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Akkadian
(1,071 words)

[German version]

An indigenous term deriving from the capital city of the Akkadian Dynasty (24th-22nd cents.) and refers to the language of the pre-Christian Semitic inhabitants of Babylonia (southern Mesopotamia) and Assyria (northern Mesopotamia). Akkadian is a written language. Its scope and versatility as well as the broad dissemination and chronological range of the literary tradition written in cuneiform script elevated Akkadian to one of the most significant languages of the ancient Orient. [1-5].

Akkadian is mostly described as a north-eastern/northern periphe…

Cite this page
Streck, Michael P. (Munich), “Akkadian”, in: Brill’s New Pauly, Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and , Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e111900>
First published online: 2006
First print edition: 9789004122598, 20110510



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