The Akkadian empire was ruled from the ancient city of Akkad (location unknown) and commanded Mesopotamia from the Tigris-Euphrates river to the Persian Gulf. It was built by King Sargon who ruled from 2334 to 2279 BC and was the first to command a 'multi-national empire'. The great king is said to have ruled an area that ran all the way from the Persian Gulf through to Cyprus with his military and the empire is believed to have had 5 kings.
His empire was prosperous as seen by the development of roads, trade, farming including irrigation, religion, the arts and sciences. However, this empire wasn't to last as once it reached a peak in 22nd century it decline by 2154 lasting only 180 yrs.
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| Map of Akkadian empire (Source: Ancient History Encyclopaedia) |
Theories:
One theory is that he empire became weaker and experienced regional declines with the reign of Shar-Kali-Sharri. Anarchy ensued (2192-2168 BC) until its collapse as invaders from the Zagros Mountians took over. These invaders - the Gutians- are thought to be the cause of the Akkadian decline as they did not maintain the empire and a collapse in trade and famine meant the population retreated to the city before disappearing.
However, another theory is that the region became more arid and this lead to the failure crops and famine. It is thought a global drought that lasted a century is also to blame as precipitation fell causing the region to become more water scarce than it was previously. H. Weiss (1993) stated that sediment data illustrated a rise in aridity and changes to wind patterns in 2200 BC. These climatic changes occurred beyond the Akkadian empire and that the North Atlantic Oscillation changed the flow of the Tigris and Euphrates river further exacerbating problems. Another sediment record from a nearby ocean basin found several pieces of evidence for the major 4200 BP drought event that took place. This included a rise in aeolian dust from Mesopotamia and tephra shards which link the drought event and rising aridity to the societal collapse that occurred in Akkad. This event is thought to have also been the cause for the collapse of the Old Kingdom in Ancient Egypt.
The city Tell Lilan in Mesopotamia was also abandoned and had no signs of settlement after its construction. Sediment samples from the region also indicate an arid environment and other evidence suggest that livestock had died, that around 28000 people left and the city shrank as people moved to wetter regions.
Rain- fed farming also collapsed and the water level in rivers fell which placed water stress on local populations which my have in turn led to conflicts. Eventually it is thought that the Akkadians split into to two different states Assyria and Babylonia.
In this example it seems the obvious cause of societal collapse was the increasingly drier conditions and the devastating 4200 BP event. This placed enormous stress on the society, led to conflict over dwindling resources and the displacement of regional populations. In the near future climate change, increasing soil erosion and desertification may cause regions to become arid and unable to support local people. However, I believe that this would not occur today as advances in technology (e.g. GM crops that are adapted to growing in dry conditions) and global aid may help nations in a similar situation thereby preventing them from having conflicts that lead to collapse like that which occurred in Akkad. What do you think? Do you reckon a a similar event could lead to a collapse in society today? Comment below...
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| (Source: ZME Science) |
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