Hammurabi and Babylon
The story of Hammurabi and the city of Babylon
His Reign
Hammurabi was a young man when he took over his father's reign over the kingdom of Babylon. When Hammurabi took over as king, Babylon was already had power in Mesopotamia. However, when Hammurabi took over, Babylon transformed into an even more powerful state. He also made one rule over Mesopotamia to unite them. Hammurabi nicknamed himself as the 'Strong King of Babylon'. Hammurabi was also directly involved with the growing of his kingdom. He helped cleaning irrigation canals, and other projects like building city walls and restoring temples. Much planning went into these projects. Hammurabi also wanted to have the Euphrates River.
The Battle for the Euphrates River
One of Hammurabi goals was to take control of the Euphrates River because it provided Babylon with water for crops and trade routes for the cargo ships. Hammurabi wanted this river, however, other kings wanted control of this river, and the battle for the Euphrates River began. One of his rivals, Rim-Sin of Larsa, was also in this battle. During Hammurabi's last 14 years of his reign over Babylon was spent fighting for the river with his soldiers. Hammurabi actually used water to fight the other kings and Rim-Sin. He withheld water that they needed for crops by building a dam and sometimes released this water in sudden floods. After defeating the enemies, Hammurabi briefly ruled over a peaceful Mesopotamia. After Hammurabi sadly died from illness, his son, Samsuiluna, took over and was crowned after Hammurabi died.