Old Akkadian is preserved on clay tablets dating back to c. 2500 BC.

It was written using cuneiform, a script adopted

from the Sumerians using wedge-shaped symbols pressed in wet clay. As employed by Akkadian scribes, the adapted
cuneiform script could represent either (a) Sumerian logograms (i.e., picture-based characters representing entire
words), (b) Sumerian syllables, (c) Akkadian syllables, or (d) phonetic complements. However, in Akkadian the script
practically became a fully fledged syllabic script, and the original logographic nature of cuneiform became secondary,
though logograms for frequent words such as 'god' and 'temple' continued to be used. For this reason, the sign AN can
on the one hand be a logogram for the word ilum ('god') and on the other signify the god Anu or even the syllable -
an-. Additionally, this sign was used as a determinative for divine names.
Another peculiarity of Akkadian cuneiform is that many signs do not have a well-defined
phonetic value. Certain signs, such as AḪ, do not distinguish between the
different vowel qualities. Nor is there any coordination in the other direction; the syllable -ša-,
for example, is rendered by the sign ŠA, but also by the sign NĪĜ. Both of these are often used
for the same syllable in the same text.

Cuneiform was in many ways unsuited to Akkadian: among its flaws was its inability to
represent important phonemes in Semitic, including a glottal stop, pharyngeals, and emphatic
consonants. In addition, cuneiform was a syllabary writing system—i.e., a consonant plus vowel
comprised one writing unit—frequently inappropriate for a Semitic language made up
of triconsonantal roots (i.e., three consonants plus any vowels).

One of the earliest known Akkadian inscriptions was found on a bowl at Ur, addressed to the very early pre-Sargonic
king Meskiagnunna of Ur (c. 2485–2450 BC) by his queen Gan-saman, who is thought to have been from Akkad.
[16] The Akkadian Empire, established by Sargon of Akkad, introduced the Akkadian language (the "language
of Akkad") as a written language, adapting Sumerian cuneiform orthography for the purpose. During the Middle
Bronze Age (Old Assyrian and Old Babylonian period), the language virtually displaced Sumerian, which is assumed
to have been extinct as a living language by the 18th century BC.
Old Akkadian, which was used until the end of the 3rd millennium BC, differs from both
Babylonian and Assyrian, and was displaced by these dialects. By the 21st century BC
Babylonian and Assyrian, which were to become the primary dialects, were easily
distinguishable. Old Babylonian, along with the closely related dialect Mariotic, is clearly more
innovative than the Old Assyrian dialect and the more distantly related Eblaite language. For this
reason, forms like lu-prus ('I will decide') are first encountered in Old Babylonian instead of
the older la-prus. While generally more archaic, Assyrian developed certain innovations as
well, such as the "Assyrian vowel harmony". Eblaite is even more so, retaining a
productive dual and a relative pronoun declined in case, number and gender. Both of these had
already disappeared in Old Akkadian. Over 20,000 cuneiform tablets in Old Akkadian have
been recovered from the Kültepe site in Anatolia. Most of the archaeological evidence is typical
of Anatolia rather than of Assyria, but the use both of cuneiform and the dialect is the best
indication of Assyrian presence.[17]
Old Babylonian was the language of king Hammurabi and his code, which is one of the oldest
collections of laws in the world. (see Code of Ur-Nammu.) The Middle Babylonian (or Assyrian)
period started in the 16th century BC. The division is marked by the Kassite invasion of
Babylonia around 1550 BC. The Kassites, who reigned for 300 years, gave up their own
language in favor of Akkadian, but they had little influence on the language. At its apogee,
Middle Babylonian was the written language of diplomacy of the entire Ancient Near East,
including Egypt. During this period, a large number of loan words were included in the
language from Northwest Semitic languages and Hurrian; however, the use of these words was
confined to the fringes of the Akkadian-speaking territory.

