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Sargon the Great and the Charismatic Rulers of Ancient Akkad of Mesopotamia*

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Sargon the Great and the Charismatic Rulers of Ancient Akkad of Mesopotamia* OpenStax-CNX module: m61994 1 Sargon the Great and the Charismatic Rulers of Ancient Akkad of Mesopotamia* Megan Lewis Marian Feldman This work is produced by OpenStax-CNX and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 Abstract This module provides an introduction to the art of the Akkadian Empire (c. 2300-2150 BCE), focusing specically on the use of past artistic traditions by the Akkadian kings to promote a new ideology of kingship. Written by Dr. M. Feldman, professor in the Department of Near Eastern Studies, Johns Hopkins University, and M. Lewis, Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Near Eastern Studies, Johns Hopkins University. 1 Historical Overview During the late third millennium BCE, a dynasty of kings from the city of Akkad took control of Mesopotamia (g. 1), creating what is often described as the rst empire.1 The period immediately preceding the foundation of this dynasty, known as the Early Dynastic period (ED), was marked by separate city-states vying with one another for power and control of the land. The Akkadian dynasty united southern and central Mesopotamia (known respectively as Sumer and Akkad) under the rule of a single king for a period of about 150 years. The ocial state language was changed from Sumerian to Akkadian, though Sumerian was still spoken. This period appears to form a major break with the traditions of the Sumerian city-states because of the shift in language and the newly centralized role of the king, but these elements were already present in the ED period. The material culture of the Akkadian period in fact shows several elements of continuity with the ED period, and it is argued that the Akkadian kings consciously followed traditions practiced by their predecessors. Nevertheless, the unication of Mesopotamia represented a signicant change and aligns with changes seen in the cultural sphere such as the arts. The dynasty was founded by Sargon, whose name means the legitimate one. He was a cupbearer (a high court ocial) in the kingdom of Kish and usurped the throne (g. 2). Having gained control of Kish, he defeated the city-state of Uruk and unied Sumer and Akkad. He and his successors claim to have campaigned as far as the Mediterranean Sea and took the title of king of the four corners of the universe, signifying their all-encompassing power and authority. While this is partly royal propaganda, an Akkadian period stele found near Nasiri©yah,Iraq, demonstrates a level of truth within the title. The stele shows victory *Version 1.2: Jun 16, 2016 9:57 am -0500 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 1http://leilan.yale.edu/works-progress/akkadian-empire-project http://cnx.org/content/m61994/1.2/ OpenStax-CNX module: m61994 2 scenes, including a depiction of an Akkadian soldier holding a type of vessel commonly found in southeastern Turkey (g. 3). This indicates that the Akkadians were not only familiar with the area and the kinds of vessels used there, but that they wished to accurately represent geographically and culturally distinctive objects taken as booty. A signicant gap in the archaeological record unfortunately exists for this period for two reasons. First, the capital of the kingdom, Akkad, has not yet been located. It is thought to be in northern Babylonia near the city of Kish (g. 2), but its precise location is not certain. Second, the kings of the Ur III period (which followed the Akkadian empire) destroyed much of the Akkadian period architecture at other sites in the course of their own building programs. More on this can be read in our Ur III module, "Ur III: Continuity and Erasure."2 Despite this deciency, several extremely important artworks from the Akkadian period survive. Many of these were carried o as booty over 1000 years later by the Elamites who took them back to their capital at Susa in southwestern Iran, where they were later uncovered by archaeologists (Amiet 1976). The Akkadian period can be divided into two artistic phases from Sargon to Manishtushu, and then from Naram-Sin to the end of the dynasty (g. 4). This division reects a gradual development with some sudden changes during the time of Naram-Sin, rather than an abrupt change in the artistic output of the kingdom. The artwork of the Akkadian period was marked by major innovations while still using the visual vocabulary developed in the ED period. The Akkadian kings built on the earlier artistic traditions, but changed and adapted them to promote their own ideology, sometimes in quite radical ways, to create a new kind of charismatic kingship (Michalowski 1993: 87). For example, many themes of the ED period were continued but with an increased emphasis on the role of the ruler and the material world of kingship. This shift in emphasis will be seen later in this module in a comparison between the ED Stele of the Vultures and a stele of Sargon. 