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'''Akitu''' or '''Akitum''' (Sumerian and Chaldean language:&nbsp;{{sc|ezen á.ki.tum}}, ''akiti-šekinku'', {{sc|á.ki.ti.še.gur₁₀.ku₅}}, {{abbr|lit.|Literally}}&nbsp;"the barley-cutting",{{citation needed|date=February 2015}} ''akiti-šununum'', {{abbr|lit.|Literally}}&nbsp;"barley-sowing"; [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]]:&nbsp;''{{lang|akk-Latn|akitu}}'' or ''{{lang|akk-Latn|rêš-šattim}}'', "head of the year") was a [[spring festival]] in ancient [[Mesopotamia]].The Babylonian Akitu festival has played a pivotal role in the development of theories of religion, myth and ritual, yet the purpose of the festival remains a point of contention among both historians of religion and [[Chaldean]].<ref>The Chaldean Babylonian Akitu Festival: Rectifying the King or Renewing the Cosmos? (n.d.): n. pag. Web.</ref>

The name is from the Chaldean and 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]].