Ancient Mesopotamian Warfare in Sumer and Akkad

Thanks to Curiosity Stream for sponsoring the video. Go to and enter the promo code ‘DanDavis’ for 25% off an annual plan. Warfare was an essential part of the Akkadian Empire, especially under its conquering founder Sargon, and his grandson the god-king Naram-Sin. Their armies were the source of their power. But they were not the first kings of Mesopotamia to wage war on their enemies. The city states of ancient Sumer clashed with one another for centuries before the rise of Akkad. But what did this early warfare look like? How were the forces raised, and how were they armed and armoured? Who led them, when and how often did they fight? This is the story of Mesopotamian warfare in ancient Sumer and Akkad. *If you enjoy my videos please consider supporting the channel* Patreon ➜ PayPal ➜ Ko-fi ➜ *My Books* Godborn: Gods of Bronze 1 ➜ All my books on Amazon ➜ *My Links* Website Facebook: Twitter: *Video Sources* Ancient Mesopotamia (Audio) - Amanda H. Podany ➜ Between the Rivers (Audio) - Alexis Q. Castor ➜ Sumer and the Sumerians - Harriet Crawford ➜ Armies of the Ancient Near East - Stillman & Allis ➜ Against the Grain - James C Scott ➜ The First Armies - James Doyne Dawson ➜ (The above links include affiliate links which means we will earn a small commission from your purchases at no additional cost to you which is a way to support the channel.) *Video Chapters* 00:00 Mesopotamian Warfare 01:25 Video Sponsorship 02:40 Ancient Mesopotamia 03:30 The Ubaid Period 04:30 Types of Evidence 07:23 Conflict in the Ubaid Period 09:16 Did conflict drive urbanisation in the Uruk Period? 12:11 Conflict in Uruk Expansion 15:21 Hamoukar - The First Siege? 21:54 Warfare in the Early Dynastic Period 22:48 The Stele of the Vultures 29:01 The Lagash - Umma Wars 35:16 The Standard of Ur 39:44 Lugal-zagesi the First Conqueror 42:40 Sargon of Akkad 50:26 Naram-sin