Kingdoms of Mesopotamia - Babylon / Babylonia


Babylonian Empire (Old Babylonian Period) / Dynasty I c.1792 - 1595 BC The small Amorite kingdom which was centered on the city of Babylon was probably founded about a century after the collapse of Sumer in circa 2004 BC. Lying in the region of Akkad, it was known as Babil by the Sumerians and Bab-ilim by the Akkadians, and had existed as little more than a village since at least 2700 BC. In circa 1897 BC, an Amorite prince called Sumu-Abum took advantage of the period of anarchy in Mesopotamia following the collapse of Ur, and settled in Babil. So as not to draw attention to himself, he continued the worship of a small local god; a secondary divinity of the family of Enki named Marduk (or Amar UTU), the servant of the protective god Shamash, son of Sippar. Marduk was soon going to replace the great god Enlil, and become the god of power, war, sex and domination, ideal for a city that, within little over a century, would dominate all of Mesopotamia. Babylon played its own part in the flowering of knowledge in the eighteenth and seventeenth centuries BC. The Code of Hammurabi was one of the most important documents in Babylon's history. It was a series of laws which emphasised the pursuit of justice, especially in relation to business transactions, and it set the form for later law codes. All dates for this period are approximate until the eighth century BC. This list follows the (until recently) most generally accepted middle chronology for dating rulers, although there are three other competing models. The newly in-favour short chronology dates the Old Babylonians to sixty-four years later than is shown here.
	Cush?	Legendary great-grandson of Noah.
fl c.1900 BC	Nimrod? / Nebrod?	Son. Possible founder of Babylon.
	The Biblical Nimrod is credited in Genesis as having a kingdom which includes "Babel (Babylon), and Erech, and Accad (Akkad), and Calneh (identity uncertain), in the land of Shinar (Sumer). The Book of Jubilees mentions the name in its Greek form, Nebrod, as being the father of Azurad, the wife of Eber and mother of Peleg. This account would therefore make him an ancestor of the Israelite leader, Abraham, who, seven generations later, departs from Ur in c.1752 BC. As Abraham can be dated approximately, so too can Nimrod. Nimrod's imperial ventures (and name) as described in Genesis may be based on the conquests of the Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I (1244-1207 BC).
	Although records are sketchy and imprecise, the Amorites of Babylon seem to emerge approximately a century after the collapse of Sumer when Sumuabum frees the city from the domination of nearby Kazallu. The first five rulers of Babylon (sometimes called Akkad, which is the region in which it is located), ensure its survival, but at first they acquire little territory outside that which they already possess - a few towns in the surrounding land.
c.1897 - 1883 BC	Su-abu / Suum-abum / Sumuabum	Freed Babylon from the rule of Kazallu.
	The first Babylonian king starts out as a minor Amorite leader who seizes the town from Kazallu and declares its independence. He begins his reign with the construction of a great city wall, which is still unfinished at his death, after he is driven into exile in Der by Manana of Kish.
c.1883 - 1847 BC	Sumula-ilum / Sumu-la-el	Sacked Kish and Kazallu.
c.1847 - 1832 BC	Sabium / Sabum	Killed Silli-Adad of Larsa.
c.1832 - 1812 BC	Apil-sin
c.1830 BC	Eshnunna extends its territory considerably into northern Babylonia under the reign of Naramsin.
c.1812 - 1793 BC	Sin-muballit	Defeated by Rim-Sin of Larsa.
	By the time of Hammurabi's accession to the throne, the kings of Babylon had begun to enlarge the state's borders by conquering the Amorite cities of Dilbat, Borsippa, Kish, and Sippar. If it didn't already also control Kazallu from c.1861 BC, it certainly does so by this time.
c.1792 - 1750 BC	Hammurabi	Son. Established the empire.
c.1787 BC	Increasing the state's size and strength considerably, Hammurabi attacks and defeats the Amorite city state of Isin.
c.1784 BC	The city state of Malgum is seized.
c.1764 BC	A major invasion by a coalition army of Elamites, Assyrians, Gutians and Eshnunnians is defeated and crushed, and Hammurabi retaliates against Elam.
c.1763 BC	Hammurabi attacks and defeats the Amorite city state of Larsa for its failure to provide any real assistance in the allied effort to beat back the growing threat of the powerful Elamites. The victory gives him control of the entire lower Mesopotamian plain, which includes Nippur, Ur, Uruk, and Isin. The Elamites become vassals of Babylonia, as does Ekallatum.
c.1762 BC	The Babylonians capture the only remaining political power to oppose them when they take Eshnunna, inheriting well-established trade routes and economic stability.
c.1761 BC	The kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia and its Assyrian subjects is crushed, gaining yet more economic strength from the important conquest. Mari, a minor ally against Assyria, is also taken, the last opposition which wins Hammurabi control of virtually all of former Sumerian Mesopotamia. During this period, and perhaps due to this dominance, the city of Kisurra declines.
c.1752 BC	Two Semitic Israelite leaders, Terah and Abraham, lead their tribe of people out of Ur towards Canaan, following the curve of the Fertile Crescent.
c.1750 - 1712 BC	Samsu-Iluna	Son.
c.1741 - 1736 BC	Many city states have been revolting against Babylonian rule since the death of Hammurabi, and many free themselves from the empire, despite hard fighting by Samsu-Illuna. Terqa is attacked and perhaps annexed, but Rim-Sin II of Larsa now revolts against his rule, aided by Anni of Eshnunna.
c.1732 BC	The Kassite peoples have been migrating into Mesopotamia, mostly being used as farm workers by Babylon. Akkadians claiming descent from Isin now set up their own territory in southern Mesopotamia's Sealand region, removing it from the control of the Amorites to their north. Two years later, in 1730 BC, Sealand defeats an invading army of Kassites which then sets up a kingdom in the remnants of Mari.
c.1722 BC	Samsu-Iluna defeats two otherwise unknown and hostile kings, Iadikhabum and Muti-khurshana, both of whom bear western names.
c.1712 - 1684 BC	Abi-eshuh / Abieshu	Son.
c.1684 - 1647 BC	Ammi-ditana	Son.
	Babylon is able to regain the cities of Uruk, Isin, Lagash and Larsa from Sealand.
c.1647 - 1626 BC	Ammi-zaduga / Ammisaduqa	Son.
c.1626 - 1595 BC	Samsu-ditana / Samsuditana
c.1595 BC	The Babylonian Empire has been steadily declining following the arrival of the Hittites in the region, and due to over-farming of the fields, leading to increased salinisation and failing crops. The culture of the Hittites emerges, as does that of the Hurrian Empire of Mitanni. In c.1595 BC the Hittite ruler Mursili I leads his army down the Euphrates and sacks Babylon. The power vacuum allows the Kassites to take over control of Babylonia.


