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Chronicle III of XII

The Old Babylonian & Assyrian Age

Ancient Mesopotamia

Hammurabi's Babylon, the traders of Assur, and the archives of Mari.

Span
2000 – 1595 BC
Entries
9
The upper relief of the Code of Hammurabi stele, now in the Louvre
Frontispiece · The upper relief of the Code of Hammurabi stele, now in the LouvreVia Wikimedia Commons
  1. 1920 BC

    Old Assyrian PeriodCultural

    The traders of Assur

    Merchants from the northern city of Assur run a caravan network deep into Anatolia, leaving thousands of business letters in clay.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
  2. 1894 BC

    First Dynasty of BabylonPolitical

    The founding of Babylon's dynasty

    The Amorite chief Sumu-abum makes Babylon, until now a minor town, the seat of an independent kingdom.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
  3. 1808 BC

    Old Assyrian PeriodPolitical

    Shamshi-Adad's northern kingdom

    Shamshi-Adad I conquers Assur and much of upper Mesopotamia, forging the first Assyrian kingdom.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
  4. 1792 BC

    First Dynasty of BabylonPolitical

    Hammurabi takes the throne

    Hammurabi becomes king of a still-modest Babylon and begins a patient rise among the warring powers of the plain.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
  5. 1780 BC

    First Dynasty of BabylonCultural

    The archives of Mari

    At the Euphrates city of Mari, King Zimri-Lim's palace keeps a vast diplomatic archive that lights up the whole age.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
  6. 1763 BC

    First Dynasty of BabylonMilitary

    Hammurabi conquers Mesopotamia

    In a few swift years Hammurabi crushes Larsa, Eshnunna, and Mari, uniting the land under Babylon for the first time.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
  7. 1754 BC

    First Dynasty of BabylonCultural

    The Code of Hammurabi

    Hammurabi has nearly three hundred laws carved on a great stone stele, crowned by an image of the king before the god of justice.

    The upper relief of the Code of Hammurabi stele, now in the Louvre
    The upper relief of the Code of Hammurabi stele, now in the Louvre · Via Wikimedia Commons
    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
  8. 1740 BC

    First Dynasty of BabylonReligious

    Marduk and the decline of the dynasty

    Under Hammurabi's son Samsu-iluna the empire frays as the south revolts and the Sealand breaks away.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3

  9. 1 more entry, to 1595 BC