akkadian

Akkadian is an ancient East Semitic language of Mesopotamia. It was spoken in the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and written mainly in the cuneiform script adapted from Sumerian. By the end of the 3rd millennium BCE it became the dominant spoken language of administration and high culture across successive Mesopotamian states.

The language existed in several historical stages and dialects. Old Akkadian is the earliest attested stage, followed by Old Babylonian and Assyrian, then Middle and Neo-Babylonian, and finally Neo-Assyrian. The northern dialects (Assyrian) and southern dialects (Babylonian) diverged, though they remained mutually intelligible to a degree. Akkadian remained in use as a literary and scholarly language into the 1st century CE, even as Aramaic and Greek rose in prestige.

Akkadian literature includes royal inscriptions, myth and epic, legal codes, and scientific texts. The Code of Hammurabi was composed in Old Babylonian Akkadian; the Epic of Gilgamesh survives in Akkadian from the Old Babylonian and later Standard Babylonian traditions; other notable works include Atrahasis and Enuma Elish. The language continued to be used in administration and religion long after it ceased as a spoken lingua franca.

In writing, Akkadian uses a logosyllabic cuneiform script, combining logograms with syllabic signs. Its grammar is Semitic: verb inflection encodes person, number, tense, and mood; nouns inflect for case, number, and gender; the typical word order is flexible, with verbs often preceding the subject.

Today, Akkadian is studied as a key source for Mesopotamian history and culture. Texts are read through philology and archaeology, with modern transliteration and digital encoding enabling broader access. It remains foundational in the study of cuneiform script and the ancient Near East.