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Alcibiades

two millennia strove. Because of this, much literature
appeared concerning the Akkadian kings, especially
Sargon and Naram-Sin.
In the Sargon Legend, which draws upon his illegitimate birth, Sargon is placed in a reed basket in
the Euphrates before he is drawn out by a man named
Aqqi and raised as a gardener. From this humble beginning Sargon establishes himself as the king of the
first Mesopotamian empire.
The King of Battle is another tale of how Sargon
traveled to Purushkhanda in central Turkey in order
to save the merchants there from oppression. After
defeating the king of the city, Nur-Daggal, the local
ruler is allowed to continue to govern as long as he
acknowledges Sargon as king. Naram-Sin, however,
is often portrayed as incompetent and disrespectful
of the gods. In The Curse of Akkad, Naram-Sin becomes frustrated because the gods will not allow him
to rebuild a temple to the god Enlil, so he destroys
it instead. Enlil then sends the Gutians to destroy the
­Akkadian Empire.
As we know, however, the Akkadian Empire continued to have 25 prosperous years under Shar-kali-sharri
after the death of Naram-Sin, and the Gutians were
not the only reason for the downfall of the Akkadian
Empire. In fact, there is no evidence for the Gutians
causing problems for the Akkadians until late in the
reign of Shar-kali-sharri. Although this story had an
important didactic purpose, it shows that caution must
be used in reconstructing the history of the ­Akkadian
Empire from myths and legends.

In the Cuthean Legend, Naram-Sin goes out to
fight a group that has invaded the Akkadian Empire.
Naram-Sin seeks an oracle about the outcome of the
battle, but since it is negative, he ignores it and mocks
the whole process of divination. As in The Curse of
Akkad, Naram-Sin’s disrespect of the gods gets him in
trouble as he is defeated three times by the invaders.
He finally seeks another oracle and receives a positive
answer. Naram-Sin has learned his lesson: “Without
divination, I will not execute punishment.” Despite
these tales, there are others that paint Naram-Sin in a
more positive light as an effective king with superior
military capabilities.
Along with a centralized government comes standardization. This included the gradual replacement of
Sumerian, a non-Semitic language, with Akkadian, an
East Semitic language, in administrative documents.
Dating by year names, that is naming each year after a particular event such as “the year Sargon destroyed Mari,” became the system used in Babylonia

until 1500 b.c.e. when it was replaced with dating by
regnal years. There was also a standardized system of
weights and measures. Taxes were collected from all
regions of the empire in order to pay for this centralized administration.
The Akkadian ruler appointed governors in the territories the empire controlled, but many times the local
ruler was just reaffirmed in his capacity. The governor
would have to pledge allegiance to the Akkadian emperor and pay tribute, but at times, when the empire
was weak, the local rulers could revolt and assert their
own sovereignty.
This meant that the Akkadian rulers were constantly putting down rebellions. But perhaps the most
important precedent started by the Akkadian Empire
was the installation of Sargon’s daughter Enheduanna

as the high priestess of the moon god Nanna at Ur. She
composed two hymns dedicated to the goddess Inanna,
making her the oldest known author in Mesopotamia.
This provided much needed legitimacy for the kingdom
in southern Babylonia and continued to be practiced by
Mesopotamian kings until the sixth century b.c.e.
See also Babylon, early period; Babylon, later periods; Elam; Moses; Sumer.
Further reading: Franke, Sabina. “Kings of Akkad: Sargon
and Naram-Sin.” In Sasson, Jack, ed. Civilizations of the
Ancient Near East. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons,
1995; Gadd, C. J. “The Dynasty of Agade and the Gutian
Invasion.” In I. E. S. Edwards, C. J. Gadd, and N. G. L.
Hammond, eds. The Cambridge Ancient History, 3rd ed.,
Vol. 1, Part 2, pp. 417–463. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971.
James Roames

Alcibiades

(450–404 b.c.e.) Greek statesman and general
Alcibiades was an Athenian who was influential in the
creation of turmoil in his home city that went a long
way to explaining the defeat by Sparta in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 b.c.e.). Alcibiades was a
controversial and divisive figure, and his legacy in part
continues to be colored by his character flaws even millennia after his death. Thucydides, Plato, and Plutarch
recount the adventures of Alcibiades in their histories.
Alcibiades was born into a powerful family, and his father
commanded the Athenian army at the battle in which he
was killed. Alcibiades was then only about seven years