A Student’s Vocabulary of Akkadian in Assyrian Royal Inscriptions

Vocabulary acquisition is one of the most fundamental challenges in learning any language—ancient or modern. While many classical languages offer student-focused vocabulary resources, Akkadian has lacked such a tool despite its significance as a major language of the ancient world. Used by Babylonians and Assyrians for over two thousand years, Akkadian was the medium for everything from royal inscriptions to administrative records.

A Student’s Vocabulary of Akkadian in Assyrian Royal Inscriptions fills this critical gap. Designed for students of Assyriology and biblical studies, this volume presents Akkadian vocabulary organized by frequency within the Assyrian Royal Inscriptions—one of the most commonly taught and broadly representative corpora of the language. This frequency-based approach allows learners to prioritize the most essential terms, accelerating reading fluency and comprehension. In addition, the volume includes valuable reference tools: logogram lists, divine names, an Assyrian ruler chronology, an introduction to standard Babylonian phonology, an overview of verb classes, and a guide to pronominal suffixes. These features make the book not only an efficient vocabulary resource but also a practical companion for classroom use and self-study.

By focusing on the vocabulary most essential for comprehension and interpretation, this book facilitates quicker access to the complex syntax and rich historical content of royal inscriptions. For students seeking to move beyond grammar and into confident, independent reading, this vocabulary guide provides a much-needed bridge—bringing the language of kings within reach.

“This Student’s Vocabulary offers a well-structured approach to learning and memorizing the vocabulary used in Assyrian royal inscriptions. Since it is organized according the frequency of attestations for each word, students will quickly make progress in their ability to read and understand texts from this fascinating corpus—and therefore will soon start enjoying their reading. And since the most frequently used words are also frequent in other corpora, this Student’s Vocabulary also facilitates the approach to other Akkadian corpora as well and consequently will prove helpful for any student of Akkadian.”—Frauke Weiershäuser, coauthor of The Royal Inscriptions of Nabopolassar (625-605 BC) and Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC), Kings of Babylon, Part 1

T. E. Kelley teaches in the Religion Department at the University of Georgia.

Raleigh Heth is Assistant Teaching Professor in Purdue University’s Cornerstone Integrated Liberal Arts Program and is affiliated with the Religious Studies, Jewish Studies, and Foreign Language departments at Purdue.

Preface

Acknowledgments

List of Abbreviations

How to Use This Book

Methods and Editorial Policies

Chapter 1. Words Appearing More Than 600 Times

Chapter 2. Worlds Appearing Between 599 and 220 Times

Chapter 3. Worlds Appearing Between 219 and 125 Times

Chapter 4. Worlds Appearing Between 124 and 80 Times

Chapter 5. Worlds Appearing Between 79 and 50 Times

Chapter 6. Worlds Appearing Between 49 and 35 Times

Chapter 7. Worlds Appearing Between 34 and 26 Times

Chapter 8. Worlds Appearing Between 25 and 20 Times

Chapter 9. Worlds Appearing Between 19 and 15 Times

Chapter 10. Worlds Appearing Between 14 and 5 Times

Appendix A: Pronominal Suffixes

Appendix B: Standard Babylonian Phonology

Appendix C: Verb Vowel Classes

Appendix D: Logogram List 1 (Sumerian- Akkadian)

Appendix E: Logogram List 2 (Akkadian- Sumerian)

Appendix F: List of Divine Names

Appendix G: Chronology of Assyrian Rulers

Appendix H: Other Views of the Data

References

Download a PDF sample chapter here: Introduction