The dynasty founded by Sargon in northern Mesopotamia c. 2371 B.C.E. also used to designate groups in the area who shared the Semitic languages, the Akkadians adopted the Sumerian cuneiform writing system and were represented culturally in Assyria and Babylon. The Akkadian language became the lingua franca of
Egypt’s vast empire in the New Kingdom Period (1550–1070 B.C.E.). The ’AMARNA LETTERS were written in Babylonian, a late form of the Akkadian language.
