Hittites Sack Babylon, Ending the Old Babylonian Empire
Mursili I launched a campaign of extraordinary geographic scope, marching his army some 1,500 kilometers down the Euphrates Valley to strike at the heart of Babylonian power. The city was looted and the statue of Marduk was carried off to Hatti. The removal of a god's cult statue was understood as the withdrawal of divine protection. Mursili did not attempt to hold Babylon. He was murdered on his return by a palace conspiracy. The power vacuum was quickly filled by the Kassites, who would rule Babylon for roughly 400 years, the longest continuous dynasty in Mesopotamian history. The 1595 sack demonstrates the interconnected, volatile character of Bronze Age geopolitics: events in Anatolia could reshape Mesopotamia almost overnight.
- Year: 1595 BCE
- Category: Military
