At the beginning of the 9th century BC/KLOC-0, Sumabu, the leader of the Amorites, established the kingdom of Babylon. By the reign of the sixth king Hammurabi, the national strength was strong and the two river basins were gradually unified. Before 65438+ in the early 6th century, it was destroyed by Hittite kingdom.
At the beginning of the 9th century BC/KLOC-0, the Amorites established a country with Babylon as its capital, which was called the Kingdom of Babylon in history. Babylon is a city on the east bank of the middle reaches of the Euphrates River. It is located in the center of the two river basins, which is the closest place to the two rivers. It is advantageous both strategically and economically. In ancient times, the whole southern two river basins were called Babylon, which shows the importance of Babylon. Babylon unified the northern and southern parts of the two river basins into a centralized slavery kingdom when the sixth king Hammurabi.
After 38 years of hard work, Hammurabi unified the two river basins and established a more consolidated centralized country by taking advantage of the continuous wars and mutual weakening of neighboring countries. The king monopolized the military and political power, legislative power and judicial power of the country, and there was a huge bureaucracy to assist him in governing.
The kingdom of Babylon has a standing army, and the soldiers in the army have hereditary land. When necessary, the farmers in the village were also called up. Officials at all levels in the local administrative system are appointed by the king. The kingdom of Babylon regards Marduk as the patron saint of the whole country, just as the supreme ruler on earth is the king of Babylon. Code of hammurabi abolished the original city-state legislation and unified the national laws and regulations. Its formulation and promulgation is also a powerful manifestation of the centralization of slavery in the Kingdom of Babylon.
The agriculture, handicrafts and commerce of the ancient Babylonian kingdom have further developed and improved than before. Water lifting tools and plows have been improved, and bronze tools have been widely used. The division of labor in handicraft industry has been quite fine, including brick making, sewing, jeweler, metallurgy and so on. Commercial trade at home and abroad has also developed, and cities such as Babylon and Sibal are important commercial centers. In addition to the commercial agents of the royal economy monopolizing large-scale trade at home and abroad, many private businesses run by slave owners are also very prosperous.
Babylon's land use system allowed land to be bought, sold, mortgaged, transferred and inherited, and the eldest son's share of inheritance was doubled. The person who occupies the land of the village community must pay the tax in kind to the state treasury. Anyone who fails to pay rent and services for three years loses the right to own a piece of land. The land of the destitute, fugitives or those who have not paid rent for three years has not been returned to the community for further distribution. After receiving land, seeds, farm animals and farm tools from the royal family, the "Neigong people" run their own businesses and pay a considerable amount of harvest to the royal family every year. However, the land owned by the royal family may not be sold or mortgaged, and the land can be inherited.
Foreign invasion posed a great threat to the stability of Babylon. Babylon was destroyed by Hittites in the middle of 16 BC, and Gassett who invaded from the northeast quickly occupied Babylon at the end of 16 BC. At the end of 13 BC, after the demise of Gassett dynasty, the two river basins entered the historical period of Assyrian empire's hegemony.