The independent city state of Babylon was founded by an Amorite chieftain named Sumuabum in 1894 BCE.

Initially Babylon was a small nation which did not control much territory, and was overshadowed by older and more established kingdoms like Isin, Larsa, Assyria and Elam.

Babylon remains a small and minor state until the reign of its sixth ruler, Hammurabi ((1792- 1750 BCE or fl.

ca.

1728 – 1686 BCE (short).

He is a very efficient ruler, establishing a bureaucracy, with taxation and centralized government, and giving the region stability after turbulent times, thereby transforming it into the central power of Mesopotamia.

One of the most important works of this "First Dynasty of Babylon", as it is called by the native historians, is the compilation of a code of laws.

This is made by order of Hammurabi after the expulsion of the Elamites and the settlement of his kingdom.