Head Of An Akkadian Ruler

Founded by the famed Sargon the Great, Akkad was a powerful military empire.

Gauge extent of the Akkadian Empire under Sargon, c. 2334–2279 B.C.E. (underlying map © Google)

Akkad

Competition between Akkad in the n and Ur in the southward created two centralized regional powers at the end of the 3rd millennium.

This centralization was military in nature and the fine art of this period generally became more martial. The Akkadian Empire was begun by Sargon, a man from a lowly family unit who rose to power and founded the royal city of Akkad (Akkad has non yet been located, though 1 theory puts it under modernistic Baghdad).

Head of an Akkadian ruler

This sculpture of an unidentified Akkadian ruler (some say information technology is Sargon, but no one knows) is one of the virtually beautiful and terrifying images in all of aboriginal Near Eastern art. The life-sized bronze caput shows in sharp geometric clarity, locks of hair, curled lips, and a wrinkled brow. Perhaps more awesome than the powerful and somber face of this ruler is the violent attack that mutilated it in artifact.

Caput of an Akkadian ruler, 2250–2200 B.C.E., bronze (photo: Grand.E.L. Mallowan)

Ur

The kingdom of Akkad ends with internal strife and invasion by the Gutians from the Zagros mountains to the northeast. The Gutians were ousted in plough and the city of Ur, south of Uruk, became dominant. King Ur-Nammu established the third dynasty of Ur, also referred to equally the Ur III period.

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Additional resources

Read a affiliate in our textbook,Reframing Art History, about rethinking how we approach the art of the Ancient Near E.

The Akkadian Period on The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.

Head Of An Akkadian Ruler,

Source: https://smarthistory.org/art-of-akkad-an-introduction/

Posted by: ameswhingle1991.blogspot.com

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