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| Inscription in Akkadian on a brick-stamp of baked clay of King Sarkali-Sarri of the Akkadian dynasty, Nippur. From the Archaeological Museum's collection, Istanbul. Photo by CM Dixon/Print Collector/Getty Images |
The reign of Akkad is sometimes regarded as the first empire in history, as it developed a central government and elaborate bureaucracy to rule over a vast area comprising modern Iraq, Syria, parts of Iran and central Turkey.
Established around 4.600 years ago, it abruptly collapsed two centuries later as settlements were suddenly abandoned.
New research published in the journal Geology argues that shifting wind systems contributed to the demise of the empire.
The region of the Middle East is characterized by strong northwesterly winds known locally as shamals. This weather effect occurs one or more times a year. The resulting wind typically creates large sandstorms that impact the climate of the area.
To reconstruct the temperature and rainfall patterns of the area around the ancient metropolis of Tell-Leilan, the researchers sampled 4,600- to 3,000-year-old fossil Porites corals, deposited by an ancient tsunami on the northeastern coast of Oman.
The genus Porites builds a stony skeleton using the mineral aragonite (CaCO3). Studying the chemical and isotopic signatures of the carbon and oxygen used by the living coral, it is possible to reconstruct the sea-surface temperature conditions and so the precipitation and evaporation balance of a region located near the sea.
The fossil evidence shows that there was a prolonged winter shamal season accompanied by frequent shamal days lasting from 4.500 to 4.100 years ago, coinciding with the collapse of the Akkadian empire 4.400 years ago .
The impact of the dust storms and lack of rainfall would have caused major agricultural problems possibly leading to famine and social instability.
Weakened from the inside, the Akkadian Empire became an easy target to many opportunistic tribes living nearby.
Hostile invasions, helped by the shifting climate, finally brought an end to the first modern empire in history.
Links
- Oman corals suggest that a stronger winter shamal season caused the Akkadian Empire (Mesopotamia) collapse
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