amorite king hammurabi made the city of babylon the center of an empire.
who made the city of babylon the center of an empire?
amorite king hammurabi
the town became part of a small independent city-state with the rise of the first babylonian dynasty in the 19th century bc. after the amorite king hammurabi created a short-lived empire in the 18th century bc, he built babylon up into a major city and declared himself its king, and southern mesopotamia became known as babylonia and babylon eclipsed nippur as its holy city. the empire waned under hammurabi's son samsu-iluna and babylon spent long periods under assyrian, kassite and elamite domination. after being destroyed and then rebuilt by the assyrians, babylon became the capital of the short-lived neo-babylonian empire from 609 to 539 bc. the hanging gardens of babylon was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, although a number of scholars believe these were actually in the assyrian capital of nineveh. after the fall of the neo-babylonian empire, the city came under the rule of the achaemenid, seleucid, parthian, roman, and sassanid empires.
babylon
the profound political, social, and cultural influence imposed upon the near east by the civilization known as the ancient babylonian empire was the most pervasive in this historical period. the city itself, babylon, positioned itself as a center of pivotal historical developments for centuries. there were 3 major babylonian dynasties: amorite, kassite, and chaldean. this political entity was most predominate within the southern portion of mesopotamia. it existed as an unremitting rival of the northern assyrian mesopotamians. although it was assaulted and militarily overcome on several occasions, it did exist as a stalwart presence from the later 3rd millennium bc to the middle of the 6th century bc. after the fall of the assyrian empire in 612 bc, the babylonian empire was the most powerful state in the ancient world. its capital, babylon, was beautifully adorned by king nebuchadnezzar, who erected several famous buildings. even after the babylonian empire had been overthrown by the persian king cyrus the great in 539 bc, the city itself remained an important cultural center. this period would be considered the zenith of babylon's dominance in its two-and-a-half millennium history. ancient babylon was officially conquered by the achaemenid persian empire in the late 6th century bc.
list of ancient great powers