The Adaption of Akkadian into Cuneiform

The written history of the Ancient Near East began when cuneiform was invented, ca 3200 BCE. Cuneiform became a very adaptable writing system that was attested in various forms for nearly three millennia. Cuneiform was created to represent the language isolate of Sumerian and its first adaptation was into the Semitic language of Eblaite. However the most successful adaptation of the cuneiform writing system occurred with Akkadian. Old Akkadian was adapted into cuneiform around 2350 BCE. The adaptation of cuneiform to Akkadian is intricately connected to the respect the Akkadian/Semitic speaking scribes felt cuneiform deserved. Old Akkadian cuneiform takes into account the rebus principle that Sumerian scribes had used to expand their sign repertoire to be able to represent their language’s grammatical features. In Old Akkadian this creates a complex system of sign meanings. Old Akkadian’s linguistic descendents eventually became the lingua franca of the Near East with the last known cuneiform inscription dating to 75 CE in a late dialect of Akkadian. Besides Sumerian and Akkadian, cuneiform was successfully adapted for Elamite, Hurrian, Urartian, and Hittite. These languages, with the exception of Hurrian and Urartian, were not related to one another and belonged to different linguistic families. This speaks to the malleability of the cuneiform writing system and the admiration and respect it commanded throughout the Ancient Near East.