Akkadian | |
---|---|
𒁓 | |
Pronunciation | akk |
Native to | Assur and Babylon |
Region | Mesopotamia |
Era | mid-3rd millennium BC–8th centuries BC; academic or liturgical use until 100 AD |
Afro-Asiatic
| |
Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform | |
Official status | |
Official language in | initially Akkad (central Mesopotamia); lingua franca of the Middle East and Egypt in the late Bronze and early Iron Ages. |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-2 | akk |
ISO 639-3 | akk |
Glottolog | akka1240 |
Akkadian (llišānum akkadītum) or Assyro-Babylonian[1] was a Semitic language (part of the Afro-Asiatic language family) that was spoken in ancient Iraq. The first-known Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system from ancient Sumer.
Akkadian is divided into several varieties based on geography and historical period:[2]
The earliest known Akkadian inscription was found on a bowl at Ur. It was addressed to a very early pre-Sargonic king of Ur by his queen Gan-saman, who is thought to have been from Akkad.
The Akkadian Empire, established by Sargon of Akkad, introduced the Akkadian language (the "language of Akkad") as a written language. It used Sumerian cuneiform orthography (writing method) for the purpose. During the middle Bronze Age (Old Assyrian and Old Babylonian period), the language displaced Sumerian. Sumerian probably became extinct as a living language by the 18th century BC.