The Akkadian dynasty was founded by king Sharru-ken (Sargon) (r. ca. 2334–2279 BCE), who conquered the city-states of Sumer. The Akkadians became the dominant power in Mesopotamia, ruling from the capital city of Akkad, somewhere in central Mesopotamia (the site has not been located). The empire reached its apogee under king Naram-Sin (r. ca. 2260–2223 BCE). At its greatest extent, it stretched as far as Anatolia in the north, Iran in the east, the Persian Gulf in the south, and the Mediterranean in the west.

The Akkadian period is one of the peaks of artistic achievement in the ancient world. A new emphasis on naturalism is evident in stone relief sculpture, such as the Victory Stele of Naram-Sin (Musée du Louvre), and in bronze sculpture, such as the Head of an Unknown Ruler (Iraq Museum, Baghdad). Although relatively little large-scale art survives from this period, a large corpus of finely carved cylinder seals preserves a rich iconography, illustrating interactions between humans and the divine world.

The Akkadian Empire fell in the 22nd century BCE, toppled by a combination of internal unrest and invasion by the Gutians from the Zagros mountains to the northeast. Web resources here, here, and here.

The Bassetki Statue. Copper. Akkadian. Ca. 2235 BCE. Iraq Museum, Baghdad. Photo: Osama Amin. The name of the Akkadian king Naram-Sin appears in a cuneiform inscription on the statue’s base.