Old Babylonian Empire

E212543

The Old Babylonian Empire was an ancient Mesopotamian state centered on the city of Babylon, reaching its peak under King Hammurabi in the 18th century BCE and becoming a major political and cultural power in the region.

All labels observed (17)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Bronze Age polity
ancient Mesopotamian state
historical empire
archaeologicalEvidenceFrom clay tablets
inscribed stelae
capital Babylon
centeredOn Babylon
chronologicalContext Middle Bronze Age
culturalInfluence spread of Babylonian law and culture
economyBasedOn agriculture
trade
endTime circa 1595 BCE
expandedOver central Mesopotamia
southern Mesopotamia
fallEvent Hittite sack of Babylon
fellTo Hittite king Mursili I
followedBy Kassite period
surface form: Kassite dynasty of Babylon

Kassite period
surface form: Middle Babylonian period
governmentType monarchy
includedCity Babylon
Eshnunna
Larsa
Mari
knownFor codification of laws
development of Old Babylonian dialect of Akkadian
literary texts and epics
territorial expansion in Mesopotamia
language Akkadian
legalCode Code of Hammurabi
legalTradition Mesopotamian law codes
locatedIn Mesopotamia
mainDeity Marduk
majorRuler Hammurabi
Samsu-iluna
Sin-Muballit
Sumu-abum
Sumu-la-El
militaryFeature city-state armies under royal command
partOf Ancient Near East
peakUnder Hammurabi
politicalStatus regional hegemon in Mesopotamia
precededBy Ur III dynasty
reachedPeakInCentury 18th century BCE
religion Mesopotamian polytheism
startTime circa 1894 BCE
timePeriod Old Babylonian Empire self-linksurface differs
surface form: Old Babylonian period
usedCalendar lunar calendar
usedScript Old Babylonian cuneiform
writingSystem cuneiform

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (64)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Mari archaeologicalCulture Old Babylonian Empire
this entity surface form: Old Babylonian period
Amorite language attestedIn Old Babylonian Empire
this entity surface form: Old Babylonian period
Amorite language historicalContext Old Babylonian Empire
this entity surface form: Old Babylonian kingdom of Hammurabi
Amorite dynasty of Larsa partOf Old Babylonian Empire
this entity surface form: Old Babylonian period
Amorite dynasty of Larsa followedBy Old Babylonian Empire
this entity surface form: Babylonian rule under Hammurabi
Sumu-abum culture Old Babylonian Empire
this entity surface form: Old Babylonian period
Sumu-abum timePeriod Old Babylonian Empire
this entity surface form: Old Babylonian period
Sumu-la-El era Old Babylonian Empire
this entity surface form: Old Babylonian period
Amorite dynasty of Mari flourishedInPeriod Old Babylonian Empire
this entity surface form: Old Babylonian period
Rim-Sin I culture Old Babylonian Empire
this entity surface form: Old Babylonian period
Amurru timePeriod Old Babylonian Empire
this entity surface form: Old Babylonian period
Old Elamite period sharesBorderWith Old Babylonian Empire
this entity surface form: Old Babylonian period Mesopotamia
Old Elamite period interactsWith Old Babylonian Empire
this entity surface form: Old Babylonian kingdoms
King of Babylon appliesToJurisdiction Old Babylonian Empire
this entity surface form: Babylonian Empire