Download The World`s First Empire

Akkadia
The World’s First Empire
By: Athreya Ramesh and Christina Manxhari
Location
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Centered around the city
of Akkad
○
Location has not been
defined, appears to be
around modern-day Baghdad,
Iraq near the Euphrates
river
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Ruled over most of
Mesopotamia
○
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Stretching from Asia Minor
to southern Iraq
Reached its peak between
2350 BC to 2150 BC
How it Rose
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The Akkadian empire was split into city-states that were
said to be governed by a god or gods specified to each
city-state
○
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City-states were united into geographic leagues for trade
Created by king Uruk, but credit was given to king Sargon
the Great
○
First multi-national empire in the world
Natural Resources
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Location near the Tigris and Euphrates River supplied the
great water table that nourished farmland
○
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Northern Iraq’s rainfall and southern Iraq’s yield of wheat grain
maintained the highest population density in the world at the time
Surplus of agriculture but not much else
○
Lacked metal
imported
ores, timber, and building stone; all had to be
○
Tried to secure imports by expanding into Lebanon for its cedars, the
Taurus mountains in Turkey for silver, and Magan (modern-day Oman)
for copper
Language and Communication
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Followed own distinct language: Akkadian cuneiform
literature
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Cherished literature and believed
both men and women should be
educated
Enheduanna is a famous poetpriestess that revolutionized the
use of Akkadian cuneiform by
shifting the person in a poem she
wrote (from third person to first
person)
○
Enheduanna represented the moon
goddess Inanna. Her poems were
in reverence of the goddess.
Culture
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●
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Akkadian was primary
language
Sumerian was reserved as a
ceremonial language
First poet in history known
by name was Akkadian
○ Sargon’s daughter,
Enheduanna
Beliefs and Religion
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The Akkadians prayed to the
same gods as most other
Mesopotamian civilizations
Polytheistic
Each deity correlated to a city
or place
Anu was the head of the
Sumerian Pantheon
Enlil was considered the head
Gods created humans to be their
servants, then released them
because they were too much too
handle.
Government and Social organization
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●
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The leader of every city,
state, or province was called
an ensi, who was believed to be
connected to the gods, and was
the equivalent of a high priest
At first, the lugal was the
next rank, a king like person
who would take control of the
city in times of need
As time went on, this lugal
became a permanent king
Akkadian Government, cont.
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●
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The King of the city of Kish was considered the ruler of
the land, since Kish was essential to the entire area due
to its location on two rivers
Sargon, the first king of Akkadia, controlled Kish
Although he conquered and ruled the “totality of lands
under heaven,” according to some texts, he generally left
the ensis to control their respective areas, as
provincial governors.
Role of the King over time
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●
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At first, an ensi was considered a human that had a
divine right to rule a certain area
Sargon pushed this title by conquering the known land and
declaring himself universal ruler, though he was not an
ensi
Sargon’s descendants transformed this title even further
by elevating themselves to the level of gods
Economy
Monetary System
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Silver coins called shekels were form of currency--very
valuable since the land mostly lacked it
“Shekel” is the name of
general ancient Semitic
currency
Economy, cont.
Commercial Goods & Trade
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Nomads from the northwest supplied wool, meat, and milk
from their sheep and goats, but were heavily taxed for
using others’ land to graze
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Conflicts of land ownership frequently erupted
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When conflicts did erupt, multi-purpose wheat from the north imported
to the south Sumerian land overcame this problem
When the unpredictable floods of the Tigris and Euphrates
occurred, soldiers would be employed as farmers to work
to relieve them if food shortages did result (from August
to October)
Technological Advances
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Akkadia was the first
Mesopotamian civilization to
utilize metalworking and
glassworking
Regular post service
The empire was connected
entirely by roads
The Head of Sargon
The Fall of Akkad: The curse
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Collapsed in 2154 BCE, 180
years after its founding
Caused by a period of barbarian
invasions and climate change
Eventually split into Assyria
in the North and Babylonia in
the south
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Legend says that because NaramSin, the king of Akkad at the
time, attacked the holy city of
Nippur, which was protected by
the god Enlil, head of the
pantheon
The gods then agreed to remove
their support from Akkad and
then the empire fell from loss
of prosperity
Influence on Future Civilizations
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As the first major civilization
of Mesopotamia under a single
king, Akkadia set precedents
for government and social
hierarchy
Sargon began the tradition of
kings ruling over all of the
land, instead of individual
rulers ruling different
provinces
Sources
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akkadian_Empire
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_technology
history-world.org/Akkadians.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Mesopotamian_religion
http://i-cias.com/e.o/akkadian_empire.htm