2https://cnx.org/contents/MPG7vGNB@1/Ur-III-Continuity-and-Erasure http://cnx.org/content/m61994/1.2/ OpenStax-CNX module: m61994 3 2 Map of Akkad Figure 1: Map of the Akkadian Empire at the time of Naram-Sin. Created by M. Lewis after Liverani 2014. http://cnx.org/content/m61994/1.2/ OpenStax-CNX module: m61994 4 Map of Akkad Figure 2: Map showing the locations mentioned in this module. Image created by M. Lewis. http://cnx.org/content/m61994/1.2/ OpenStax-CNX module: m61994 5 Nasariyah Stele http://cnx.org/content/m61994/1.2/ Figure 3: Nasariyah Stele of Sargon, alabaster. Image created by M. Lewis, after McKeon 1970, g. 6.(1). OpenStax-CNX module: m61994 6 Order of Kings Figure 4: Order of the Akkadian kings 3 Elements of Continuity The Akkadian kings appear to have consciously used the earlier Sumerian traditions during their own reign to validate their rule and to appease local populations. This can be seen in both the artworks produced during this period and certain actions taken by the kings. For example, Akkadian kings drew on past practices and installed royal ospring in positions of high status within the temples of conquered city-states. A daughter of Sargon, Enheduanna, is known today as one of the earliest female authors (Feldman 2008). She was installed as en-priestess of the Sumerian moon god Nanna in the city of Ur, in a move which both mimicked the actions of ED kings and permanently placed a member of the new ruling family in a recently-conquered area. The temple of Nanna at Ur was one of the most powerful institutions in Sargon's newly-conquered territory. By acknowledging the importance of the cult and following established "kingly" behavior, Sargon may have sought to appease the local population. Enheduanna also appears to have been part of an eort to syncretize Akkadian and Sumerian deities, ultimately creating a single pantheon for the whole empire. Enheduanna's presence at Ur is attested there by an object known as the Disc of Enheduanna (gs. 2, 5). The disc, made of calcite and measuring approximately 25 cm by 7 cm, was found in the temple precinct at Ur in a highly fragmentary state. On the front of the disc, four gures are depicted facing to the left and in front of what appears to be an altar. Behind the altar is either a ziggurat or a seated deity the reconstruction of the disc shows a ziggurat, but based on its initial condition either would be possible. Enheduanna is the tallest gure in the scene, wearing a ounced robe and hat. She oversees the libation being performed by the priest to her left, with her hand raised. On the reverse is an inscription that details http://cnx.org/content/m61994/1.2/ OpenStax-CNX module: m61994 7 Enheduanna's dedication of the disc to the moon god. Enheduanna is remembered in later times as the author of several important literary texts, a remarkable legacy given that she lived in a time during which authorship was rarely acknowledged and men dominated the scholarly eld. Her most famous work is the Exaltation of Inanna3 , an autobiographical hymn in praise of the foremost Mesopotamian goddess (known as Ishtar in Akkadian). The use of ED artistic themes can be seen most clearly in a comparison between a stele of Sargon and the Stele of the Vultures (gs. 6, 7, 8). The Stele of the Vultures is an ED stele that commemorates the victory of the city-state of Lagash over its rival, Umma. Though it only survives in a fragmentary state, the stele is decorated with scenes carved in relief and is carved with a narrative account of the conict. The obverse of the stele is divided into two registers; the top depicts the god Ningirsu holding a net full of enemy soldiers, and the lower register probably shows Ningirsu riding in his chariot (Winter 1985: 14-15). The stele's reverse has four registers which use pictorial narrative to tell the story of the conict. Read from bottom to top, the rst register probably depicts the historical background to the conict between the two city-states (Winter 1985: 20). The second register shows the king in the temple, seeking a dream oracle about the outcome of a future battle (Winter 1985: 19). The top two registers show the soldiers of Lagash marching to battle behind their king, then the ensuing battle, and nally vultures carrying o the remains of the defeated enemy (Winter 1985: 20). The Sargon stele, which was found in several fragments at the site of Susa, has several similarities to the Stele of the Vultures: • The use of horizontal registers • the kings wear the same style (ED) headdress • vultures carry o dead and defeated enemies • defeated enemy gures are contained within a net, held by the victor.
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