Middle Assyrian served as a lingua franca in much of the Ancient Near East of the Late Bronze
Age (Amarna Period). During the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Neo-Assyrian began to turn into a
chancellery language, being marginalized by Old Aramaic. Under the Achaemenids, Aramaic
continued to prosper, but Assyrian continued its decline. The language's final demise came
about during the Hellenistic period when it was further marginalized by Koine Greek, even though
Neo-Assyrian cuneiform remained in use in literary tradition well into Parthian times. The latest
known text in cuneiform Babylonian is an astronomical text dated to 75 AD.[18]

An Akkadian inscription

Old Assyrian developed as well during the second millennium BC, but because it was a purely
popular language — kings wrote in Babylonian — few long texts are preserved. From 1500 BC
onwards, the language is termed Middle Assyrian.

During the first millennium BC, Akkadian progressively lost its status as a lingua franca. In the
beginning, from around 1000 BC, Akkadian and Aramaic were of equal status, as can be seen in
the number of copied texts: clay tablets were written in Akkadian, while scribes writing on
papyrus and leather used Aramaic. From this period on, one speaks of Neo-Babylonian and Neo-
Assyrian. Neo-Assyrian received an upswing in popularity in the 10th century BC when the
Assyrian kingdom became a major power with the Neo-Assyrian Empire, but texts written
'exclusively' in Neo-Assyrian disappear within 10 years of Nineveh's destruction in 612 BC. The
dominance of the Neo-Assyrian Empire under Tiglath-Pileser III over Aram-Damascus in the middle
of the 8th century led to the establishment of Aramaic as a lingua franca[19] of the empire,
rather than it being eclipsed by Akkadian.
After the end of the Mesopotamian kingdoms, which fell due to the Persian conquest of the
area, Akkadian (which existed solely in the form of Late Babylonian) disappeared as a popular
language. However, the language was still used in its written form; and even after the Greek
invasion under Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC, Akkadian was still a contender as a
written language, but spoken Akkadian was likely extinct by this time, or at least rarely used.
The latest positively identified Akkadian text comes from the 1st century AD. [20]
Akkadian emphatic consonants are typically reconstructed as ejectives, which are thought to be the oldest realization
of emphatics across the Semitic languages.[22] One piece of evidence for this is that Akkadian shows a development
known as Geers' law, where one of two emphatic consonants dissimilates to the corresponding non-emphatic
consonant. For the sibilants, traditionally /š/ has been held to be postalveolar [ʃ], and /s/, /z/, /ṣ/ analyzed as fricatives;
but attested assimilations in Akkadian suggest otherwise.[3][23] For example, when the possessive suffix -šu is added
to the root awat ('word'), it is written awassu ('his word') even though šš would be expected. The most straightforward
interpretation of this shift from tš to ss is that /s, ṣ/ form a pair of voiceless alveolar affricates [tts ttsʼ], *š is a voiceless
alveolar fricative [s], and *z is a voiced alveolar affricate or fricative [dtz~z]. The assimilation is then [awat+su]
> [awatttsu]. In this vein, an alternative transcription of *š is *ss , with the macron below indicating a soft (lenis)
articulation in Semitic transcription. Other interpretations are possible, however. [ʃ] could have been assimilated to the
preceding [t], yielding [ts], which would later have been simplified to [ss].
The phoneme /r/ has traditionally been interpreted as a trill but its pattern of alternation
with /ḫ/ suggests it was a velar (or uvular) fricative. In the Hellenistic period, Akkadian /r/ was
transcribed using the Greek ρ, indicating it was pronounced similarly as an alveolar trill (though
Greeks may also have perceived a uvular trill as ρ).[3]

Descent from Proto-Semitic[edit]

Several Proto-Semitic phonemes are lost in Akkadian. The Proto-Semitic glottal stop *ʾ, as well
as the fricatives *ʿ, *h, *ḥ are lost as consonants, either by sound change or orthographically,
but they gave rise to the vowel quality e not exhibited in Proto-Semitic. The voiceless lateral
fricatives (*ś, *ṣṣ) merged with the sibilants as in Canaanite, leaving 19 consonantal phonemes. Old
Akkadian preserved the /*ś/ phoneme longest but it eventually merged with /*š/, beginning in
the Old Babylonian period.[3][24] The following table shows Proto-Semitic phonemes and their
correspondences among Akkadian, Modern Standard Arabic and Tiberian Hebrew:

