Editing Babylonia (section)

====Sack of Babylon and ancient Near East chronology====
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Sack of Babylon
| partof            = [[Mursili I|Campaigns of Mursili I]]
| date              = {{circa}} 1595 BC
| place             = Babylonia, modern-day [[Iraq]]
| result            = Hittite victory
| combatant1        = [[Hittite Empire]]
| combatant2        = [[Babylon]]
| commander1        = [[Mursili I]]
| commander2        = [[Samsu-Ditana]]
| casualties1       = Unknown
| casualties2       = Unknown
}}
The date of the sack of Babylon by the Hittites under king [[Mursili I]] is considered crucial to the various calculations of the early [[chronology of the ancient Near East]], as it is taken as a fixed point in the discussion. Suggestions for its precise date vary by as much as 230 years, corresponding to the uncertainty regarding the length of the "Dark Age" of the much later [[Late Bronze Age collapse]], resulting in the shift of the entire Bronze Age chronology of Mesopotamia with regard to the [[Egyptian chronology]]. Possible dates for the sack of Babylon are:
* ultra-short chronology: 1499 BC
* short chronology: 1531 BC
* low middle chronology: 1587 BC
* middle chronology: 1595 BC (probably the most commonly used, and often seen as having the most support)<ref>[[Marc Van de Mieroop|van de Mieroop, M.]] (2007). ''A History of the Ancient Near East, ca. 3000–323 BC''. Malden: Blackwell. {{ISBN|978-0-631-22552-2}}.</ref><ref>[[Mario Liverani|Liverani, Mario]] (2013). ''The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy''. Routledge. p. 13, Table 1.1 "Chronology of the Ancient Near East". {{ISBN|9781134750917}}.</ref><ref>Akkermans, Peter M. M. G.; Schwartz, Glenn M. (2003). ''The Archaeology of Syria. From Complex Hunter-Gatherers to Early Urban Societies (ca. 16,000–300 BC)''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0-521-79666-0}}.</ref><ref>Sagona, A.; Zimansky, P. (2009). ''Ancient Turkey''. London: Routledge. {{ISBN|978-0-415-28916-0}}.</ref><ref>Manning, S. W.; Kromer, B.; Kuniholm, P. I.; Newton, M. W. (2001). "Anatolian Tree Rings and a New Chronology for the East Mediterranean Bronze-Iron Ages". ''Science''. '''294''' (5551): 2532–2535. {{doi|10.1126/science.1066112}}. {{PMID|11743159}}.</ref><ref>Sturt W. Manning et al., "Integrated Tree-Ring-Radiocarbon High-Resolution Timeframe to Resolve Earlier Second Millennium BCE Mesopotamian Chronology", ''PlosONE'', July 13, 2016</ref>
* long chronology: 1651 BC (favored by some astronomical events reconstruction)<ref name=Khalisi2020/>
* ultra-long chronology: 1736 BC<ref>Eder, Christian, {{lang|de|italic=unset|"Assyrische Distanzangaben und die absolute Chronologie Vorderasiens", ''Altorientalische Forschungen''}} 31, 191–236, 2004.</ref>

[[Mursili I]], the Hittite king, first conquered [[Aleppo]], capital of [[Yamhad]] kingdom, to avenge the death of his father, but his main geopolitical target was Babylon.<ref name="Bryce">Bryce, Trevor (2005). [https://www.academia.edu/5018455/Bryce_The_Kingdom_Of_The_Hittites ''The Kingdom of the Hittites''] (new ed.), Oxford University Press, pp. 97, 98.</ref> The Mesopotamian [[Chronicle of Early Kings|Chronicle 40]], written after 1500 BC, mentions briefly the sack of Babylon as: "During the time of [[Samsu-Ditana]], the Hittites marched on Akkad." More details can be found in another source, the [[Telepinu Proclamation]], a Hittite text from around 1520 BC, which states:<ref name="Beaulieu">Beaulieu, Paul-Alain (2018). [https://archive.org/stream/BlackwellHistoryOfTheAncientWorldBeaulieuPaulAlainAHistoryOfBabylon2200BCAD75JohnWileySonsLtd2018/%28Blackwell%20history%20of%20the%20ancient%20world%29%20Beaulieu%2C%20Paul-Alain-A%20history%20of%20Babylon%2C%202200%20BC-AD%2075-John%20Wiley%20%26%20Sons%20Ltd%20%282018%29_djvu.txt ''A History of Babylon, 2200 BC – AD 75'']. Wiley Blackwell. pp. 118, 119.</ref>

{{blockquote|And then he [Mursili I] marched to Aleppo, and he destroyed Aleppo and brought captives and possessions of Aleppo to Ḫattuša. Then, however, he marched to Babylon, and he destroyed Babylon, and he defeated the Hurrian troops, and he brought captives and possessions of Babylon to [[Hattusa|Ḫattuša]].}}

The movement of Mursili's troops was around 800&nbsp;km from the conquered Aleppo to reach the Euphrates, located to the east, skirting around Assyria, and then to the south along the course of the river to reach finally Babylon. His conquest of Babylon brought to an end the dynasty of Hammurabi, and although the Hittite text, Telipinu Proclamation, does not mention Samsu-ditana, and the Babylonian [[Chronicle of Early Kings|Chronicle 20]] does not mention a specific Hittite king either, [[Trevor Bryce]] concludes that there is no doubt that both sources refer to Mursili I and [[Samsu-Ditana|Samsu-ditana]].<ref name="Bryce" />

The Hittites, when sacking Babylon, removed the images of the gods [[Marduk]] and his consort [[Sarpanit|Zarpanitu]] from the [[Esagila|Esagil temple]] and they took them to their kingdom. The later inscription of [[Agum II|Agum-kakrime]], the Kassite king, claims he returned the images; and another later text, the [[Marduk#Marduk Prophecy|Marduk Prophesy]], written long after the events, mentions that the image of Marduk was in exile around twenty-four years.<ref name="Beaulieu" />

After the conquest, Mursili I did not attempt to convert the whole region he had occupied from Aleppo to Babylon as a part of his kingdom; he instead made an alliance with the [[Kassites]], and then a Kassite dynasty was established in Babylonia.<ref>Bryce, Trevor (2005). [https://www.academia.edu/5018455/Bryce_The_Kingdom_Of_The_Hittites ''The Kingdom of the Hittites''] (new ed.), Oxford University Press, p. 99.</ref>