Akkadian Empire

  General Description   The polity at Akkad in Iraq is often thought to represent the "first world empire". ^{[1] [2]} Its name derives from city of Akkad (Agade, location still undetermined), which was a capital of the kingdom. The period is also called Sargonic Period after the founder of Akkad and the ruling dynasty - Sargon (Sharrukin). The end of Akkadian empire seems to be associated with the invasion of the Gutians, and is correlated with some climate changes. ^[3]
Sargon’s power mainly depended on his army, which was probably a regular standing army. ^[4] Foster (2016) describes an Empire as "an entity put together and maintained by force, with provinces administered by officials sent out from the capital in the heartland" and claims this is "precisely what we see in the Akkadian period." ^[5] Barjamovic (2012) notes that the formation of the private royal army and the construction of regional military strongholds together with the division of the conquered territories into provinces was the key to Akkad’s "permanent imperial presence." ^[6]
To increase control from the center, Sargon appointed Akkadian governors (ensi) in Sumerian cities in a place of older Sumerian rulers ^[7] although some cities continued to be ruled by a local ensi. ^[8] In fact, all local officials probably had a great deal of de facto independence. ^[8] As an additional means of control, Sargon sent his daughter - Enheduanna - to be the highest priestess of god Sin in Uruk. This practice was continued by his descendants. ^[9]
Naram-Sin, a grandson of Sargon, was one of the greatest ruler of Akkad in terms of military conquest and administration. His reforms included a unified system of measurements. He undertook also the process of renovation of Ekur temple and on his death was deified and treated as protective deity. ^[10] Akkadian was the official language of empire, and all official documents were written in Akkadian, although Sumerian still was in use, especially in Southern Mesopotamia. ^[11]

[1]: (Brisch 2013, 120) N Brisch. 2013. History and chronology. In: H. Crawford (ed.), The Sumerian World.London and New York: Routledge, 111-130.

[2]: Liverani 1993

[3]: (Weiss 2002, 22) H Weiss. 2002. Akkadian. Akkadian Empire. In: P. N. Peregrine & M. Ember, Encyclopaedia of Prehistory. South and Southeast Asia, Volume 8. New York: Springer, 21-24.

[4]: (Hamblin 2006, 74-75) W J Hamblin. 2006. Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC. New York: Routledge.

[5]: (Foster 2016, 80) Benjamin R Foster. 2016. The Age of Agade. Inventing Empire In Ancient Mesopotamia. Routledge. London.

[6]: (Barjamović 2012, 130) G Barjamović. 2012. Mesopotamian Empires. In: P. Fibiger Bang & W. Scheidel (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the State in the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 120-160.

[7]: (Hamblin 2006, 75) W J Hamblin. 2006. Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC. New York: Routledge.

[8]: (Leverani 2014, 138) Mario Liverani. Soraia Tabatabai trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.

[9]: (Franke 1995, 831-841) S Franke. 1995. Kings of Akkad: Sargon and Naram-Sin. In: J. M. Sasson (ed.) Civilization of Ancient Near East. Peabody: Hendrikson, 831-841.

[10]: (Franke 1995, 384) S Franke. 1995. Kings of Akkad: Sargon and Naram-Sin. In: J. M. Sasson (ed.) Civilization of Ancient Near East. Peabody: Hendrikson, 831-841.

[11]: (Van de Mieroop 2007, 67)