Akkadian Empire ( Essay )

     

Alecia Sutton

Mrs. Benson                                                                                      

12-17-10

Block 1

                                                       AKKADIAN EMPIRE    

     

           Akkadian Empire was found around 2500 B.C.E, and conquered the land around 2300 B.C.E. They came from Northern Mesopotamia and was ruled by a great king name Sargon. Food Supply, Art, Writing, Technology, Religion, Social Structure, and Government Officials are all apart of Akkadian lives. They all effected their lives because they all needed, and most important, fought for what they have in this civilization. I wonder, will they use these tools wisely?

          The Akkadian Empire craftspeople made many sculptures and stones. These stones were called stele, the stele was represented as the Victory Stele. The Victory Stele was created to celebrate a military victory by Sargon's grandson, King Naram-Sin. The Victory Stele shows Naram- Sin leading his victorious army up the slopes of a mountain. Akkadian art was known for their beautiful three dimensional sculptures it really gave them things to do and effected the lives of us today.

           In Akkadian Empire writing was important, it changed lives of them all. After being employed for several centuries an indigenous script patterned after cuneiform writing. Elam adopted Mesopotamia script during the Akkadian period with few exceptions used. It even was, when writing in Elamite rather than Sumerians or Akkadian. The Old Akkadian manner of writing is extraordinary appealing from the aesthetic point of view. As late as the Old Babylonian era it served as a model for monumental inscriptions. Writing made a big difference for Akkadians then because the hieroglyphs Akkads made by writing ,was a big deal.

         Mesopotamia, where Akkadians came from, had three levels on their social ladder. The first level was Kings and Queens, then Nobles, and finally, Rulers. They got their title from doing a superior job as a warrior. After the ruling class was first developed, the royal status soon became hereditary. The second level of the social ladder consists of teachers, labors, and merchants. The third level is the slaves and prisoners. In the first level was the Kings and Queens , Kings and Queens got to boss around everyone. The level below Kings and Queens was Nobles which were normal people, they had slaves but they weren't as powerful as Kings and Queens were. Last, were slaves, slaves were owned by Palaces and the authority. The Kings and Queens had the most power of all classes. Normal people ( Nobles ) would buy slaves with the money they had. In each class men ruled in each household, and also in the public such as politics. Today, men are not always the rulers of a household because women are important too.

        Government in Akkadian Empire formed classical standard with all future Mesopotamia compared to themselves. Sargon extended his conquest from lower sea (Persian Golf) to upper sea (Mediterranean). It was felt that he ruled the totality of the lands under heaven, or from sunrise to sunset. A strategy adopted by both Sargon and Naram-Sin had to maintain control of the country to install daughters of them two, Enheduanna and Enmenanna. Traditionally, the ensi was the highest functionary of the Sumerian city states. They formed new forms of government which became a model for later rulers, although priest hood played a very important role throughout the history of Mesopotamia. There are some great differences between forms of government in Mesopotamia in different periods, but all forms of government from Sumner to the Persian Empire were characterized by powerful rulers who played a major role throughout the history of Northern Mesopotamia.

         Akkadian Empire farmed for crops and did a lot of farming to have the food they needed. When they farmed, the areas where they were located didn't supply enough rainfall for crops, so irrigation was needed from the rivers. Fertile waters were controlled away from cities and farms more successfully perhaps than our army. They made bread and drinks out of crops and, the animals on the farm were pigs, sheep, goats, deer, and cattle and they ate many of these animals. They also domesticated ducks, geese, and hens, for eggs and meat. Food Supply was a major thing in Akkadian Empire because they needed to eat, so they killed animals just for meat, which is bad from my point of view, but they had to do what they had to do.

         Akkadians religion, was a worship of pantheon of gods. Principal deities included, An gods, Sky gods, Enlil the air god, Nanna the moon god and Utu the sun god. Akkads had to be created to serve the gods, they had to put clothes on them and feed them. They were conceived as having human forms, like humans. They were wise at times, silly, hunerourous, and angry. Their status differed as each was associated with an aspect of nature and controlled the seasons. Their religion was important because without the gods   earth wouldn't be as it is now.

         Mesopotamia ( Akkadian Empire) were the first to invent batteries, they were called Baghdad Battery, during Sas sanid  Period. They also invented a pump called  Archimedes screw that was first used by Sennacherib in the 7^th century B.C, and also they mad the wheel in 3500 B.C.E. Textile, weaving, metal and copper working, flood control, glass and lamp making in irrigation were some other technologies made by them. Copper, bronze and iron was used for making armor and weapons like swords, daggers, spears and many more. They also created the plow, sickel, and the hoe. These tools were all used for farmers to crop their foods. Technology in Akkadian Empire wasn't the same as our technology, their technology was more tools, but it still satisfied them at all times.

            Akkadian Empire was considered a civilization because it has all their needs. The  tools they used were used very wisely because they spent their time wisely making and writing things. They planted a lot, made a lot of things, did a lot for gods ( worshiped ) , and created and made many sculptures. Akkadians deserve a lot because of all the work they did during their time. The sculptures they made told many messages, more of hieroglyphs. Akkadian Empire was worth researching because they were successful at what they did in their life even though it was a very hard time for them.