Sealand Kings of Babylonia (�E�-KU) / Dynasty II c.1732 - 1460 BC The second dynasty of Babylonian rulers did not actually rule in Babylon itself, but instead held former Sumer's southern area, a region known by the Babylonians as Sealand, which was gradually expanding southwards due to the silting up of the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates. Ruled by these Akkadian people, it may have stretched as far as the Persian Gulf and the border of Elam, across Arabia, to the Red Sea. Records regarding Sealand are extremely sparse, with no dates being known and even the lengths of rule being uncertain for some kings. Dates here are calculated against those lengths of rule and external events. The names are regarded as fanciful by some scholars - a vain attempt to lead a Sumerian revival.
c.1732 - 1700 BC	Iluma-Ilum / Iliman	Established the dynasty.
c.1732 BC	Iluma-Ilum claims (falsely, it seems) to be a descendent of Damiq-Ilishu, the last ruler of Isin. He claims the independence of Sumer from the Babylonian Empire and ultimately gains the freedom of Sumer south of Nippur, founding the Dynasty of the Sealand. He also frees Kish from Elamite control.
c.1715 BC	An invading Kassite army is crushed by Iluma-Ilum. Abi-eshuh of Babylon attempts to defeat him but he flees to the swamps and continues to rule.
c.1700 - 1683 BC	Itti-ili-nibi
c.1683 - 1657 BC	Damiq-ilishu
	Damiq-ilishu loses Uruk, Isin, Lagash and Larsa to Babylon.
c.1657 - 1642 BC	Ishkibal
c.1642 - 1618 BC	Shushushi
c.1618 - 1592 BC	Gulkishar
c.1592 - 1580 BC	Gishen?	Name questionable as the list tablet is damaged.
c.1580 - 1530 BC	Peshgaldaramash
c.1530 - 1502 BC	Adarakalamma
c.1502 - 1476 BC	Ekurduanna
c.1476 - 1469 BC	Melamkurkukka
c.1469 - 1460 BC	Ea-g�mil
c.1460 BC	Ea-gamil is overthrown by Ulamburiash. Sealand falls to the Kassites, and is absorbed into Babylonia (although the evidence for this is much later and very vague).