Proto-Semitic Akkadian Arabic Hebrew

*b b ‫ ب‬b ‫ ב‬b
*d d ‫ د‬d ‫ ד‬d
*g g ‫ ج‬ǧ ‫ ג‬g
*p p ‫ ف‬f ‫ פ‬p
*t t ‫ ت‬t ‫ ת‬t
*k k ‫ ك‬k ‫ כ‬k
*ʾ (Ø)/ ʾ ‫ ء‬ʾ ‫ א‬ʾ
*ṭ ṭ ‫ ط‬ṭ ‫ ט‬ṭ
*ḳ q ‫ ق‬q ‫ ק‬q
*ḏ ‫ ذ‬ḏ
z ‫ז‬ z
*z ‫ ز‬z
*ṯ ‫ ث‬ṯ
‫ שש‬š
*š š ‫س‬s
*ś ‫ ش‬š ‫ שש‬ś
*s s ‫س‬s ‫ ס‬s
*ṱ ‫ ظ‬ẓ
*ṣ ṣ ‫ ص‬ṣ ‫ צ‬ṣ
*ṣṣ ‫ ض‬ḍ
*ġ ḫ ‫ غ‬ġ
‫ ע‬ʿ [ʕ]
*ʿ (e) [t2 1] ‫ ع‬ʿ [ʕ]
*ḫ ḫ ‫ خ‬ḫ [x]
‫ ח‬ḥ
*ḥ (e) [t2 1] ‫ ح‬ḥ [ħ]
*h (Ø) ‫ ه‬h ‫ ה‬h
 *m m ‫ מ‬m
‫م‬ m
*n n ‫ נ‬n
‫ن‬ n
*r r ‫ ר‬r
‫ر‬ r
*l l ‫ ל‬l
‫ل‬ l
‫ ו‬w
*w w ‫ و‬w
‫ י‬y
*y y ‫ ي‬y [j] ‫ י‬y
Proto-Semitic Akkadian Arabic Hebrew

The existence of a back mid-vowel /o/ has been proposed, but the cuneiform writing gives no good proof for this.
[25] There is limited contrast between different u-signs in lexical texts, but this scribal differentiation may reflect the
superimposition of the Sumerian phonological system (for which an /o/ phoneme has also been proposed), rather than
a separate phoneme in Akkadian.[26]

All consonants and vowels appear in long and short forms. Long consonants are represented in
writing as double consonants, and long vowels are written with a macron (ā, ē, ī, ū). This
distinction is phonemic, and is used in the grammar, for example iprusu ('that he decided')
versus iprusū ('they decided').

Stress[edit]
The stress patterns of Akkadian are disputed, with some authors claiming that nothing is known
of the topic. There are however certain points of reference, such as the rule of vowel syncope,
and some forms in the cuneiform that might represent the stressing of certain vowels;
however, attempts at identifying a rule for stress have so far been unsuccessful.

Huenergard (2005:3-4) claims that stress in Akkadian is completely predictable. In his syllable
typology there are three syllable weights: light (V, CV); heavy (CVC, CVV, CVV),
and superheavy (CVVC). If the last syllable is superheavy, it is stressed, otherwise the
rightmost heavy non-final syllable is stressed. If a word contains only light syllables, the first
syllable is stressed.

A rule of Akkadian phonology is that certain short (and probably unstressed) vowels are
dropped. The rule is that the last vowel of a succession of syllables that end in a short vowel
is dropped, for example the declinational root of the verbal adjective of a root PRS is PaRiS-.
Thus the masculine singular nominative is PaRS-um (< *PaRiS-um) but the feminine singular
nominative is PaRiStum (< *PaRiS-at-um). Additionally there is a general tendency of syncope
of short vowels in the later stages of Akkadian.

