Akkadian Empire

• 1. The Gardener Who Became King

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  In the year 2334 BC, a man named Sargon stood before the city of Kish as a cupbearer to its ruler. He held no royal blood and wore no crown. His job was to clear irrigation canals for the king Ur-Zababa. This task gave him access to a disciplined corps of workers who could become soldiers. Sargon used these men to overthrow his master and claim the throne himself.

  Sargon did not stop at Kish. He marched westward four times into Syria and Canaan. He spent three years subduing countries in the west to unite them with Mesopotamia. His empire stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. It reached north into Anatolia where Hittite kings ruled. It extended east over Elam and south to Magan on the Arabian Peninsula.

  He replaced opposing rulers with noble citizens from Akkad. Loyalty flowed from this native city outward. Sargon organized naval expeditions to Dilmun and Magan. These were among the first organized military naval expeditions in history. A tablet records that 5,400 warriors ate bread daily before him.

• 2. Centralized Rule And Provincial Governors

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  Under Sargon, the ensis generally retained their positions but became provincial governors. The title šar kiššati meant lord of the universe. Naram-Sin took this further by declaring himself a living god. He adopted the title King of the Four Quarters. Previously rulers became divine only after death. Now Akkadian kings were considered gods during their lifetimes.

  Naram-Sin built a royal residence at Tell Brak to police Syria. This site sat at a crossroads in the Khabur River basin. He campaigned against Magan which revolted. He marched there personally and caught Mandannu, its king. Garrisons protected main roads. The chief threat came from the northern Zagros Mountains where Lullubi and Gutians lived.

  A strategy maintained control over the country. Sons served as provincial ensi governors in strategic locations. Daughters married rulers of peripheral parts like Urkesh and Marhashe. Tar'am-Agade, daughter of Naram-Sin, wed an unidentified local endan ruler. Records at the Brak administrative complex show Akkadians appointed locals as tax collectors.

• 3. Grain Rations And Standardized Vessels

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  The economy was highly planned with grain cleaned and distributed in standardized vessels made by city potters. Taxes paid in produce and labor on public walls included irrigation canals and waterways. Huge agricultural surpluses resulted. This wealth may have been based upon benign climatic conditions and confiscation of other peoples' wealth.

  Southern Iraq traditionally yielded 30 grains for each grain sown. Northern Iraq relied on rain-fed agriculture known as the Upper Country. Water levels within the Tigris and Euphrates fell 1.5 meters beneath the level of 2600 BC. Farmers were recruited into regiments to maintain ditches from August to October. This period caused food shortages but acted as unemployment relief.

  Nomadic Amorites pastured flocks on crop residue. They paid taxes in wool, meat, milk, and cheese to temples. These products went to bureaucracy and priesthood. In good years all went well. Bad years brought wild winter pastures into short supply. Nomads sought to pasture flocks in grain fields causing conflict with farmers.

• 4. Bilingualism And The First Named Author

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  During the third millennium BC a very intimate cultural symbiosis developed between Sumerians and Akkadians. Widespread bilingualism existed throughout the region. Influence flowed both ways from lexical borrowing to syntactic convergence. Scholars refer to this era as a sprachbund.

  Enheduanna lived around 2250 BC as daughter of Sargon. She served as high priestess to Sin at Ur. Her works include hymns to goddess Inanna called Exaltation of Inanna. A third work called Temple Hymns addresses temples and their occupants. These texts shift from third person to first person voice of the poet herself.

  Akkadian gradually replaced Sumerian as spoken language around 2000 BC. Sumerian continued as sacred ceremonial literary and scientific language until the first century AD. Enheduanna set standards in roles for many succeeding centuries. She remains the first known named author in history.

• 5. The Drought That Starved An Empire

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  Excavation at Tell Leilan suggests the site was abandoned soon after massive walls were constructed. Debris dust and sand followed showing no trace of human activity. Soil samples show fine wind-blown sand with no earthworm activity. Reduced rainfall indicated a drier and windier climate.

  Skeleton-thin sheep and cattle died of drought. Up to 28,000 people abandoned the site seeking wetter areas elsewhere. Trade collapsed completely. Nomadic herders moved flocks closer to reliable water suppliers bringing them into conflict with Akkadian populations. This climate-induced collapse affected the whole Middle East.

  Water levels fell 1.5 meters beneath 2600 BC levels. Attempts prevented pastoralists from herding flocks in agricultural lands. A wall called Repeller of Amorites stood between Tigris and Euphrates under Ur III ruler Shu-Sin. Severe depression occurred re-establishing demographic equilibrium with less favorable climatic conditions.

• 6. Seals And Tablets From The Dust

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  Epigraphic sources from Sargonic period are uncommon because capital Akkad has not yet been located. Some cuneiform tablets excavated at cities like Eshnunna and Tell Agrab exist. Other tablets became available on antiquities market held in museums and private collections. Archives especially important to historians remain scarce.

  The Me-sag Archive commenced publication in 1958 containing about 500 tablets. Half published primarily at Babylonian Collection of Yale University and Baghdad Museum. Tablets date late reign of Naram-Sin to early Shar-kali-shari. Believed from town between Umma and Lagash with Me-sag as governor.

  Two seals found Royal Cemetery at Ur contained name En-hedu-ana daughter of Sargon. Confirmation of her existence provided by these artifacts. Seal reads En-hedu-ana daughter of Sargon Ilum-palil is her coiffeur. Another seal names Adda estate supervisor majordomo of En-hedu-ana.