Akkad
For the Egyptian writer, see Abbas Al-Akkad. For the Syrian film director, see Moustapha Akkad.
| Ancient Mesopotamia |
|---|
| Euphrates – Tigris |
| Assyriology |
| Cities / Empires |
| Sumer: Uruk – Ur – Eridu |
| Kish – Lagash – Nippur |
| Akkadian Empire: Akkad |
| Babylon – Isin – Susa |
| Assyria: Assur – Nineveh |
| Dur-Sharrukin – Nimrud |
| Babylonia – Chaldea |
| Elam – Amorites |
| Hurrians – Mitanni |
| Kassites – Urartu |
| Chronology |
| Kings of Sumer |
| Kings of Assyria |
| Kings of Babylon |
| Language |
| Cuneiform script |
| Sumerian – Akkadian |
| Elamite – Hurrian |
| Mythology |
| Enûma Elish |
| Gilgamesh – Marduk |
Akkad was a city (Sumerian Agade A.GA.DÈKI 𒀀𒂵𒉈𒆠) and its region (Sumerian KUR.URI 𒆳𒌵) of northern Mesopotamia, situated on the left bank of the Euphrates, between Sippar and Kish (located in present-day Iraq, ca. 50 km south-west of the center of Baghdad). It reached the height of its power between the 24th and 22nd centuries (the Akkadian Empire), following the conquests of king Sargon.
Akkad gave its name to the Akkadian language, reflecting use of akkadû ("in the language of Akkad") in the Old Babylonian period to denote the Semitic version of a Sumerian text.
Contents |
History
The earliest records in Akkadian date to the time of Sargon of Akkad (23rd century BC). While Sargon is traditionally cited as the first ruler of a combined empire of Akkad and Sumer, more recent work suggests that a Sumerian expansion began under a previous king, Lugal-Zage-Si of Uruk. However, Sargon took this process further, conquering many of the surrounding regions to create an empire that reached as far as the Mediterranean Sea and Anatolia.
In the later Babylonian literature the name Akkad, together with Sumer, appears as part of the royal title, as in the Sumerian LUGAL KI.EN.GIRKI URUKI or Akkadian Šar māt Šumeri u Akkadi,[citation needed] translating to "king of Sumer and Akkad", which appears to have meant simply "king of all of Mesopotamia".
Origin of the Name
The name Agade is probably from the Sumerian language, appearing e.g. in the Sumerian king list, the later Assyro-Babylonian Semitic form Akkadû ("of or belonging to Akkad") probably being derived from Agade. It is possible that the name, in spite of its unetymological spelling of A.GA.DÈ, is from AGA.DÈ, meaning "Crown of Fire"[1] in allusion to Ishtar, "the brilliant goddess", whose cult was observed in very early times in Agade. This is suggested by the writings of Nabonidus, whose record[2] mentions that Ishtar worship of Agade was later superseded by that of the goddess Anunit, whose shrine was at Sippar. It is significant in this connection that there were two cities named Sippar, one under the protection of Shamash, the sun-god, and one under Anunit, suggesting proximity of Sippar and Agade. Onetheory held (as of 1911) was that Agade was situated opposite Sippar on the left bank of the Euphrates, and was probably the oldest part of the city of Sippar.
The city of Akkad is mentioned once in the Old Testament (Genesis 10:10).
- And the beginning of his (Nimrod's) kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar (KJV). The Greek (LXX) spelling is Archad.
Notes
- ^ Prince, "Materials for a Sumerian Lexicon", pp. 23, 73, Journal of Biblical Literature, 1906.
- ^ I. Rawl. 69, col. ii. 48 and iii. 28.
References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
- A. Leo Oppenheim, Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization
See also
External links
- Akkad History: from The History of the Ancient Near East
Categories
Articles with unsourced statements | Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica | Babylonia | Assyria | Archaeological sites in Iraq | Cities of Antiquity | Destroyed cities