From Sargon To Narām-Sîn: some remarks on Akkadian military activity in the II nd half of the III rd millennium bc. The example of eastern campaigns

Abstract

The present article discusses the phenomenon of Akkadian eastern military activity in the times of four consecutive Akkadian kings – Sargon, Rīmuš, Maništušu and Narām-Sîn. The author of the present investigation describes the course of Akkadian military expansion and attempts to characterize its cultural background by emphasizing that its economic and religious foundations constitute a part of the imperial strategy. It has been suggested that the religious ‒ and associated with it – the ideological factor, both embodied in the powerful image of the warlike goddess Aštar seem to be largely underestimated in the current academic discussion of the phenomenon of Akkadian expansion.