Military history of the neoassyrian empire wikipedia. Bel was shown by the akkadians as the god of order and destiny, being the most important god. Creating naturalistic sculptures and displaying incredible artisan skills are characteristics of the akkadian empire that no other civilization can compete with. Of course, none of these hourly history books go into a deep. The akkadian empire was centered in the city of akkad in ancient iraq. At its greatest extent, the akkadian empire reached as far as anatolia in the.
Sargon or his scribes claimed that the akkadian empire stretched from the persian gulf through modernday kuwait, iraq, jordan, syria possibly lebanon through the lower part of asia minor to the mediterranean sea and cyprus there is also a claim it stretched as far as crete in the aegean. The akkadian empire akkadian akkad ki, hittite kur a. The assyrian war machine was the most efficient military force in the ancient world up until the fall of the empire in 612 bce. The akkadian empire was founded by sargon the great of akkad in c. As many students will attest, academic books are often quite expensive, taking important tools out of the reach of economicallychallenged students andor those who may be without access to a wellstocked academic research library. The akkadian empire was the first political entity to make extensive and efficient. There were two principal centers that housed these agriculture areas. The akkadian empire world civilization lumen learning. Founder of the worlds first empire, sargon of akkad upheld order and. Biblical hebrew akkad was an empire centered in the city of akkad sumerian.
His inscriptions boast of 34 victories and 5,400 men eating bread before. Choose from 58 different sets of akkadian empire flashcards on quizlet. Map of the akkadian empire brown and the directions in which military campaigns were conducted yellow arrows. The rulers of the empire were incompetent in their stewardship. Before sargons reign, the typical sumerian citystate army was composed of militiatype troops.
The akkadian empire was not only the first major empire of the bronze age bronze itself was a major contributing factor in getting those soldiers motivated to conquer northern mesopotamia. Senior and weiss 1992, akkadian deployment of local worker levies catagnoti and bonechi 1992, massive akkadian grain shipments records e. The age of agade is the first booklength study of the akkadian period of. The ancient assyrian language is classified as akkadian. Bronze was useful both for making more durable weapons and farming tools. He defeated the armies of sumer in two battles and captured lugalzagesi, the sumerian king who had united or conquered all of sumer and earned the title of king of kish. The akkadian empire was completely dependent on the agricultural systems of the region. The akkadian empire was established by sargon of akkad. The akkadian empire wis the first auncient semiticspeakin empire o mesopotamie, centred in the ceety o akkad an its surroondin region, an aa cried akkad in auncient mesopotamie an accad in the bible genesis 10. Sargon the great reigned 2334 2279 bc sargon the great, or sargon of akkad, founded the worlds first empire, the akkadian empire.
The first of these was the akkadian empire figure 3. But if you asked most people alive at that time, they would have pointed you to what they considered the continuation of the roman empire the civilization we now call the. Are there any good books about the akkadian empire. Widely researched and vividly written, george mortonjacks account of the indian army s crucial contribution to the allied victory is unlikely to be surpassed any time soon. Check out akkadian empire by audiomachine on amazon music. As a nonhistorian, nonarcheologist, i thought that this book was written at an appropriate level. Explaining the fall of the great akkadian empire ancient. Head of an akkadian ruler, from nineveh modern kuyunjik, iraq, ca. History ancient mesopotamia the first empire to rule all of mesopotamia was the akkadian empire. King sargon of akkad founded historys first professional army. This head is all that survives of the statue of an akkadian king.
According to legend, sargon, the first ruler of the akkadian empire, was discovered by a gardener in mesopotamia in a basket. This was the empire created by the conquests of sargon, the king of akkad. Achievement of akkadian empire that allowed messages and information to be shared without fear of corruption or forgery. This was the first empire in mesopotamia, and some consider it to be the first true empire in world history. Why is it called the neo assyrian empire and not just the assyrian. Mesopotamia and lead military expeditions to conquer further east and north. The akkadian empire controlled mesopotamia, the levant, and parts of iran. The akkadian empire united all the indigenous akkadianspeaking semites and the sumerian speakers under one rule within a multilingual empire.
He may have been aided in this by his becoming an irrigation engineer and thus having a disciplined group of men answering to him the core of his army. The legend does not continue, but what is known is that sargon overthrew urzababa, conquered lugalzagesis kingdom, and founded the akkadian empire. The em pire united akka dian and sumerian speakers under one rule. The original citystate of akkad was located somewhere in. Naramsin reigned 2254 2218 bc the akkadian empire reached its peak under the kingship of naramsin. How exactly did aramaic somehow replace akkadian and become adopted by much of the neoassyrian empire. Its believed that this ancient empire began around 2350 bce and ended around 2170 bce. The akkadian empire, considered among the greatest empires in mesopotamia, is believed to be stretched from the persian gulf through modern day kuwait, iraq, jordan, syria through the lower part of asia minor to the mediterranean sea and cyprus. Sargons conquest began with sumer and stretched from the persian gulf to syria and the taurus mountains in southern anatolia or turkey. The ancient masters of war and conquest became the most powerful force in the near. They had a similar government and culture as the sumerians, but spoke a different language. If that account is correct, sargons army would have been the largest standing army of the period.
