Relations with Assyria dominated from the tenth to the late seventh century. Marduk’s reputation was tarnished as Babylon lost power. Tribes of Chaldeans and Arameans moved into the Sealand, where some settled, becoming literate and powerful. Iron gradually replaced bronze. Fine stone carving continued. Warlike Assyrian kings venerated Babylon, incorporated its gods into their pantheon, and treated the city separately from the rest of Babylonia; but Assyria and Babylon clashed east of the Tigris at Der. Chaldeans intermittently took the throne. Tiglath-pileser III, the first Assyrian king to become king of Babylon, took part in the New Year festival; Sargon II, the second, deposed a Chaldean and deported many disloyal groups, but invested in the city. When Sennacherib ruled Assyria, various rulers of Babylon and interference from Elam ended when he sacked Babylon, which remained kingless for seven years. His patricidal son Esarhaddon made some restitution. At his early death, Esarhaddon’s elder son took the throne, dominated by his younger son, Ashurbanipal, whose library at Nineveh included many Babylonian texts. Betrayed by his brother under Elamite influence, Ashurbanipal sacked Babylon. Royal records end, and three subsequent kings are poorly attested. Nabopolassar, a Babylonian general working in the Assyrian army, defected and took the throne of Babylon.

The First Dynasty, an unbroken succession of Amorite kings, lasted 300 years despite a major rebellion. Babylon had close relationships with the nearby cities Sippar, Kish, and Borsippa. Trade and alliances reached much further. The Sumerian king-lists of earlier times were replaced by Babylonian equivalents, various cities having their own version. Kings briefly recorded major events; names were given to each year of their reign for dating documents. Trade was widespread, by canal and river, or overland by donkey. Royal edicts excluded certain groups from trade. Evidence comes from a profusion of clay tablets. Official letters are plentiful. Priestesses of Marduk carried out trade for Babylon in other cities. The temple of Marduk was built and furnished with a golden throne. Elamite control over several major cities, which left its mark on temple design, was ended by Hammurabi late in his reign; there is a possible connection with Genesis 14:1–16. Regular edicts were issued to release individuals from debt and to regulate trade. The main powers were Halab (Aleppo), Eshnunna, and Larsa, until Hammurabi achieved supremacy and claimed divinity. His successor Samsu-iluna followed his father’s example.

Samsu-iluna’s suppression of the Great Rebellion did not cause long-term harm to Babylonia. The succession of kings remained stable, defeated cities were not totally destroyed despite the rhetoric of victory. Southern cities adopted organic writing materials, so their activities are unknown to us. An archive that began in the reign of Hammurabi’s father continued to the end of this dynasty. Samsu-iluna’s huge project to divert floodwater from the Euphrates to protect Babylon was extended after the rebellion. Edicts for debt remission and to regulate trade continued to be issued. The use of Kassite and Elamite militias to garrison forts, Kish as a military base for Babylon, and a campaign to the north of Assyria, indicate organization and strength when the Assyrian trading colonies in Anatolia came to an end. Subsequent kings in Babylon won their own fame: Abi-eshuh for his literary works, Ammi-ditana for military achievements, Ammi-saduqa for being acknowledged as a god in Syria and Anatolia, for beating back rebels in the Sealand, for creating wonderful statues, and for recording astronomical observations. The last king of the dynasty enjoyed a long reign but came under pressure from the Hittites and Sealanders.