Hammurabi's Conquests: How Babylon United Mesopotamia

Hammurabi’s conquests were a series of wars fought between about 1764 and 1755 BC in which Hammurabi, king of Babylon c. 1792–1750 BC, defeated the other great powers of Mesopotamia. In less than a decade he overcame Elam, Larsa, Eshnunna and Mari, and turned Babylon from one city-state among many into the political centre of the land. The new kingdom provided the setting for his famous law code and made Babylon the leading city of southern Mesopotamia for centuries.

Background: a land of rival kings

When Hammurabi succeeded his father Sin-muballit around 1792 BC, Babylon was a middle-sized Amorite kingdom on the Euphrates. Around it stood stronger neighbours. Larsa, under Rim-Sin, ruled most of the far south; Eshnunna controlled the Diyala valley to the east; Shamshi-Adad I held the north; and beyond the Zagros mountains lay Elam, whose ruler was treated by Mesopotamian kings as a senior figure.

Letters from the Mari archives capture this balance of power. One envoy reported that no king was strong on his own, and that ten or fifteen kings followed Hammurabi of Babylon, while as many followed each of his rivals.

The early reign

Hammurabi’s first three decades were mostly spent building canals, temples and city walls, and on careful diplomacy. He did win some early gains: around 1787 BC he took the cities of Uruk and Isin from Larsa, and he campaigned along the Euphrates.

He also lived in the shadow of greater powers. While Shamshi-Adad was alive, Babylon seems to have been his junior partner. After Shamshi-Adad’s death c. 1776 BC the northern kingdom broke apart, and the field opened for new contenders.

The wars of conquest, c. 1765–1755 BC

The decisive campaigns came late in Hammurabi’s reign, roughly from his 29th to his 38th year as king, and followed one another with remarkable speed.

War with Elam, c. 1765–1764 BC

The decisive crisis came from the east. Around 1766 BC the ruler of Elam, Siwe-palar-huhpak, with troops sent by Babylon and Mari, attacked and occupied Eshnunna. Elam then pressed further, demanding obedience from Babylon and Mari and invading Babylonian territory.

Hammurabi organised a coalition that included Zimri-Lim of Mari and troops from other kingdoms. The Elamite forces were driven back around 1764 BC. Hammurabi’s year names celebrate this victory over Elam and its allies, and it greatly raised his standing.

The conquest of Larsa, c. 1763 BC

Hammurabi then turned on Larsa. He accused Rim-Sin of failing to help against Elam, while Rim-Sin, who had ruled for some 60 years, was by now very old. Babylonian armies first besieged Mashkan-shapir and then Larsa itself.

After a siege of several months Larsa fell around 1763 BC, and Rim-Sin was captured. The whole of the south, the old land of Sumer, passed to Babylon. Hammurabi kept Larsa as a regional capital and sent detailed letters to his officials there, especially to a governor named Sin-iddinam, on canals, taxes, land grants and lawsuits.

Eshnunna and the north, c. 1762–1755 BC

Next came Eshnunna, by then free of Elamite control and ruled by Silli-Sin, and its allies in the north. Around 1762 BC Hammurabi defeated a coalition of Eshnunna, Subartu and Gutium and pushed up the Tigris. Around 1756–1755 BC, according to a year name, Eshnunna was destroyed by a great flood, most likely the result of Babylonian forces deliberately releasing or diverting water.

Hammurabi also campaigned in the old lands of Shamshi-Adad’s kingdom, claiming control as far as the area of Ashur and Nineveh.

The fall of Mari, c. 1761–1759 BC

The most famous casualty was Babylon’s former ally. Around 1761 BC Hammurabi defeated the army of Mari and brought the city under his authority. About two years later, c. 1759 BC, he destroyed its walls and the great palace of Zimri-Lim. What led to the break is not fully clear, but Mari’s control of the Euphrates route and its ties to Syria made it a rival worth eliminating.

Ruling the new kingdom

Hammurabi now called himself “king of Sumer and Akkad” and “king of the four quarters of the world”, titles that echoed earlier rulers such as Sargon of Akkad. Babylon’s god Marduk rose in importance alongside the city.

Near the end of his reign, around 1754 BC, Hammurabi set up stelae with his collection of laws, described in the article on the Code of Hammurabi. Its prologue lists the cities he ruled and presents him as a just shepherd who had brought order to the land.

How the wars were fought

Armies of the period were usually a few thousand strong, although coalitions could field larger forces; letters mention contingents of several thousand men sent between allies. Soldiers were drawn from citizens who held land in return for service, together with allied troops and semi-nomadic auxiliaries.

Siege warfare was central. Letters describe siege towers, battering rams, earth ramps and attempts to tunnel under walls. Water was another weapon: in a flat land crossed by canals, armies could cut off supplies, flood fields or dam rivers to put pressure on a city.

Diplomacy and intelligence were just as important. Kings kept envoys at each other’s courts, and these envoys reported troop movements, rumours and private conversations. The Mari letters show that Hammurabi’s success depended on choosing his moment, building coalitions and turning on former partners when it suited him.

Key people

• Hammurabi (reigned c. 1792–1750 BC): king of Babylon, patient diplomat and, late in his reign, conqueror.
• Rim-Sin (reigned c. 1822–1763 BC): king of Larsa for about 60 years, the longest reign recorded in Mesopotamia; captured when Larsa fell.
• Zimri-Lim (reigned c. 1775–1761 BC): king of Mari, Hammurabi’s ally against Elam and later his victim.
• Siwe-palar-huhpak: ruler of Elam whose invasion triggered the decisive wars.
• Sin-iddinam: Hammurabi’s governor in the south, recipient of many surviving royal letters.

Myths and facts

Myth: Hammurabi built a vast empire across the Near East. Fact: His kingdom covered most of Mesopotamia, but Syria, Anatolia and Iran remained outside his control, and it lasted in full only for his final decade.

Myth: Hammurabi was the first to unite Mesopotamia. Fact: Earlier rulers, notably the kings of Akkad and the Third Dynasty of Ur, had ruled similar territories centuries before him.

Aftermath

Hammurabi died around 1750 BC. His son Samsu-iluna soon faced a revolt in the south led by a ruler who took the name Rim-Sin II, and over his reign the south was lost and many old Sumerian cities declined. Babylon remained a kingdom of the middle Euphrates until the Hittite king Mursili I raided the city around 1595 BC, as told in the article on the Hittite sack of Babylon.

Timeline

• c. 1792 BC: Hammurabi becomes king of Babylon.
• c. 1787 BC: Babylon takes Uruk and Isin from Larsa.
• c. 1776 BC: Death of Shamshi-Adad I; his northern kingdom breaks up.
• c. 1765–1764 BC: Elam invades; Hammurabi’s coalition drives it back.
• c. 1763 BC: Larsa falls and Rim-Sin is captured.
• c. 1762 BC: Hammurabi defeats Eshnunna and its northern allies.
• c. 1761 BC: Mari is defeated.
• c. 1759 BC: The walls and palace of Mari are destroyed.
• c. 1756–1755 BC: Eshnunna is destroyed by a flood.
• c. 1750 BC: Death of Hammurabi.

Why it matters

Hammurabi’s wars ended a long age of competing city-states and made Babylon the political and religious heart of southern Mesopotamia, a role it kept, through many changes of rulers, until the time of Alexander the Great. They also created the kingdom whose laws and letters make Hammurabi one of the best-documented rulers of the ancient world.