Verb patterns[edit]
Akkadian verbs have thirteen separate derived stems formed on each root. The basic, underived,
stem is the G-stem (from the German Grundstamm, meaning "basic
stem"). Causative or intensive forms are formed with the doubled D-stem, and it gets its name
from the doubled-middle radical that is characteristic of this form. The doubled middle radical
is also characteristic of the present, but the forms of the D-stem use the secondary
conjugational affixes, so a D-form will never be identical to a form in a different stem. The Š-
stem is formed by adding a prefix š-, and these forms are mostly causatives. Finally, the
passive forms of the verb are in the N-stem, formed by adding a n- prefix. However
the n- element is assimilated to a following consonant, so the original /n/ is only visible in a
few forms.

Furthermore, reflexive and iterative verbal stems can be derived from each of the basic stems.
The reflexive stem is formed with an infix -ta, and the derived stems are therefore called Gt, Dt,
Št and Nt, and the preterite forms of the Xt-stem are identical to the perfects of the X-stem.
Iteratives are formed with the infix -tan-, giving the Gtn, Dtn, Štn and Ntn. Because of
the assimilation of n, the /n/ is only seen in the present forms, and the Xtn preterite is identical
to the Xt durative.

The final stem is the ŠD-stem, a form mostly attested only in poetic texts, and whose
meaning is usually identical to either the Š-stem or the D-stem of the same verb. It is formed
with the Š prefix (like the Š-stem) in addition to a doubled-middle radical (like the D-stem).

An alternative to this naming system is a numerical system. The basic stems are numbered
using Roman numerals so that G, D, Š and N become I, II, III and IV, respectively, and
the infixes are numbered using Arabic numerals; 1 for the forms without an infix, 2 for the Xt, and
3 for the Xtn. The two numbers are separated using a solidus. As an example, the Štn-stem is
called III/3. The most important user of this system is the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary.

There is mandatory congruence between the subject of the sentence and the verb, and this is
expressed by prefixes and suffixes. There are two different sets of affixes, a primary set used for
the forms of the G and N-stems, and a secondary set for the D and Š-stems.

The stems, their nomenclature and examples of the third-person masculine singular stative of
the verb parāsum (root PRS: 'to decide, distinguish, separate') is shown below:

he Bible refers to Akkad in Genesis 10:10-12, which states:

"The beginning of his [Nimrod's] kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in
the land of Shinar. Out of that land he went forth into Assyria, and builded Nineveh, and
Rehoboth-Ir, and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (the same is the great
city)."[11]

Nimrod's historical identity is unknown or debated, but Nimrod has been identified as Sargon
of Akkad by some,[12] and others have compared him with the legendary Gilgamesh, founder
of Uruk.[13][14] Today, scholars have documented some 7,000 texts from the Akkadian period,
written in both Sumerian and Akkadian. Many later texts from the successor states
of Assyria and Babylonia also deal with the Akkadian Empire.[14]
Understanding of the Akkadian Empire continues to be hampered by the fact that its
capital Akkad has not yet been located, despite numerous attempts.[15][16] Precise dating
of archaeological sites is hindered by the fact that there are no clear distinctions between artifact
assemblages thought to stem from the preceding Early Dynastic period, and those thought to be
Akkadian. Likewise, material that is thought to be Akkadian continues to be in use into the Ur
III period.[17]
Many of the more recent insights on the Akkadian Empire have come from excavations in
the Upper Khabur area in modern northeastern Syria which was to become a part of Assyria after
the fall of Akkad. For example, excavations at Tell Mozan (ancient Urkesh) brought to light a
sealing of Tar'am-Agade, a previously unknown daughter of Naram-Sin, who was possibly
married to an unidentified local endan (ruler).[18] The excavators at nearby Tell Leilan (ancient
Shekhna/Shubat-Enlil) have used the results from their investigations to argue that the
Akkadian Empire came to an end due to a sudden drought, the so-called 4.2 kiloyear event.
[19] The impact of this climate event on Mesopotamia in general, and on the Akkadian Empire
in particular, continues to be hotly debated.[20]
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. [21][22]
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 descendancy of nobility, considering only a highly placed family can be made such a
position.[27]

Originally a cupbearer (Rabshakeh) to a king of Kish with a 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. [28] 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.[29] 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 text asserts he
fought the Hattian king Nurdaggal of Burushanda, well into Anatolia); eastward over Elam; and as far
south as Magan (Oman) — 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 would thus
be ensured.[30]

Prisoners escorted by a soldier, on a victory stele of Sargon of Akkad, circa 2300 BCE. [31][32] 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.[33] Louvre Museum.

