Book

Legends of the kings of Akkade: the texts

Eisenbrauns • Winona Lake, Ind. • Published In 1997 • Pages: xiii, 410

By: Westenholz, Joan Goodnick.

Abstract

In the third millennium BCE. a dynasty arose in the hitherto insignificant town of Akkade which, within a few decades, came to exercise not only hegemony over Mesopotamia but also great influence over much of the Near East.The most impressive legacy of this dynasty was the widespread and popular legend of its kings.Their deeds stirred the imagination of all the surrounding cultures, inspiring legends that were handed down not only in Akkadian but also in Sumerian and Hittite. The accomplishments of the Akadian dynasty were told and retold throughout the generations and were magnified and embellished with each retelling. This saga and its heroes soon became the subject of a tradition of folklore, then of literature, beginning directly after the events themselves. The feats and deeds of the entire dynasty were telescoped and assigned to the two most prominent of its five members Sargon, the founder of the empire, and his grandson and third successor, Naram-Sin. This document offers an annotated edition of all the known legends of the Akkadian kings, It contains transliterations and translations of the texts, as well a philological commentaries. Each text is discussed in terms of its findspot, its external appearance, its orthography, and its language and an attempt is made to describe its stylistic peculiarities (pp. 15-17).

HRAF PubDate

2009

Region

Middle East

Sub Region

Middle East

Document Type

Book

Evaluation

Creator Type

Archaeologist

Document Rating

4: Excellent Secondary Data

Analyst

John Beierle; 2008

Field Date

no date

Coverage Date

4334-4112 BP (2332-2112 BC)

Coverage Place

Akkadian Period, Mesopotamia; current countries Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Iran

Notes

Joan Goodnick Westenholz

LCCN

96045516

LCSH

Assyro-Babylonian literature/Legends--Iraq--Babylonia/Babylonia--Kings and rulers