babylon| location= New York| publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2020|pages=612-685}}
* {{cite book|last1 = Westenholz| first1= Aage| chapter=The Old Akkadian Period: History and Culture | title = Mesopotamien: Akkade-Zeit und Ur III-Zeit| location= Freiburg and Göttingen| publisher= Universitätsverlag Freiburg Schweiz and Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht | series= Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis| year=1999| pages= 17-118}}
* {{cite book| last1 =Steinkeller|first1=Piotr|chapter= The Sargonic and Ur III Empires|editor= Peter Fibiger Bang, C.A. Bayly and Walter Scheidel|title= The Oxford World History of Empire| location=Oxford|publisher= Oxford University Press|year=2021| pages=43-72}}

===Specialized studies===
* {{citebook| language = fr| last1=Amiet |first1 = Pierre| title = L'art d'Agadé au musée du Louvre| location= Paris| publisher=Éditions des Musées nationaux| year=1976 }}
* {{citebook| last1=Eppihimer|first1=Melissa|title= Exemplars of Kingship: Art, Tradition, and the Legacy of the Akkadians|location= Oxford|publisher= Oxford University Press|year=2019}}
* {{citebook| last1=Westenholz|first1= Joan Goodnick| title = Legends of the Kings of Akkade| location= Winona Lake| publisher= Eisenbrauns |year= 1997}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.penn.museum/sites/iraq/ Iraq's Ancient Past] – [[University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology|Penn Museum]]
* [http://cdli.ucla.edu/tools/yearnames/HTML/T2K3.htm Year Names of Narim-Sin – CDLI]
* [http://cdli.ucla.edu/tools/yearnames/HTML/T2K4.htm Year Named of Shar-kali-Sharri – CDLI]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091212064322/http://www.cddc.vt.edu/feminism/Enheduanna.html Site on Enheduanna at Virginia Tech University] (archived 12 December 2009)

{{Ancient states and regions of the Levant |state=collapsed}}
{{Ancient Syria and Mesopotamia}}
{{Ancient Mesopotamia}}
{{Iraq topics}}
{{Empires}}
{{Early Rulers of Mesopotamia}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|33|6|N|44|6|E|display=title}}

[[Category:Akkadian Empire| ]]
[[Category:States and territories established in the 3rd millennium BC]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 3rd millennium BC]]
[[Category:Ancient Mesopotamia]]
[[Category:Ancient Upper Mesopotamia]]
[[Category:Ancient Levant]]
[[Category:24th-century BC establishments]]
[[Category:3rd-millennium BC disestablishments]]
[[Category:Former monarchies of Asia]]
[[Category:Nimrod]]
[[Category:Former empires]]