Akkadian, comprising the Babylonian, Assyrian and Old Akkadian dialects,
is the earliest known Semitic language, attested from the middle of the
3rd millenium B.C. until the time of Christ. It was widely adopted in
the ancient Near East as a written vehicle for scholarship, literature,
legal and diplomatic affairs. It is the language of the Epic of
Gilgamesh, the Code of Hammurapi, the inscriptions of the kings of
Assyria and Babylonia and countless legal and administrative documents.A
Concise Dictionary of Akkadian has been prepared for the convenience of
students and scholars on the basis of Wolfram von Sodens Akkadisches
Handworterbuch updated with reference to the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary
and other sources. It aims to include all certainly attested words with
variant forms, dialect and period distribution, logographic writings and
English meanings (but not textual citations). A list of roots assists in
tracking down the right entries.