THE AGADE PERIOD: THE EUPHRATES ROUTELooking now to the traditional route northwards up the Euphrates, Sargon claimed
to have washed his weapons in the Upper Sea and to have conquered Mari and Ebla
(Frayne: E 1. 9. 1. 2 , 84 ) which suggests at least fleeting control of the Euphrates route
thus making the acquisition of copper and timber from Anatolia and the Levant easier
and more reliable. It also marks a change from the apparently peaceful contacts of the
Early Dynastic period with these cities. The destruction of Palace G at Ebla has been
attributed to Sargon, or to Naram-Sin, as has a destruction level at the Mari palace P 1.
He does not seem to have been active in the northeast, which seems to have become
one of the main points of entry for lapis lazuli which was trans-shipped perhaps via
Ebla and the Levantine ports as far as Egypt (Quenet 2008 : 268 ).
SUSA AND IRAN
Sargon also campaigned in the southeast and in the same inscription claims to have
conquered Elam and Parahsˇum. Susa seems to have become an Akkadian colony
governed by southern bureaucrats. Some of the other so-called conquests may have
been more in the nature of successful raids as his successors seem to have had to rely
on more and repeated military expeditions to maintain control and to keep the trade
routes open. Although Highland Iran may have suffered occasional incursions, it seems
to have remained largely independent (Potts D.T 1999 : 128 – 129 ). T. Potts has suggested
that booty rather than tribute or taxes became an important source of goods from
Highland Iran during the Agade period. Occasionally, ‘chlorite’ bowls belonging to
both the série ancienne,with elaborate decoration, and the série récente,with a simple
dot and circle design, and vessels of banded calcite, all probably of eastern origin, bear
dedicatory inscriptions of Rimush and Naram-Sin some of which specifically identify
the vessels as from the booty of Elam or Parahsˇum. Rimush also claims to have brought
back 30 minasof gold, 3 , 600 minasof copper and a number of slaves from Elam (Potts
T. 1989 : 285 ).
Unlike Sargon, Naram-Sin campaigned actively in the northeast as the rock reliefs,
such as that at Pir Hosseini bear witness. It can be suggested that these campaigns were
aimed at keeping the metal trade routes to the Iranian plateau open, in the face of
threats from tribesman such as the Lullubi who were eventually to help bring down the
dynasty. There are indications of shortages of some metals in Mesopotamia. The few
examples of Agade metalwork which have survived, such as the Bassetki statue, are of
superb quality, all the more so as they seem to be made of pure copper rather than
bronze, which is of course easier to cast. It is also interesting that, by contrast, Agade
weapons and tools from Ur, one of the largest collections we have, seem to be of poorer
quality than those of the Early Dynastic period, often made of copper rather than
bronze and with hammered tangs rather than cast sockets. Do these facts perhaps
reflect a shortage of raw materials and especially of tin? (Alternatively the weapons from
Ur, all from graves, may be inferior examples manufactured specifically as burial goods
which would not have to be used.)
On the other hand, Tepe Gawra, close to one such route onto the plateau, sees a
period of prosperity in level VI which, at least in part, dates to the Agade period. This
level has yielded evidence for copper working, weights and seals, both suggesting
–– Trade in the Sumerian world ––