Trade extended from the silver mines of Anatolia to the lapis lazuli mines in modern Afghanistan,
the cedars of Lebanon and the copper of 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 of Assyria 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 (Assyria/Subartu) 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 Gutium. He also boasted of having
subjugated the "four quarters" — the lands surrounding Akkad to the north (Assyria), the
south (Sumer), the east (Elam), and the west (Martu). Some of the earliest historiographic
texts (ABC 19, 20) suggest he rebuilt the city of Babylon (Bab-ilu) in its new location near
Akkad.[34]
Sargon, throughout his long life, showed special deference to the Sumerian deities,
particularly Inanna (Ishtar), his patroness, and Zababa, the warrior god of Kish. He called himself
"The anointed priest of Anu" and "the great ensi of Enlil" and his daughter, Enheduanna, was
installed as priestess to Nanna at the temple in Ur.

Akkadian soldiers slaying enemies, circa 2300 BC.

Troubles multiplied toward the end of his reign. A later Babylonian text states:

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.[35]
Also shortly after, another revolt took place:

the Subartu (mountainous tribes of Assyria) 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[edit]

Main articles: Rimush and Manishtushu

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 (2278–2270 BC), who
fought hard to retain the empire, and was successful until he was assassinated by some of his
own courtiers. 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-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.[36]

Naram-Sin[edit]
Main article: Naram-Sin of Akkad

Portrait of Naram-Sin, with inscription in his name.

Manishtushu's son and successor, Naram-Sin (2254–2218 BC), due to vast military conquests,
assumed the imperial title "King Naram-Sin, 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.[37][38] He also faced revolts at the start of his reign,[39] but
quickly crushed them.

Victory Stele of Naram-Sin,[40] 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.[37] 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.
[41] Armanum location is debated; it is sometimes identified with a Syrian kingdom mentioned
in the tablets of Ebla as Armi, the location of Armi is also debated; while historian Adelheid
Otto identifies it with the Citadel of Bazi – Tall Banat complex on the Euphrates River between
Ebla and Tell Brak,[42][43] others like Wayne Horowitz identify it with Aleppo.[44] Further, if most
scholars place Armanum in Syria, Michael C. Astour believes it to be located north of the Hamrin
Mountains in northern Iraq.[45]
To better police Syria, he built a royal residence at Tell Brak, a crossroads at the heart of
the Khabur River basin of the Jezirah. Naram-Sin campaigned against Magan which also revolted;
Naram-Sin "marched against 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 Louvre. Hittite sources claim
Naram-Sin of Akkad even ventured into Anatolia, battling the Hittite
and Hurrian kings Pamba of Hatti, Zipani of Kanesh, and 15 others. This newfound Akkadian wealth
may have been based upon benign climatic conditions, huge agricultural surpluses and the
confiscation of the wealth of other peoples.[46]
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.[47]
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,[48] translating to "king of Sumer and Akkad".[49] This title was assumed by the king
who seized control of Nippur,[48] 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 the Sumerian language 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 Egypt (in the Amarna Period) and Anatolia, to Persia (Behistun).

Collapse[edit]
 The Gutians (right) capturing a Babylonian city, as the Akkadians are making a stand outside of their city
(left). 19th century illustration.
See also: Gutian dynasty of Sumer

The empire of Akkad fell, perhaps in the 22nd century BC, within 180 years of its founding,
ushering in a "Dark Age" with no prominent imperial authority until Third Dynasty of Ur. The
region's political structure may have reverted to the status quo ante of local governance
by city-states.[50]
Shu-Durul appears to have restored some centralized authority, however, he was unable to
prevent the empire eventually collapsing outright from the invasion of barbarian peoples from
the Zagros Mountains known as the Gutians.

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: