#akkad

Shell with King Rimush’s name written on it. Akkadian, 2270 BCE.

Enheduanna: The World's First Author Known by Name

Poetess Enheduanna (c. 2300 BCE) is credited with creating the paradigms of poetry, psalms, and prayers used throughout the ancient world which led to the development of the genres recognized in the present day. Her influence during her lifetime was as impressive as her literary legacy. Entrusted by her father, Sargon of Akkad, with great responsibility, Enheduanna not only exceeded those expectations but changed the entire culture. Through her written works, she altered the very nature of the Mesopotamian gods and the perception the people had of the divine.

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Ištar sketch; I love and adore her so much.

Eugeny Kazantsev

2d artist

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“Sargon developed this new form of governance by conquering all the Sumerian cities of Mesopotamia, creating what most historians call the first empire in the world.” He added that, until these latest excavations, information on that empire was limited to fragmentary and bombastic royal inscriptions or much later copies of Akkadian inscriptions “which are not completely reliable”. Of the new discovery, he said: “It is extremely important because, for the first time, we have concrete evidence – with artefacts in situ.” He has been astonished by the detail in those records: “They note absolutely everything down. If a sheep dies at the very edge of the empire, it will be noted. They are obsessed with bureaucracy.” The tablets, containing cuneiform symbols, an early writing system, record affairs of state, deliveries and expenditures, on everything from fish to domesticated animals, flour to barley, textiles to precious stones. Dana Goodburn-Brown, a British-American conservator, is cleaning the tablets so that they can be transcribed. The work is both painstaking and exciting, she said: “People just think things come out of the ground and look like you see them in the museum, but they don’t.” One tablet lists different commodities: “250 grams of gold / 500 grams of silver/ … fattened cows… / 30 litres of beer.” Even the names and professions of the citizens are recorded, Rey said: “Women, men, children – we have names for everyone. “Women held important offices within the state. So we have high priestesses, for example, although it was a society very much led by men. But the role of the woman was at least higher than many other societies, and it’s undeniable based on the evidence that we have.” The jobs listed range from stone-cutters to the sweeper of the temple floor. Rey said: “Being able to sweep the floor where the gods and the high priest were located was very important. The cities of ancient Mesopotamia in theory all belonged to the gods. The society worked for the temple state.” The tablets were found at the site of a large state archive building, made of mud-brick walls and divided into rooms or offices. Some of the tablets contain architectural plans of buildings, field plans and maps of canals.

Naram-Sin

Naram-Sin (que reinó de 2261-2224 a.C.) fue el último gran rey del Imperio acadio y nieto de Sargón el Grande (que reinó de 2334-2279 a.C.), que había fundado el imperio. Está considerado el rey acadio más importantes después de Sargón o, según algunos, incluso por encima de él, y, junto a su abuelo, se convirtió en una figura casi mítica en las leyendas e historias mesopotámicas.