First Babylonian Empire: A Visual History

The First Dynasty of Babylon (about 1894-1595 BC) was founded by Amorite chiefs who took the small town of Babylon; its sixth king Hammurabi (about 1792-1750) conquered Larsa, Eshnunna, Mari and Assyria to unite Mesopotamia and issued the famous law code with 282 judgments. Babylon became the religious and cultural capital of the south, and Marduk its chief god. Hammurabi's successors lost the far south to the Sealand dynasty and fought Kassites; in 1595 BC the Hittite king Mursili I raided down the Euphrates, sacked Babylon and carried off Marduk's statue, ending the dynasty. Kassite kings ruled Babylon for the next four centuries.

When it existed: the era ribbon

The bold bar is First Babylonian Empire. The lighter bars are empires and wars from the same era and the same part of the world. Click any bar to jump to its page.

Babylonian territory

Timeline of the First Babylonian Empire

1. 1,894 BC
   Sumu-abum founds the dynasty
2. 1,792 BC
   Hammurabi becomes king
3. 1,763 BC
   Larsa conquered
4. 1,761 BC
   Mari destroyed
5. 1,755 BC
   Law code issued
6. 1,750 BC
   Hammurabi dies
7. 1,720 BC
   Sealand dynasty breaks away
8. 1,595 BC
   Hittites sack Babylon

Amorite kings

After the fall of Ur III, Amorite dynasties ruled the cities of Mesopotamia; Sumu-abum took Babylon around 1894 BC. For a century Babylon was one small kingdom among Isin, Larsa, Eshnunna, Mari and Assyria. Hammurabi inherited it in 1792 and spent 30 years building alliances and canals before striking.

Hammurabi

Between 1764 and 1755 Hammurabi defeated Elam and Eshnunna, conquered Rim-Sin's Larsa and the whole south, destroyed his former ally Zimri-Lim of Mari and made Assyria a vassal. His stele, found at Susa in 1901 where the Elamites had taken it as loot, shows him receiving authority from Shamash above 282 case laws: 'if a man destroys the eye of another man, they shall destroy his eye', but with penalties graded by class. His letters show him managing canals, taxes and complaints personally.

Decline and the Hittite raid

Samsu-iluna faced revolts; the Sealand dynasty took the far south and Kassites appeared from the Zagros. Babylon's rule shrank to its region, though it kept prestige. In 1595 BC Mursili I marched 1,000 km down the Euphrates, sacked Babylon and withdrew with the statues of Marduk and his consort. The Kassites took over, ruling Babylonia for over 400 years and eventually retrieving Marduk.

Related empires and wars

Chosen automatically by overlap in time and geography, plus a few hand picked connections.

Empires of the same era and region

• Larsa (2,025 BC to 1,763 BC)
• Neo-Sumerian Empire (Ur III) (2,112 BC to 2,004 BC)
• Old Assyrian period (2,025 BC to 1,364 BC)
• Old Hittite Kingdom (1,650 BC to 1,500 BC)
• Elamite Empire (2,700 BC to 539 BC)
• Second Dynasty of Isin (1,157 BC to 1,026 BC)
• Neo-Babylonian Empire (626 BC to 539 BC)
• Middle Kingdom of Egypt (2,055 BC to 1,650 BC)
• Hyksos (1,650 BC to 1,550 BC)

8 surprising things about the First Babylonian Empire

1. Hammurabi's Code stele, 2.25 metres of black diorite, stands in the Louvre; it was found in Iran, not Iraq.
2. The Code is not the oldest law code; Ur-Nammu's is 300 years older, but Hammurabi's is the most complete.
3. 'An eye for an eye' applied only between social equals; a noble who blinded a commoner paid a fine.
4. The Code required a builder whose house collapsed and killed the owner to be put to death.
5. The Mari archive of 20,000 tablets, preserved because Hammurabi destroyed the palace, is the best source for his diplomacy.
6. Marduk's rise from minor city god to king of the gods tracks Babylon's rise under this dynasty.
7. The Hittite raid of 1595 BC was so far from home that Mursili's army had no way of holding the city; he simply left.
8. The Epic of Gilgamesh in its standard form was compiled in Old Babylonian times.

Sources

• Hammurabi Encyclopaedia Britannica
• First Babylonian Empire Wikipedia
• Babylon World History Encyclopedia
• Marc Van De Mieroop, King Hammurabi of Babylon (2005) Blackwell

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