What country did they live in?
The Akkadians lived on the Arabian Peninsula, a piece of land that sits between Europe, Africa, and Asia. Today, many countries share this land, including Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait.
The Akkadians lived on the Arabic peninsula then migrated north which created a big conflict with the Sumerian city-states. The Akkadians finally settled in Mesopotamia. Today this area is part of the Middle East.
What did their buildings look like?
They built many types of buildings, including large temples and monuments. Their most famous buildings are called ziggurats, which are sort of like square pyramids. The first floor is the largest, and each floor up gets progressively smaller until you reach the top room. The Tower of Babylon is one famous example of this kind of building. The Akkadians buildings were made with handfuls of wet clay. The walls were poorly constructed. One way walls were made was to outline the shape of your house with lumps of clay and let it dry in the hot sun. A faster way was to use wood planks and put a layer of clay between each board. Their houses were shaped like domes, the whole dome was made out of clay.
What did they eat?
Akkadians hunted fish, duck, and geese. They also ate dates, bread, onions, beans, cucumbers, garlic, and a few other fruits and vegetables. Then they would wash it down with beer or water.
What did their writing look like?
The language used a writing system called cuneiform. Wedge shaped symbols or strokes were carved or pressed into clay tablets with a reed stylus. This writing system was invented by the Sumerians around 3500 BC. Akkadians put their language into cuneiform and many early stories were found preserved in Akkadian text.
What did they believe?
The Akkadians adopted the Sumerian culture and its ideas. The Sumerians were polytheistic. The Sumerian's Gods An, En-lil, and En-ki lost supremacy to Astral Triad, which consisted of Sin (the moon), Ishtar (venus), and Shamash(the sun).
Are some of them famous even today?
None recorded because this was an ancient civilization
What is left of them today?
The Akkadians were Semitic people and their descendants survive today among the modern Arabs and Jews .
When did their civilization exist?
The Akkadian civilization existed during the Mesopotamian times. About 6,000 years ago they lived with the Sumarians and Babylonians. The Babylonians, Sumerians, and the Akkadians all lived in peace with each other. They did not war with the other civilizations, they actually traded. They overran Sumer between 2400BC and 2100BC. Eventually they were conquered by the Babylonians. They still lived in Mesopotamia but eventually died out with the Sumarians.
External Links
References
- Mesopotamia: the Mighty Kings. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1995.
- Oxford First Ancient History by: Roy Burrell
- Jacob, Heidi Hayes, Michal L. LaVasscur and Bredna Randolph. World Explorer The Ancient World. Needham, Massachuserrs: Prentice Hall, 1998
- Chisholm, Jane. The Usborne Book Of The Ancient World. London: Usborne Publishing Ltd, 1991.