Kassite Kings of Babylonia / Dynasty III c.1595 - 1157 BC The Kassites were another non-Semitic, non-Indo-European mountain people just like the Amorites, and their language matches nothing else known today. They invaded Babylonia in the eighteenth century BC and although initially defeated, they retired to Mari from where they eventually took over Babylonia, ruling over it and the Amorite peoples. In fact, the Kassites had the longest period of rule in Babylonia. Thanks to the relative absence of information, they were long thought to have achieved little in the way of cultural development. However, it now appears that the kingdom made great strides in cementing the cultural unification of southern Mesopotamia - which in their time truly became "Babylonia," instead of just another Mesopotamian city state with extensive possessions - and those possessions stretched all the way southwards to Bahrain. Egypt's Amarna archive holds Babylonian diplomatic correspondence, which gives us much more information about Babylonian kings than Babylonian records themselves. Known by their neighbours as the "kings of the land of Karduniash" (possibly the Kassite name for Babylonia), the Kassites themselves achieved political power but did not have a cultural impact on the region. In some Assyrian sources, the ruler was termed "king of the Kassites", reflecting the dual nature of Kassite rule; holding political power but sufficiently distinct from the rest of the population to be regarded as a separate group.
c.1730 BC	Gandash	Kassite leader when they arrived in Babylonia.
c.1715 BC	The invading Kassite army under Gandash is crushed by Iluma-Ilum of the Sealand Dynasty. However, Gandash does successfully conquer Mari, and the Kassite kings reside there.

