The Kingdom of Akkad

Abstract

This chapter discusses the foundations and inner structure of the kingdom of Akkad. Based mainly on royal inscriptions and archival records, it argues that this state constitutes a decisive phase in Mesopotamian history and discusses a series of political, ideological, socioeconomic, and administrative transformations that it brought about: the implementation of the concept of the territorial state, borne by an autocratic and conquering kingship with absolute claim to power; an administrative centralization directed toward the capital; the introduction of Akkadian as an official language of administration; and the spread of private landownership, concentrated in the hands of the king and administered through large agricultural estates established throughout the state through purchase and confiscation. These transformations were implemented by means of the standing army, whose upkeep was supported by the agricultural land in the hands of the king. Allocations of royally owned land to other parties established a far-flung network of patronage, which included not only members of the royal family, court, administration, and army but also members of the local elites, thus strengthening the king’s power base. The chapter also discusses how the transformations brought about by the kingdom of Akkad were ambiguously reflected in later tradition, which also made this state a model to be emulated by later rulers.