Hammurabi became the sixth ruler of Babylon’s First Dynasty (Amorite), inheriting a comparatively small kingdom centered on Babylon and its immediate region; his reign is conventionally dated to the Middle Chronology.
In the same year Hammurabi came to the throne, Rim-Sin of Larsa captured Isin, removing a key buffer state and setting up Larsa as Babylon’s major southern rival for decades.
Early in his reign (commonly placed in 1787 BCE), Hammurabi campaigned against territory held by Rim-Sin and took the cities of Uruk and Isin—an early demonstration that Babylon would compete directly in the south.
After initial clashes with Larsa, Hammurabi redirected operations (c. 1784 BCE) and then spent years navigating shifting coalitions among major states such as Mari, Ashur, Eshnunna, Babylon, and Larsa.
For roughly two decades, major interstate war is not emphasized in the surviving reconstruction; instead Hammurabi strengthened defenses, including fortifying several northern border cities in the period c. 1776–1768 BCE.
Around 1764 BCE, Hammurabi confronted a coalition including Elam and powers east of the Tigris, a conflict tied to control of routes toward Iran’s metal-producing regions; this marked the start of sustained warfare late in his reign.
Hammurabi initiated the decisive southern campaign against Rim-Sin of Larsa (commonly dated to 1763 BCE), employing hydraulic tactics described in later reconstructions (damming/withholding or releasing water) and moving toward a protracted siege.
After months of siege, Larsa fell and Rim-Sin was captured soon afterward, enabling Babylon to dominate southern Mesopotamia and incorporate key cities and resources of the lower Euphrates region.
In 1762 BCE (Hammurabi’s year 31 in Middle Chronology reconstructions), Babylonian forces occupied Eshnunna, extending Hammurabi’s reach into the Diyala region and weakening another long-standing competitor.
Hammurabi took control of Mari (often dated to 1761 BCE), ending its independence and shifting the balance of power along the middle Euphrates; Mari had earlier been an important diplomatic and military partner in regional coalitions.
After Mari’s capture, Hammurabi ultimately razed the city (commonly placed between 1759 and 1757 BCE), an action that permanently ended Mari as a major political center; the burning helped preserve many cuneiform tablets in the palace archives.
Toward the end of Hammurabi’s reign, his legal decisions were collected and inscribed on a monumental stela—now known as the Code of Hammurabi—intended to project royal justice across his enlarged realm.
Hammurabi died around 1750 BCE (Middle Chronology), and his son Samsu-iluna succeeded him, inheriting an empire created through Hammurabi’s conquests and subsequent consolidation.
Michael CarricoHammurabi's Reign and Military Campaigns (c. 1792–1750 BCE)