c.1595 BC	The economically weakened Amorite Babylonian Empire is sacked by the Hittites, and is left leaderless, allowing the Kassites to move south from Mari and take over (although the exact date at which this happens is unknown). A dark age period follows and lasts approximately two centuries. At around the same time it seems that the Kassites devastate Elam.
c.1595 - 1545 BC	Agum II	The first Kassite king of Babylonia.
c.1545 - ? BC	Burnaburiash I
	Kashtiliash III
c.1520 BC	Elam plunders Akkad's temples.
	Ulamburiash	Brother. Lord of the "Sealand" from c.1460 BC.
c.1460 BC	Sealand falls to the Kassites, and is absorbed into Babylonia.
	Agum III
	Kadashman-Harbe I
	Karaindash
? - 1391 BC	Kurigalzu I	Died 1377.
	Kurigalzu I rebuilds the temple at Ur, and constructs a new capital city, named Dur-Kurigalzu, "fortress of Kurigalzu", in the far north of Babylonia.
1391 - 1375 BC	Kadashman-Enlil I	A correspondent in the Egyptian Armana letters.
1375 - 1347 BC	Burnaburiash II	A correspondent in the Egyptian Armana letters.
	In the Egyptian Armana letters, Burnaburiash claims supremacy over the Assyrians. Whether this had ever been a fact, it is certainly not a realistic claim by this point. Burnaburiash even marries a daughter of the Assyrian king, Assur-Uballit I, as his main wife. A comprehensive archive is kept at Nippur from this point.
1347 - 1345 BC	Karahardash	Son. m.dau of the Assyrian king. Murdered.
1345 BC	The Kassite king is happy to marry a daughter of the powerful Assyrian king, Ashur-Uballit I, but the marriage leads to the Kassite faction at court murdering the Babylonian king and placing Nazibugash, a pretender, on the throne. Assur-Uballit promptly marches into Babylonia to avenge his son-in-law. He raises Kurigalzu, a Kassite of the royal house, to the throne.
1345 BC	Nazibugash	Pretender. (Not in the Georges Roux list.)
1345 - 1324 BC	Kurigalzu II	Raised by Ashur-Uballit I of Assyria.
1323 - 1298 BC	Nazimaruttash
c.1320 BC	The Kassites briefly occupy Elam.
1297 - 1280 BC	Kadashman-Turgu
1279 - 1265 BC	Kadashman-Enlil II
1265 - 1255 BC	Kudur-Enlil
1255 - 1243 BC	Shagarakti-Shuriash
1243 - 1235 BC	Kashtiliash IV	Taken in chains to Assyria. The Nippur archive is ended.
1235 - 1227 BC	The Kassites are conquered by Assyria and direct rule by Assyria lasts for eight years. Kassite subject states in Canaan become vulnerable to later attacks by the Israelites.
c.1230 BC	The Kassites are defeated in battle by Elam. In two successive Elamite campaigns, Nippur is taken and Isin is attacked.
1227 - 1224 BC	Enlil-nadin-shumi	Assyrian puppet.
1223 BC	Kadashman-Harbe II	Assyrian puppet.
1222 - 1217 BC	Adad-shuma-iddina	Assyrian puppet.
1217 BC	A Kassite rebellion throws off Assyrian control.
1216 - 1187 BC	Adad-shuma-usur
1186 - 1172 BC	Melishipak / Meli-Shipak
1171 - 1159 BC	Marduk-apal-iddina I
1158 BC	Zababa-shuma-iddina
c.1158 - 1155 BC	The overthrow of the Kassites in Babylon is achieved by the Elamites. Babylon itself falls in 1157. The Elamites control Babylonia for three years in a short-lived empire.
1158 - 1155 BC	Kutir-Nahhunte	Son of Shutruk-Nahhunte of Elam and his successor there.
1157 - 1155 BC	Enlil-nadin-ahhe / Enlil-Shuma-Usur	Possibly fights on against Elam.


Kassite Kings of Babylonia / Dynasty IV (Isin Dynasty II) 1156 - 1025 BC The Akkadian city state of Isin had been conquered by Babylonia (or Karduniash, as it was known by the Kassites) in around 1787 and 1763 BC. Following invasions by the Elamites, the Babylonians rallied around the Isin nobility, which reclaimed the throne and strengthened it, although the country itself slid into a general decline. The whole region, from the Hittites in Anatolia, to Egypt, Syria and the Levant, and Assyria, was at this time in the grip of a dark age resulting from the general instability of the start of the century, and a new people, the Aramaeans, were migrating into the surrounding countryside, exacerbating the situation. A major regional drought made the situation even worse.
1156 - 1146 BC	Marduk-kabit-ahheshu
1146 - 1132 BC	Itti-Marduk-balatu
c.1138 BC	After years of raiding and plundering the country at will, the Elamites are finally expelled from Babylonia.
1132 - 1126 BC	Ninurta-nadin-shumi
1126 - 1103 BC	Nebuchadnezzar / Nebuchadrezzar I
c.1120 BC	Nebuchadnezzar puts an end to Elamite prosperity by sacking the capital and kingdom. The kingdom falls and becomes part of Babylonia's territories.
1103 - 1100 BC	Enlil-nadin-apli
1100 - 1082 BC	Marduk-nadin-ahhe
1082 - 1069 BC	Marduk-shapik-zeri
1069 - 1046 BC	Adad-apla-iddina
1046 BC	Marduk-ahhe-eriba	(Not in the Georges Roux list.)
1046 - 1033 BC	Marduk-zer-X
1033 - 1025 BC	Nabu-shum-libur


Kassite Kings of Babylonia / Dynasty V (Sealand Dynasty II) 1024 - 1004 BC
1024 - 1008 BC	Simbar-shipak
1008 BC	Ea-mukin-shumi	(Not in the Georges Roux list.)
1008 - 1004 BC	Kashu-nadi-ahhe	(Not in the Georges Roux list.)


