Download Akkad was the capital of the Akkadian Empire, which was

Akkad was the capital of the Akkadian Empire, which was the
dominant political force in Mesopotamia.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE [ edit ]
Relate in general terms what is known about Akkad
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
The existence of Akkad is only known from textual sources: it has not yet been found in
archaeological excavations (although scholars have proposed different locations, with most recent
proposals pointing to a location east of the Tigris).
Before Akkad was identified in Mesopotamian cuneiform texts, the city was only known from a
single reference in Genesis 10:10. However, the city of Akkad is mentioned more than 160 times
in cuneiform sources ranging in date from the Akkadian period to the sixth century BCE.
The location of Akkad is unknown, but throughout the years scholars have made several
proposals. Whereas many older proposals put Akkad on the Euphrates, more recent discussions
conclude that a location on the Tigris is more likely.
TERMS [ edit ]
Cuneiform
Cuneiform is one of the earliest known forms of written expression. Emerging in Sumer around
the 30th century BC, with predecessors reaching into the late 4th millennium (the Uruk IV
period), cuneiform writing began as a system of pictographs.
Ishtar
A goddess of fertility, love, sex, and war; in the Babylonian pantheon, the divine personification of
the planet Venus.
Give us feedback on this content: FULL TEXT [edit ]
Akkad was the capital of the Akkadian Empire, which was the dominant political force
inMesopotamiaat the end of the third
millennium BCE . The existence of Akkad
is only known from textual sources: it has
not yet been found in archaeological
excavations (although scholars have
proposed different locations, with most
recent proposals pointing to a location
east of the Tigris).
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Tell Leilan
Beydar
Tell Brak Ninive
Tuttul
SUBARTU
Assur
Gasur
Mari
Eshnunna
AWAN
Sippar
Akkad ?
Kish AKKAD
Suse
Nippur
ELAM
Umma Girsu
Lagash
Uruk
SUMER
Ur
Eridu
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MAGAN
Akkadian Empire
Map of the Near East showing the geographical extent of the Akkadian Empire.
Before Akkad was identified in Mesopotamian cuneiform texts, the city was only known from
a single reference in Genesis 10:10. However, the city of Akkad is mentioned more than 160
times in cuneiform sources ranging in date from the Akkadian period itself (2350–2170 or
2230–2050 BCE, according to respectively the Middle or Short Chronology) to the sixth
century BCE. The name of the city is spelled as a-ga-dèKI or URIKI, which is variously
transcribed into English as Akkad, Akkade, or Agade. The etymology of a-ga-dè is unclear,
but not of Akkadian origin. Sumerian, Hurrian, and Lullubean etymologies have been
proposed instead. The non-Akkadian origin of the city's name suggests that the site may have
already been occupied in pre-Sargonic times, as also suggested by the mentioning of the city
in one pre-Sargonic year-name. Cuneiform sources also suggest that the Akkadians
worshippedIshtar.
The location of Akkad is unknown, but throughout the years scholars have made several
proposals. Whereas many older proposals put Akkad on the Euphrates, more recent
discussions conclude that a location on the Tigris is more likely. A combined analysis of
cuneiform and topographical/archaeological field survey data led archaeologist Harvey Weiss
to suggest that Akkad is modern Ishan Mizyad, a large site approximately 3.1 miles northwest
from Kish. However, excavations have shown that the remains at Ishan Mizyad date to the Ur
III period and not to the Akkadian period. More recent discussions have focused on a
location along, or east of, the Tigris. Assyriologist Julian Reade suggested that Akkad may
have been located at Qadisiyeh, further north along the Tigris. At this site, north of Samarra
and south of where the Adheim River joins the Tigris, a fragment of an Old Akkadian statue—
now in the British Museum—has been found that, if complete, would be the largest of its
kind.