Akkad was the capital of the Akkadian Empire, which was the dominant political force in Mesopotamia during a period of about 150 years in the last third of the 3rd millennium BC.
Its location is unknown. In the early days of research various unidentified mounds were considered as the location of Akkad. In modern times most of the attention has focused on an area roughly defined by 1) near Eshnunna, 2) near Sippar, 3) not far from Kish and Babylon, 4) near the Tigris River, and 5) not far from the Diyala River – all within roughly 30 kilometers (20 miles) of modern Baghdad in central Iraq. There are also location proposals as far afield as the Mosul area in northern Iraq.
The main goddess of Akkad was Ishtar-Annunitum or ‘Aštar-annunîtum (Warlike Ishtar), though it may have been a different aspect, Istar-Ulmašītum.Sharlach, T. M., "Belet-šuhnir and Belet-terraban and Religious Activities of the Queen and the Concubine(s)", in An Ox of One's Own: Royal Wives and Religion at the Court of the Third Dynasty of Ur, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 261-286, 2017 Her husband Ilaba was also revered. Ishtar and Ilaba were later worshipped at Girsu and possibly Sippar in the Old Babylonian period.Westenholz, C. F., "The Old Akkadian Period: History and Culture", in Mesopotamien: Akkade-Zeit und Ur III-Zeit (Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 160/3), Universitätsverlag Freiburg Schweiz, Freiburg, Schweiz, pp. 11-110, 1999
The city is possibly mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 10:10) where it is written (ʾAkkaḏ, classically transliterated Accad), in a list of the cities of Nimrod in Sumer (Shinar).
In the early days of Assyriology, it was suggested that the name of Agade is not of Akkadian language origin. Proposals include Sumerian language, Hurrian language or the Lullubian (though that is unattested). The non-Akkadian origin of the city's name would suggest that the site may have been occupied in pre-Sargonic times.Speiser, Ephraim Avigdor, "Elam And Sumer In The Epigraphical Sources", in Mesopotamian Origins: The Basic Population of the Near East, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, pp. 26-58, 1930
Sources
A year name of En-šakušuana (), named after the king of Uruk and a contemporary of Lugal-zage-si of Umma, was "Year in which En-šakušuana defeated Akkad". This would have been shortly before the rise of the Akkadian Empire and part of his northern campaign that also defeated Kish and Akshak.Pomponio, Francesco, "Further Considerations On KišKI In The Ebla Texts", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 107, pp. 71–83, 2013A. Westenholz, "Old Sumerian and Old Akkadian Texts in Philadelphia, Chiefly from Nippur", I: Literary and Lexical Texts and the Earliest Administrative Documents from Nippur. Bibliotheca Mesopotamica 1. Malibu: Undena Publications, 1975
A number of fragments of royal statues of Manishtushu (–2255 BC), third Akkadian ruler, all bear portions of a "standard inscription". It mentions AgadeEppihimer, Melissa, "Assembling King and State: The Statues of Manishtushu and the Consolidation of Akkadian Kingship", American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 114, no. 3, pp. 365–80, 2010in this excerpt:
The inscription on the Bassetki Statue records that the inhabitants of Akkad built a temple for Naram-Sin after he had crushed a revolt against his rule.A. H. al-Fouadi, "Bassetki Statue with an Old Akkadian Royal Inscription of Naram-Sin of Agade (2291-2255 BC)", Sumer, vol. 32, no. 1-2, pp. 63-76, 1976
One year name of Naram-Sin reads "The year the wall of Agade [was built]". Another is "Year in which the temple of Ištar in Agade was built".