Kassite Kings of Babylonia / Dynasty VI (Bazi Dynasty) 1004 - 985 BC As semi-nomadic groups before they settled, the Kassites were organised in family and tribal units which were named as "House of so-and-so" (Akkadian Bit + the name of a person, usually an ancestor). After they lost political control of Babylonia, the Kassites remained there and in neighbouring areas, and maintained their organisational houses with ancestral Kassite names. These remained the administrative units of some areas after the disappearance of the dynasty.
1004 - 987 BC	Eulma shakin-shumi
987 - 985 BC	Ninurta-kudurri-usur I	(Not in the Georges Roux list.)
985 BC	Shiriqti-shuqamunu	(Not in the Georges Roux list.)


Elamite Kings of Babylonia / Dynasty VII 985 - 979 BC
985 - 979 BC	Mar-b�ti-apla-us.ur


Uncertain Kings of Babylonia / Dynasty VIII 979 - 748 BC The situation in Babylonia had become extremely confused by this time, with various Kassite, Babylonian, and Chaldaean groups vying for power, as well as some individuals who claimed distant Elamite descent. Most of those who secured the throne achieved very little in the face of such a politically fragmented state.
977 - 943 BC	Nabu-mukin-apli
971 - 970 BC	Festivals are suspended in Babylonia due to Aramaean invasions.
943 BC	Ninurta-kudurri-usur II	Son.
942 - c.920 BC	Mar-biti-ahhe-iddina	Brother. Some lists mark this as the start of Dynasty IX.
c.920 - 900 BC	Shamash-mudammiq
899? - 888? BC	Nabu-shuma-ukin
887? - 855 BC	Nabu-apla-iddina
854 - 819 BC	Marduk-zakir-shumi I
853 BC	Assyrian overlordship of Babylonia begins as Shalmaneser III extends the empire to southern Mesopotamia.
819 - 813 BC	Marduk-balassu-iqbi
813 - 811 BC	Baba-aha-iddina
811 - c.800 BC	(Five unknown rulers)
c.800 - c.790 BC	Ninurta-apla-X
c.790 - 780 BC	Marduk-bel-zeri
c.780 - 769 BC	Marduk-apla-usur
769 - 761 BC	Eriba-Marduk
760 - 748 BC	Nabu-shuma-ishkun
748 BC	Mixed Kassite/Babylonian rule of Babylonia comes to an end. The Chaldaeans become players in Mesopotamian politics, seizing Babylon itself in 734 BC.


Chaldaean Kings of Babylonia / Dynasty IX (& X) 734 - 627 BC Babylonia's Dynasty IX saw the replacement of the mixture of Kassite, Babylonian and Chaldaean rulers, and it is from this point that Babylonian chronology can be securely dated thanks to Claudius Ptolemy's second century AD Canon of Kings, a collection of astronomical observations passed down by Hellenistic Babylonian priests, as well as other sources.
747 - 734 BC	(Nabonassar) Nabu-nasir	The earliest certain regnal date in Babylonia.
734 BC	The Chaldaeans occupy Babylon.
734 - 732 BC	Nabu-nadin-zeri	(Not in the Georges Roux list.)
732 BC	Nabu-shuma-ukin II	(Not in the Georges Roux list.)
732 - 721 BC	Nabu-mukin-zeri / Nadios
729 - 722 BC	Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria rules Babylonia direct until 727 BC, and then his successor, Shalmaneser V, does the same.
722 - 710 BC	Marduk-apla-iddina II	Biblical Merodach-Baladan or Berodach-baladan. Usurper.
720 BC	Assyrian king Sargon attempts to attack Elam but is defeated by the Elamites and Babylonians near Der.
710 - 703 BC	Merodach-Baladan is a Chaldaean prince who usurps the throne with the aid of Syria and Philistia, and has dealings with Hezekiah of Judah at around the same time. Sargon II of Assyria eventually drives out the usurper and rules Babylonia direct during the remainder of his lifetime. Sennacherib rules direct for two years afterwards.
703 BC	Marduk-zakir-shumi II
703 BC	Marduk-apla-iddina II	Restored.
?703 BC	Merodach-Baladan retakes Babylonia, strengthening the Chaldaean Empire. During his rule he also has dealings with Hezekiah of Judea.
	Marduk-apla-idinna III	Reign unconfirmed.
702 - 700 BC	Bel-bini / Bel-ibni
699 - 694 BC	Ashur-nadin-shumi
694 BC	Elam captures Babylon and Ashur-nadin-shumi himself.
694 - 693 BC	Nergal-ushezib	(Name not in the Georges Roux list.)
693 - 689 BC	Mushezib-Marduk
689 - 680 BC	Assyria sacks Babylon and rules it direct, but the ruler responsible, Sennacherib, is killed by his sons in 681 BC for the act.
680 - 669 BC	One of those sons, Essarhaddon of Assyria, rules Babylonia direct, rebuilding Babylon in the 670s.
669 BC	One of Essarhaddon's sons, Shamash-shumi-ukin, rules Babylonia on a semi-independent basis, but local rule returns to the Chaldaeans, although still under Assyrian overlordship.
669 - 649 BC	Shamash-shumi-ukin	Son of Esarhaddon of Assyria.
647 - 627 BC	Kandalanu
629 - 609 BC	During the collapse of the Assyrian Empire, Babylonia regains its freedom by aiding in the destruction of its former overlords, but at the expense of the Assyrian vassal kings in Babylonia, who quickly lose all power. The Neo-Babylonian Empire is born under the leadership of Nabopolasser's Chaldaeans.
626 BC	Sin-shumu-lishi	Ruled parts, including Babylon. (Not in the Georges Roux list.)
c.627 - 620 BC	Sinsharishkun	Quickly lost all of Babylonia. (Not in the Georges Roux list.)


