Akitu

Akitu (or Akītum; Sumerian ezen á-ki-tum, akiti-šekinku (á-ki-ti-še-gur₁₀-ku₅) "cutting of barley", akiti-šununum "sowing of barley", Babylonian akitu, also rêš-šattim "head of the year") was a spring festival in ancient Mesopotamia.

The name is from the Sumerian for "barley", originally marking two festivals celebrating the beginning of each of the two half-years of the Sumerian calendar, marking the sowing of barley in autumn and the cutting of barley in spring. In Babylonian religion it came to be dedicated to Marduk's victory over Tiamat.