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Old Babylonian is a term used to describe the period of Mesopotamian history between the end of the Third Dynasty of Ur (c. 2000 BCE) through the end of the first dynasty of Babylon (c. 1600). Image File history File links Circle-contradict. ... Mesopotamia refers to the region now occupied by modern Iraq, and parts of eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and southwest Iran. ... The Third Dynasty of Ur refers simultaneously to a 21st to 20th century BC (short chronology) Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of Ur and a short-lived territorial-political state that some historians regard as a nascent empire. ... Babylon (in Arabic: بابل; in Syriac: ܒܒܙܠ in Hebrew:בבל) was an ancient city in Mesopotamia (modern Al Hillah, Iraq), the ruins of which can be found in present-day Babil Province, about 80km south of Baghdad. ...

The term actually refers to the Akkadian language, which during this period was referred to as "Old Babylonian." Although Sumerian remained the dominant language used for literary compositions and legal texts, this period witnessed a sharp increase in the number of Akkadian texts. It is also during this period that the first traces of dialects of the Assyrian language can be documented. Akkadian (lišānum akkadītum) was a Semitic language (part of the greater Afro-Asiatic language family) spoken in ancient Mesopotamia, particularly by the Assyrians and Babylonians. ... Sumerian ( native tongue) was the language of ancient Sumer, spoken in Southern Mesopotamia from at least the 4th millennium BCE. It was gradually replaced by Akkadian as a spoken language in the beginning of the 2nd millenium BCE, but continued to be used as a sacred, ceremonial, literary and scientific... An Assyrian winged bull, or lamassu. ...

The beginning of the period is marked by a power struggle between independent city-states. The most powerful city-states tried to negotiate alliances with smaller cities in order to accumulate more land. In the area that is now northern Syria the city-states of Aleppo and Qatna dominated politically. Ebla arose as an important urban center of which little evidence exists, although some inscriptions indicate that an Amorite dynasty ruled it. Northern Mesopotamia, particularly Mari, Nineveh, Ashur, and Shubat-Enlil, united briefly during this period under a dynasty begun by Shamshi-Adad I. This however, was short-lived. The Diyala River valley was ruled by the city of Eshnunna. A city-state is a region controlled exclusively by a city. ... Aleppo (or Halab Arabic: , ) is a city in northern Syria, capital of the Aleppo Governorate. ... Qatna is an ancient city in Syria, present day Tell-el-Mishrife in the Wadi il-Aswad, a tributary of the Orontes, 18 km northeast of Homs. ... Ebla is not to be confused with Elba. ... Amorite (Hebrew ’emōrî, Egyptian Amar, Akkadian Tidnum or Amurrūm (corresponding to Sumerian MAR.TU or Martu) refers to a Semitic people who occupied the country west of the Euphrates from the second half of the third millennium BC, and also the god they worshipped (see Amurru). ... Mesopotamia refers to the region now occupied by modern Iraq, and parts of eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and southwest Iran. ... The Mari (also known as Cheremis in Russian and Çirmeş in Tatar) are a Volga-Finnic people in the Volga area, the natives of Mari El, Russia. ... , For other uses, see Nineveh (disambiguation). ... Ashurism (Hebrew: ‎; Akkadian: ), was the second son of Shem, the son of Noah. ... Tell Leilan, Syria is the site of a city known as Shekhna in ancient times. ... Shamshi-Adad I (reigned 1813 to 1791 BC) rose to prominence when he carved out a large kingdom in northern Mesopotamia. ... Map of Mesopotamia showing the Diyala River The Diyala River is a river and tributary of the Tigris that runs through Iran and Iraq. ... Eshnunna is the transliteration of the ancient name of a Sumerian city and city-state in lower Mesopotamia. ...

In southern Mesopotamia, the shifts in power centers can be documented by textual and archaeological evidence. A ruler named Ishbi-Erra, who had served under the last king of the third Ur dynasty, Ibbi-Sin, attempted to continue the Third Dynasty for a time. He fought off the forces of Elam that had contributed to the collapse of the dynasty and for a time managed to ensure stability. Ibbi-Sin, son of Shu-Sin, was king of Sumer and Akkad and last king of the Ur III dynasty, and reigned circa 2028 BC-2004 BC. During his reign, the Sumerian empire was attacked repeatedly by Amorites. ... Elam (Persian: تمدن ایلام) is one of the oldest recorded civilizations. ...