Hittite sack of Babylon ends the Old Babylonian dynasty
- Date
- c. 1595 BCE
- Category
- Military & conflict
- Region
- Mesopotamia (Iraq)
- Era
- Ancient Civilizations
- Significance
The Hittite king Mursili I led a long-range raid down the Euphrates, defeated Aleppo, and sacked Babylon, overthrowing Samsu-ditana, the last king of Hammurabi's First Dynasty, and carrying off the statue of the city-god Marduk.
The Hittites did not occupy Mesopotamia and soon withdrew, but the blow shattered Old Babylonian power and opened a period of instability from which the Kassites, a people of uncertain origin already present in the region, emerged to take control of Babylon. The ensuing Kassite dynasty ruled Babylonia for some four centuries (c. 1595–1155 BCE), the longest in its history, ushering in the 'Middle Babylonian' era. The Kassites stabilised the south, standardised land grants on inscribed boundary stones (kudurru), restored temples, and made Babylon a respected great power within the Late Bronze Age diplomatic system of the Near East.
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Empires active in c. 1595 BCE
- Old Babylonian Empire1894 BCE – 1595 BCE
- Hittite Empire1650 BCE – 1178 BCE
- Shang Dynasty1600 BCE – 1046 BCE
- Elamite Kingdom2700 BCE – 539 BCE
Related military & conflict events
- Battle of Mingtiao and the Founding of the Shang Dynastyc. 1600 BCE
- Thutmose I Conquers Kush and Destroys Kermac. 1500 BCE
- Battle of Megiddo under Thutmose IIIc. 1457 BCE
- Late Bronze-Age Collapse and the Sea Peoplesc. 1177 BCE
- Battle of Kadesh between Egypt and the Hittitesc. 1274 BCE
- Battle of Muye and the Zhou Conquest of Shangc. 1046 BCE
Further reading
The wider story
King Hammurabi of Babylon: A Biography
Accessible life of the great lawgiver-king.
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