Hammurabi was a First Dynasty king of the city-state of Babylon, and inherited the power from his father, Sin-muballit, in ca. 1728 B.C.. Babylon was one of the many ancient city-states that dotted the Mesopotamian plain and waged war on each other for control of fertile agricultural land. Though many cultures co-existed in Mesopotamia, Babylonian culture gained a degree of prominence among the literate classes throughout the Middle East. The ...