The location "Dur(BAD₃)-DA-ga-de₃" (Fortress of Agade) was frequently mentioned in texts of the Ur III period, noting the indication of deification.Steinkeller, Piotr, "The Divine Rulers of Akkade and Ur: Toward a Definition of the Deification of Kings in Babylonia", History, Texts and Art in Early Babylonia: Three Essays, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 107-157, 2017
It is known from textual sources that the late 19th century BC rulers of Eshnunna performed cultic activities at Akkad.Nele Ziegler, "Akkad à l’époque paleo- babylonienne", in Entre les fleuves – II: D’Aššur à Mari et au- delà, ed. N. Ziegler and E. Cancik- Kirschbaum, Gladbeck: PeWe, 2014
Based on texts found at Mari, the Amorite king Shamshi-Adad (1808–1776 BC), in the final years of his reign, went to the cities of "Rapiqum and Akkad" (they having been captured earlier by his son Yasmah-Adad) as part of one of his military campaigns, in this case against Eshnunna.Lewy, Hildegard, "The Synchronism Assyria—Ešnunna—Babylon", Die Welt Des Orients, vol. 2, no. 5/6, pp. 438–53, 1959Dossin, G., "Archives royales de Mari1", Paris: Impr. Nationale, 1950 (in french)
The prologue of the Laws of Hammurabi (circa 1750 BC) includes the phrase "the one who installs Ištar in the temple Eulmaš inside Akkade city". It also holds a list of cities in order along their watercourse ie "... Tutub, Eshnunna, Agade, Ashur, ..." which would place Akkade off the Tigris between Eshnunna and Ashur. Akkade is given the modifier ribitu which is used for prominent places.Steinert, Ulrike, "Akkadian Terms for Streets and the Topography of Mesopotamian Cities", Altorientalische Forschungen, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 309-347, 2011Composite of Laws of Hammurabi at CDLI - RIME 4.03.06.add21 (P464358)
Centuries later, an old Babylonian text (purportedly a copy of an original Sargon of Akkad (2334–2279 BC) statue inscription) refers to ships being docked at the quay of Agade, i.e. "Sargon moo[red] the ships of Meluhha Magan, and Tilmun] a[t the quay of] Ag[ade].".Cuneiform Inscription Of Defeat Of Oman & Indus Valley - MS-2814 Schoyen Collection
List of slaves from the Old Babylonian city of Sippar include two female slaves who, based on the standard naming scheme, are either from Akkad or were owned by someone from Akkad, ie "Taram-Agade and Taram-Akkadi". The former was also the name of a daughter of Akkadian ruler Naram-Sin several centuries beforehand.Harris, Rivkah, "Notes on the Slave Names of Old Babylonian Sippar", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 46–51, 1977
According to a purported brick inscription copy made during the reign of the Neo-Babylonian ruler Nabonidus (556–539 BC) many centuries later, the Kassite ruler Kurigalzu I (circa 1375 BC) reported rebuilding the Akitu house of Ishtar at Akkade.Clayden, T., "Kurigalzu I and the restoration of Babylonia", Iraq 58, pp. 109–121, 1996Frame, G., "Nabonidus and the history of the Eulmas temple at Akkad", Mesopotamia 28, pp. 21-50, 1993 Another Nabonidus period copy indicates Kurigalzu (unclear if first or second of that name) left an inscription at Akkade recording his fruitless search for the E.ul.mas (temple of Istar-Annunitum).George, A. R., "House Most High. The temples of ancient Mesopotamia", Winona Lake, 1993 Nabonidus claimed that the Assyrian ruler Esarhaddon (681–669 BC) had rebuilt the E.ul.mas temple of Istar-Annunitum at Agade.S. Langdon, "New Inscriptions of Nabuna'id", American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures 32, 1915-16
The Elamite ruler Shutruk-Nakhunte (1184 to 1155 BC) conquered part of Mesopotamia, noting that he defeated Sippar. As part of the spoils some millennium-old royal Akkadian statues were taken back to Susa including the Victory Stele of Naram-Sin and a statue of the Akkadian ruler Manishtushu. It is unknown if the statues were taken from Akkad or had been moved to Sippar.Winter, Irene J., "How Tall Was Naram-Sîn’s Victory Stele? Speculation on the Broken Bottom", in Leaving No Stones Unturned: Essays on the Ancient Near East and Egypt in Honor of Donald P. Hansen, edited by Erica Ehrenberg, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 301-312, 2021
