Akkadian Language

𒀝𒅗𒁺𒌑
(Akkadian language)
Akkadian is an extinct East Semitic language that was spoken
in ancient Mesopotamia (Akkad, Assyria, Isin, Larsa and
Babylonia) from the third millennium BC until its gradual
replacement by Akkadian-influenced Old Aramaic among
Mesopotamians by the 8th century BC.
It is the earliest attested Semitic language. It used the

cuneiform script, which was originally used to write the
unrelated, and also extinct, Sumerian. Akkadian is named
after the city of Akkad, a major centre of Mesopotamian
civilization during the Akkadian Empire (c. 2334–2154 BC).
Akkadian (in its Assyrian and Babylonian varieties) was the native language of the Mesopotamian
empires (Akkadian Empire, Old Assyrian Empire, Babylonia, Middle Assyrian Empire) throughout the
later Bronze Age, and became the lingua franca of much of the Ancient Near East by the time of the
Bronze Age collapse c 1150 BC. Its decline began in the Iron Age, during the Neo-Assyrian Empire, by
about the 8th century BC in favour of Old Aramaic. By the Hellenistic period, the language was largely
confined to scholars and priests working in temples in Assyria and Babylonia. The last known Akkadian
cuneiform document dates from the 1st century AD. Mandaic and Assyrian are two Neo-Aramaic
languages that retain some Akkadian vocabulary and grammatical features.
Akkadian is a fusional language with grammatical case; and like all Semitic languages, Akkadian uses
the system of consonantal roots. The Kültepe texts, which were written in Old Assyrian, include Hittite
loanwords and names, which constitute the oldest record of any Indo-European language.
Classification
Akkadian belongs with the other Semitic languages in the
Near Eastern branch of the Afroasiatic languages, a family
native to the Middle East, Arabian Peninsula, the Horn of
Africa, parts of Anatolia, North Africa, Malta, Canary Islands
and parts of West Africa (Hausa). Akkadian and its successor
Aramaic, however, are only ever attested in Mesopotamia
and the Near East.
Within the Near Eastern Semitic languages, Akkadian forms
an East Semitic subgroup (with Eblaite). This group
distinguishes itself from the Northwest and South Semitic
languages by its subject–object–verb word order, while the
other Semitic languages usually have either a verb–subject–
object or subject–verb–object order.
Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform syllabary, used by

early Akkadian rulers
Classification
Additionally Akkadian is the only Semitic
language to use the prepositions ina and ana
(locative case, English in/on/with, and dative-
locative case, for/to, respectively). Other
Semitic languages like Arabic, Hebrew and
Aramaic have the prepositions bi/bə and li/lə
(locative and dative, respectively). The origin of
the Akkadian spatial prepositions is unknown.
Seal of Akkadian Empire ruler Naram-Sin (reversed

for readability), c. 2250 BC.
Writing
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, (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.
Another peculiarity of Akkadian cuneiform is that many signs
do not have a well-defined phonetic value. Certain signs do
not distinguish between the different vowel qualities. Nor is
there any coordination in the other direction.
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).
An Akkadian inscription
Development
Akkadian is divided into several varieties based on

geography and historical period:
● Old Akkadian, 2500–1950 BC

● Old Babylonian and Old Assyrian, 1950–1530 BC
● Middle Babylonian and Middle Assyrian, 1530–
1000 BC
● Neo-Babylonian and Neo-Assyrian, 1000–600 BC
● Late Babylonian, 600 BC–100 AD
Old Akkadian, One of the earliest known Akkadian inscriptions was
found on a bowl at Ur, addressed to the very early pre-
2500–1950 BC Sargonic king Meskiagnunna of Ur (c. 2485–2450 BC)
by his queen Gan-saman, who is thought to have been
from Akkad. The Akkadian Empire, established by
Sargon of Akkad, introduced the Akkadian language as a
written language, adapting Sumerian cuneiform
orthography for the purpose.
Old Akkadian, which was used until the end of the 3rd
millennium BC, differed 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
and Middle Assyrian
Old Babylonian was the language of king Hammurabi and his code, which is one
of the oldest collections of laws in the world. The Middle Babylonian (or Assyrian)
period started in the 16th century BC. 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
even though Neo-Assyrian cuneiform remained in use in literary tradition well
into Parthian times.
The eventual decline…
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.
After the end of the Mesopotamian kingdoms, which were conquered by the Persians,
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 last positively identified Akkadian text comes from the 1st century AD..
Decipherment
The Akkadian language began to be rediscovered when
Carsten Niebuhr in 1767 was able to make extensive copies
of cuneiform texts and published them in Denmark. The
deciphering of the texts started immediately, and bilinguals,
in particular Old Persian-Akkadian bilinguals, were of great
help. Since the texts contained several royal names, isolated
signs could be identified, and were presented in 1802 by
Georg Friedrich Grotefend. By this time it was already
evident that Akkadian was a Semitic language, and the final
breakthrough in deciphering the language came from
Edward Hincks, Henry Rawlinson and Jules Oppert in the
middle of the 19th century. The Oriental Institute of the
University of Chicago recently completed a 21-volume
dictionary of the Akkadian language.
Carsten Niebuhr in the attire of a

distinguished Arab in Yemen
Thank
you

Akkadian Language

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Akkadian Language

Uploaded by

Copyright:

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𒀝𒅗𒁺𒌑

It is the earliest attested Semitic language. It used the

Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform syllabary, used by

Seal of Akkadian Empire ruler Naram-Sin (reversed

Cuneiform was in many ways unsuited to Akkadian: among

Akkadian is divided into several varieties based on

● Old Akkadian, 2500–1950 BC

Carsten Niebuhr in the attire of a

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