Drought and the akkadian empire national centers for. The dates for the akkadian empire are actually debatable as is the location of the empires capital, akkad. Stream audiomachine akkadian empire by the most epic music from desktop or your mobile device. There is currently nothing like this available for akkadian. According to history books, the roman empire ended in 476 ce with the fall of rome. The akkadian empire was an ancient semitic empire centered in the city of akkad and its surrounding region in ancient mesopotamia. Sargons whole reign was spent in defending his empire from the mountain people who raided mesopotamia and from rebellions. Audiomachine akkadian empire by the most epic music published on 20120714t10. The city of tell leilan in the northern region was abandoned and covered with one meter of windblown silt weiss et al. Following the conquests of king sargon of akkad and reaching its height of power between the 24th and 22nd centuries b.
The first and most important achievement is that they were the first to create an empire. Provided to youtube by cdbaby akkadian empire audiomachine chronicles. He conquered many of the sumerian citystates and united them under one rule. Audiomachine akkadian empire by the most epic music. It lasted for around 200 years from 2300 bc to 2100 bc. See more ideas about ancient mesopotamia, akkadian empire and sumerian. During sargons 50year reign, he fought in 34 wars, using a core military of 5,400 men, the first true standing army. The combination of copper and tin was one of the few available alloys which. Sargon himself believed he was the son of a temple priestess and an unknown father.
The akka d ian empire exercised influence across mesopotamia, the levant, and anat olia, sending m ilitary expeditions as far south as. Whatever his origins, sargon conquered and ruled all of mesopotamia and parts of syria, iran, kuwait, jordan, turkey and perhaps, cyprus, founding the. Sargon built his empire and maintained it with his professional army. Learn akkadian empire with free interactive flashcards. There was no regular, paid army because every ablebodied adult male was a potential soldier and liable to be called to arms. King sargon of akkadfacts and information national geographic. Akkadian ration mensuration at akkadianoccupied sites powell 1990. The empire united all the indigenous akkadianspeaking semites and the sumerian speakers for the first time under one rule. One account suggests that his army numbered 5,400 men, soldiers called gurush in akkadian.
Sargon of akkad created the first empire through conquest. To facilitate administrative tasks of the assyrian empire aramaic was made the second official language in 752 b. Refugees from the north moved to the southern lowlands. The land of akkad and the akkadian language are actually named after the city. Moreover, the books i read about it focused on the architecture and the.
This was a time of big armies that combined troops from. The akkadians had many achievements ever since they first took control. In 2350 bc, sargon conquered all the sumerian citystates, uniting them under his rule, creating the first mesopotamian empire. Are there any books that deal on the topic of ashurism, the religion of ancient assyria. Crop failures and poor monarchs the declining days of the empire were marked by a plethora of problems, but the two above were the most deterimental. The rise and fall of sumer and akkad ancient origins. However, the akkadian empire followed a simple societal structure in which the king was the ultimate leader almost like a god and everyone else.
How it began the akkadians lived in northern mesopotamia while the sumerians lived in the south. The statue was knocked over in antiquity and the head was deliberately mutilated to make a political statement. Army of empire fills this void in our historical understanding admirably and comprehensively. In time, he would found the city of agade and raise an army of 5,400 men, and then conquer much of modernday iraq. The secret to its success was a professionally trained standing army, iron weapons, advanced engineering skills, effective tactics, and, most importantly, a complete ruthlessness which came to characterize the assyrians to their neighbors and subjects and still attaches itself to the reputation of assyria in the modern day. Explore the thrilling history of the assyrians and their fearful empire in. Sargon is thought to have been the first king to create one of these it was very expensive. The akkadian empire 2 was an ancient semitic empire centered in the city of akkad 3 and its surrounding region, also called akkad in ancient mesopotamia. In the akkadian religion, he has a wife named antum. The akkadian empire was the first ancient empire of mesopotamia, centered in the city of akkad. No one knows who sargon, the founder of the akkadian empire, was, nor the location of the fabled city of akkad. Lugalzagesi marched his army from kish to meet sargon in battle and. The akkadian empire had loads of achievements to build society. Addressing all aspects of the empire, including its statecraft and military, territory and.
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