1. The Old Babylonian period: ( c. 1880–1595 bc )
‘The Old Babylonian period’ concentrates on Hammurabi’s dynasty, which belonged to one of the most powerful and widespread ethnic groups in the Near East: the Amorites. Hammurabi’s reign from 1793 marked the peak period in his dynasty’s tenure of power in the Near East, particularly in the middle Euphrates region and southern Mesopotamia, but it was Sumu-la-El (c.1880–1845) who founded the kingdom of Babylonia, building a royal palace and a great fortification wall around the city. Under Hammurabi’s five successors, all of whom had long reigns, the kingdom was to last another 155 years. But within a few years of the great man’s death, decline had set in.