Editing Akkadian literature (section)

==Literature in Akkadian society==
Most of what we have from the Assyrians and Babylonians was inscribed in [[cuneiform (script)|cuneiform]] with a metal stylus on tablets of clay, called ''laterculae coctiles'' by [[Pliny the Elder]];  [[papyrus]] seems to have also been utilised, but not been preserved.<ref name=EB1911/>

There were libraries in most towns and temples in Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia; an old [[Sumer]]ian proverb averred that "he who would excel in the school of the scribes must rise with the dawn." Women as well as men learned to read and write, and after the time the Sumerians themselves had been absorbed by the Semites circa 2000 BC, this involved a knowledge of the extinct [[Sumerian language]], and a complicated and extensive syllabary. The Assyrians and Babylonians' very advanced systems of writing, science, medicine, civil administration, legal and economic structures and mathematics contributed greatly to their literary output.<ref name=EB1911/>

Many works of Akkadian literature were commissioned by kings who had scribes and scholars in their service. Some of these works served to celebrate the king or the divine, while others recorded information for religious practices or medicine. Poetry, proverbs, folktales, love lyrics, military campaigns and accounts of disputes were all incorporated into Akkadian literature.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lenzi |first=Alan |url= |title=An Introduction to Akkadian Literature: Contexts and Content |date=2020-01-10 |publisher=Penn State Press |isbn=978-1-64602-030-0 |language=en |chapter=Introduction}}</ref>