About

Akkadica was first published in 1977 as the bimonthly journal of the Fondation Assyriologique / Assyriologische Stichting Georges Dossin, named in honour of the eminent Assyriologist Georges Dossin (1896-1983), widely regarded as the founding figure of Belgian Assyriology. The foundation—later renamed the Assyriological Centre Georges Dossin—was established in his honour by his students: Jean-Robert Kupper (1920-2009) of the University of Liège, André Finet (1921-2007) of the Free University of Brussels, Léon De Meyer (1928-2006) of Ghent University, and Denyse Homès-Fredericq (1934- ) of the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels.

In its early decades, Akkadica published excavation reports, editions of cuneiform texts, and scholarly studies on the history and cultures of Mesopotamia. In addition, the journal served as a forum for the international Assyriological community by reporting on ongoing projects, academic events, newly published research, and professional announcements.

From 2001 onwards, Akkadica shifted its focus exclusively to peer-reviewed scholarly articles and has since been published biannually. During this period, the journal was edited by Léon De Meyer and Denyse Homès-Fredericq; following De Meyer’s death in 2006, Michel Tanret joined the editorial team as editor. Since 2009, Akkadica has held the A1 quality label awarded by Thomson Reuters (now Clarivate Analytics) and has been indexed in the Arts & Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI).

In 2026, Akkadica entered a new phase as a diamond open-access journal, freely available online with no publication or reading fees. The journal is now published by a Ghent University–based editorial team, led by Katrien De Graef (Editor-in-Chief), with Gustav Ryberg Smidt and Mirko Surdi as Assistant Editors, and supported by an international editorial board of leading scholars in the archaeology, history, and languages of Western Asia.