Màr-Issâr (Mar-Istar) was assigned by Neo-Assyrian ruler Esarhaddon (681–669 BC) to the city of Akkad. In one letter from Màr-Issâr to Esarhaddon in 671 BC he reports that the "substitute king", who was the son of the temple administrator (šatammu) of Akkad, left Nineveh and arrived at the city of Akkad five days later and "sat upon the throne" and was buried there.Nissinen, Martti, "City as Lofty as Heaven: Arbela and Other Cities in Neo-Assyrian Prophecy", Prophetic Divination: Essays in Ancient Near Eastern Prophecy, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 267-300, 2019Ahmed, Sami Said, "Ashurbanipal and Shamash-shum-ukin", Southern Mesopotamia in the time of Ashurbanipal, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, pp. 62-103, 1968Rochberg, Francesca, "Natural Knowledge in Ancient Mesopotamia", Wrestling with Nature: From Omens to Science, edited by Peter Harrison, Ronald L. Numbers and Michael H. Shank, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 9-36, 2011 In another letter he states:
In 674 BC Esarhaddon reports returning the gods (cult statues) of the city of Akkad to that city from Elam, possibly taken by Shutruk-Nakhunte five centuries earlier though more likely taken in an Elamite raid that occurred in 675 BC.A. K. Grayson, "Assyrian and Babylonian chronicles", J. J. Augustin, 1975Frame, Grant, "Uncertain Dynasties", Rulers of Babylonia, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 90-274, 1995
A slave sale document from the 13th year of the Neo-Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar II (605–562 BC) it states:
Cyrus the Great (c. 600–530 BC), after conquering Mesopotamia, wrote
Location
Scholars have worked to identify the location of the city of Akkad since the earliest days of Assyriology. The proposals essentially all fall into two areas 1) near the confluence of the Tigris river and Diayalla river, an area significantly covered by the large modern city of Baghdad, and 2) the confluence of the Tigris river and the Adheim river (later known as the Radānu) south of Samarra.Naohiko Kawakami, "The Location of the Ancient City of Akkade: Review of Past Theories and Identification of Issues for Formulating a Specific Methodology for Searching Akkade", AL-RĀFIDĀN: Journal of Western Asiatic Studies, vol. 45, pp. 45–68, 2023
Almost all of the proposals for the location of the city of Akkad place it on the Tigris river. A problem is that the Tigris, from Samarra south, has shifted its banks over time with its historical course being an open question. This complicates locating the city of Akkad and also opens the possibility that its location shifted over time, as sometimes happened when the Tigris or Euphrates river moved.Kawakami, Naohiko, "GIS and Historical Geographical Analyses of the Reconstructed Ancient Course of the Tigris in the Northern Part of Southern Mesopotamia", al-Rāfidān, vol. 43, pp. 13-38, 2022
It has been proposed, based on kudurrus from the reigns of Kassite ruler Marduk-nadin-ahhe (1095–1078 BC) and Second Dynasty of Isin ruler Nebuchadnezzar I (1121–1100 BC), that Akkad had been renamed sometime in the 2nd millennium. The kudurru suggests the new name was Dur-Sharru-Kin, "on the bank of the river Nish-Gatti in the district of Milikku". This is not to be confused with the Dur-Sharukin built by the Neo-Assyrians in the 8th century BC: the most likely site would be Dur-Rimush (a cult center of the god Adad), nine kilometers (5 miles) north of Dur-Sharukin (Tell el-Mjelaat). Khalid al-Admi, "A New Kudurru of Maroduk-Nadin-Ahhe IM. 90585", Sumer, vol. 38, no. 1–2, pp. 121–133, 1982
The area of the Little Zab river, which originates in Iran and joins the Tigris just south of Al Zab in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, has also been suggested. McGuire Gibson, "The city and area of Kish", Field Research Projects, 1972