The visual legacy of Akkadian kingship

The kings of the Akkadian dynasty transformed the nature of Mesopotamian kingship in the late third millennium BCE. This dissertation evaluates how later rulers used monuments and images to engage with the model of kingship put forth by the Akkadian kings, whether through emulation or critique. This 'visual legacy' of the Akkadians complements the better-known 'textual legacy' that appears in royal inscriptions and legendary texts narrating the deeds of the two most famous Akkadian kings, Sargon and Naram-Sin. Chapter I defines the Akkadian model of kingship according to the subjects and forms of Akkadian statues, steles, and related artifacts and inscriptions. It then reviews the ways later rulers could access Akkadian monuments, citing both textual and archaeological evidence. The remaining chapters investigate royal images from the 'Neo-Sumerian' through Old Babylonian periods for indications of attitudes toward the Akkadian kings. Chapter H compares three contemporaneous reactions to the Akkadian model at Lagag, Ur, and Susa in the period immediately following the collapse of the Akkadian dynasty. Chapter III measures visual evidence to test the alleged revival of Akkadian kingship ideals at Ashur, Esnuna, and the kingdom of Samsi-Adad in the early second millennium BCE. The final section, chapter IV, considers the legacy of one Akkadian motif, the image of a victorious king standing atop his enemy, in reference to a set of rock reliefs in the Zagros Mountains that date to the late third and early second millennia BCE.