<P> The town became part of a small independent city - state with the rise of the First Amorite Babylonian Dynasty in the nineteenth 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 . </P>
<P> The town became part of a small independent city - state with the rise of the First Amorite Babylonian Dynasty in the nineteenth 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 . </P>
who made the city of babylon the center of an empire
who made the city of babylon the center of an empire
Amorite king Hammurabi
Amorite king Hammurabi