The Middle Babylonian period, also known as the Kassite period, in southern Mesopotamia is dated from c. 1595 – c. 1155 BC and began after the Hittites sacked the city of Babylon. The Kassites, whose dynasty is synonymous with the period, eventually assumed political control over the region and consolidated their power by subjugating the Sealand dynasty c. 1475 BC. After the subjugation of the Sealand dynasty, the Kassites unified the region of Babylonia into a single political entity. At the height of the Middle Babylonian period, the Kassite kings were engaging in commerce, trade, and organising diplomatic marriages with the kings of Egypt and other regional powers. However, after a period of gradual decline, the Middle Babylonian period collapsed with the fall of the Kassite dynasty c. 1155 BC. The collapse came as a result of an Assyrian invasion (c. 1232 – c. 1225 BC), that temporarily displaced the Kassites from their rule over southern Mesopotamia. Finally, the Elamites conducted various raids and eventually invaded Babylonian c. 1158 BC, which brought the Kassite dynasty and Middle Babylonian period to an end. There are however differing chronologies of the period proposed by some contemporary scholars, with some suggesting that the Middle Babylonian period only proceeded the collapse of the Kassite period of c. 1150 BC. While other scholars take the whole period of c. 1595 – c. 626 BC as constituting the Middle Babylonian period.
Sack of Babylon (c. 1595 BC) Prior to 1595 BC, during the Old Babylonian period, the region of southern Mesopotamia was in a period of gradual decline and political uncertainty after the successors of Hammurabi were unable to maintain their kingdom. The successors had lost control of the lucrative trade routes between the northern and southern regions of Babylonia to the First Sealand dynasty which had detrimental economic ramifications. In c. 1595 BC, the Hittite king Mursili I invaded the region of southern Mesopotamia after having defeated the powerful neighbouring kingdom of Aleppo. The Hittites proceeded to sack the city of Babylon which ended the Hammurabi dynasty and Old Babylonian period. However, the Hittites chose not to subjugate Babylon or the surrounding regions and instead withdrew from the conquered city up the Euphrates River to their homeland "Hatti-land". The Hittite's decision to invade southern Mesopotamia and sack the city of Babylon is subject to debate among contemporary historians. It is suggested that the successors of Hammurabi were either allied with Aleppo, or the sudden Hittite expansion indicates that their motives were "land, manpower, control of [trade] routes and access to valuable ore-deposits".
Dark age and Kassite unification (c. 1595 – c. 1475 BC) Following the Hittites withdrawal from Babylon, the region was plunged into further political turmoil. During this period, the Kassites, who were a relatively unknown group of people in Babylonia, emerged as the preeminent authority. The precise events that led to the Kassites coming to power are uncertain, with contemporary scholars labelling this period as a dark-age given the lack of primary evidence. However, it is known that following the Hittite's withdrawal from southern Mesopotamia the First Sealand dynasty under Gulkishar briefly captured and occupied the city of Babylon and the northern regions of Babylonia. The Kassites ended the Sealand's occupation of the captured territories and during the reign of King Ulamburiash I, they consolidated their authority in c. 1475 BC by subjugating the First Sealand dynasty, who now only occupied the southern coastal and swampland regions of Mesopotamia. By conquering the Sealand's territories, the Kassites were able to reestablish the previously disrupted lucrative trade routes in the area. After the subjugation of the Sealand dynasty, the Kassites had successfully unified the whole of southern Babylonia into a centralised political entity and established the Kingdom of Babylonia (known in international correspondence as māt Karduniaš). Prior to this point in Near Eastern history, southern Babylonia had not been controlled by one ruling entity. From then onward, the Kassite kings would adopt the title of 'King of Babylonia', and were referred by their regional neighbours as 'Kings of the land Karduniash', the later being the non-Kassite term for Babylonia.
Regional power (c. 1415 – c. 1235 BC) The unification of Babylonia as a single centralised political entity enabled the Kassites to establish a sustained period of stability and economic prosperity for southern Mesopotamia.
Dur-Kurigalzu In particular, the Kassites utilised the period of economic prosperity to undertake construction and reconstruction projects all over Babylonia. Notably, during the reign of King Kurigalzu I, the Kassites relocated the administrative capital of the kingdom to Dur-Kurigalzu ("Fortress of Kurigalzu"). Whilst the previous capital Babylon became the ceremonial and religious capital. The precise motives behind the Kassite's decision to construct a new capital are not known to contemporary historians. However, it is suggested that the city's location, where the Euphrates and Tigris rivers run closest indicates it was either to protect the lucrative trade routes in the region or to safeguard the kingdom against its imperialistic neighbours.
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