The pre-eminent figure of the Old Babylonian period (c.2000 to 1595 BC) was undoubtedly Hammurabi. He was the sixth member of the first dynasty of Babylon, and inherited a modest but secure state around 1792 BC.
At first a vassal of king Shamsi-Adad I of Assyria, through brilliant diplomatic manoeuvring and successful military exchanges with rival city-states such as Uruk, Isin, Larsa, Eshnunna and Mari, Hammurabi made Babylon the dominant power over all the Mesopotamian plain and regions as far north as Mari and Ashur.
The Age of Hammurabi is considered the 'classical' period of Babylonian history, for a distinctive Babylonian culture emerged during his reign.
While an imperial political and administrative structure developed under Hammurabi, there was a clear continuity from the previous Sumerian civilization in religion, law, science and the arts. Sumerian literature in particular was meticulously copied out and studied, while Sumerian became the language of priests and scholars.
The distinctive features of Babylonian civilization, however, were the shift of political power from south to north and the replacement of the Sumerian and Old Akkadian, dialects in both written and spoken forms, by Akkadian.
Hammurabi was also a great builder of temples and canals. Such was Hammurabi's influence that by the time of his death in 1750 BC, Babylon had come to be regarded as the natural capital of southern Mesopotamia.