Neo-Babylonian Empire (Chaldaean / Aramaean) / Dynasty X (XI) Of The Chaldaeans 629 - 539 BC The Chaldaean Babylonians were, once the Assyrian Empire had collapsed, the last great group of Semitic peoples. They had ruled Babylonia under Assyrian overlordship for about a century and a half, but did not gain true power until the Assyrians were ripe for defeat. They followed the established Assyrian practice of forcing captive peoples to migrate en-masse. Unfortunately, Babylon never quite quashed pro-Assyrian feeling within its empire, and in 556 BC a pro-Assyrian king came to the throne, spelling disaster for the empire.
629 - 611 BC	Nabopolasser (Nab�aplaus.ur)	Chaldean.
626 - 612 BC	Nabopolasser begins a revolt against his weakened Assyrian overlords which ends with the sacking of Ninevah in 612 BC. Babylonia gains much of the former Assyrian territories, including Syria, but leaves those in the Iranian Plateau.
611 - 605 BC	Necho
608 BC	Necho deposes the king of Judah.
604 - 562 BC	Nebuchadnezzar II (Nab�kudurrius.ur)	Son of Nabopolasser. Took the western end of Assyria.
587 BC	The Babylonians conquer the Phoenicians and subjugate Judah. The Jewish Exile Period begins as thousands of their number are forced to move to Babylon. It is during this period that Nebuchadnezzar rebuilds a former temple as the Tower of Babel, carries out new construction work in the city of Ur, and excavates a great reservoir near Sippar. He also builds the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Wonders of the Ancient World, in order to assuage the homesickness of his bride for the mountains of Iran, where her father, the Median king Cyaxares, lived.
573 - 572 BC	Babylonia captures the city of Damascus and all of Phoenicia.
562 - 560 BC	Am�l Marduk / Evil-Merodach
560 - 556 BC	Nergalsharusur / Neriglissar
556 BC	Labashi Marduk
556 - 539 BC	Nabonidus (Nab�na'id)	Pro-Assyrian.
	Belshar-uzur / Bel-ŝarra-Uzur	Son. The Belshazzar of the Book of Daniel.
539 BC	Nabonidus angers the Babylonians by trying to reintroduce Assyrian culture, including placing the moon god Sin above Babylon's Marduk in terms of importance. The Babylonians prefer to invite Cyrus the Great of Persia to take command. On 13 October Babylon is occupied by Persia. Cyrus adopts an enlightened approach to his subjects, and allows the captive Judeans to return home.

Middle East Kingdoms

Mesopotamia