Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh is one of the most memorable kings in ancient Mesopotamia and his history is still in museums such as the history museum in Iraq. Gilgamesh’s life story contains many lessons and origin stories that can help you understand what life was like back then and how it relates today. When Gilgamesh was a king around 2900-2350 B.C. Gilgamesh ruled 74 cities other than Uruk and appears on the List of Sumerian Kings. Gilgamesh was a terrible god at first but was guided in a good way to become a better king being ⅔ god and ⅓ human.

  Hammurabi

Hamurrabi was born around 1810 BCE. Hamurrabi’s father was the king of Babylon and that was Sin Mubalit. When Hammurabi was 18 years old, Sin Mubalit became very sick and soon passed away and Hammurabi became the king of the city-state Babylon. When Hammurabi became the king of Babylon in 1792 BCE, Babylon wasn’t a match for their enemy in the south, Larsa, whose king Rim Sin I had defeated Hamurabi’s father in a battle. But Hammurabi quickly set his goal to make his city state stronger. He became the first Babylonian king to build walls around the city. He also waged warfare in devious ways. One of his tricks was to build up a rival city’s water supply, then he would either use thirst to pressure its leaders into surrendering, or else suddenly release the waters and cause a surprising and devastating flood that would soften his target for his attack. Hammurabi was the greatest emperor of Babylon and one of the greatest rulers in the world! Sadly Hammurabi died in 1750 BCE after ruling Babylon for 43 years. Hammurabi is remembered for three outstanding contributions which endured long after his death: He brought victory in war, he developed justice, and he established peace throughout the empire. Hammurabi was a ruthless king known for his ambition and vision, but it seems that he did balance his mistakes with developments aimed at improving the lives of his citizens. In this way, while he can neither be classified as a good nor a bad ruler, he was undoubtedly one of the greatest kings.

  Nebuchadnezzar II

Nebuchadnezzar II, born in 630 BCE, was the greatest king of the Neo-Babylonian empire. He started ruling in 605 BCE. His name means “Oh god Nabu, defend my firstborn son.” He is best known from the books of Jeremiah and Daniel in the Bible. He is portrayed as an "enemy of God" because forced Jews from there homeland.

Nebuchadnezzar II restored Babylon to its former glory. People don’t know for sure, but it said that he created the Hanging Gardens of Babylon for his wife who missed her homeland. The Hanging Gardens are one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World. He also created the Ishtar Gate, an over 50 ft tall passageway, with dragons and animals in gold all over it.

Nebuchadnezzar II was the first king to rule Egypt. He defeated Egypt in 605 BCE. He also conquered Cimmerians, Scythians, Western Syria and destroyed the Temple of Solomon. He took inhabitants of Jerusalem to Babylon, as prisoners, known as the Babylonian captivity. 

Nebuchadnezzar died peacefully in beautiful Babylon of natural causes after ruling for 43 years.  (CM)

  Sennacherib 

Sennacherib was the second king of the Sargonid Dynasty, as well as an Assyrian ruler. He was one of the most prominent Assyrian kings, due mainly to his role in the Hebrew bible, in which his military campaigns against Levant, an area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of West Asia,  are described. He is often remembered as an innovative builder, as he enlarged and adorned Nineveh, an Assyrian city Sennacherib overtook after his father, Sargon II, died. Additionally, he is also known for his many military campaigns opposing Babylon and Judah. 

Although Sennacherib was one of the most dominant and wide-ranging Assyrian kings, he faced substantial difficulty in controlling Babylon, which formed the southern fragment of his empire. So after multiple military campaigns opposing Babylon, he, after having won a battle against the Babylonians, ordered that Babylon be razed to the ground. Sennacherib had decided that he had expended too many men and resources trying to subjugate Babylon, and to let the Euphrates river flow over Babylon's ruins. 

Sennacherib then went back to his building projects, until he was supposedly assassinated by one of his sons. (AG)

Ashurbanipal 

Assurbanipal was the last of the great kings of Assyria. His name means "the god Ashur is creator of an heir" 

Ashurbanipal was a popular king who ruled his citizens fairly but was marked for his cruelty toward those whom he defeated, the best-known example being a relief depicting the defeated king with a dog chain through his jaw, being forced to live in a kennel after capture. This shows that he is insanely powerful and intimidating toward other kings.

In his time, Ashurbanipal was the most powerful person on Earth. As the dominant person in seventh-century-BC Mesopotamia, he furthered Assyria’s reach beyond what had been achieved in the previous two thousand years.The Greeks knew him as Sardanapalus and the Romans as Sardanapalus. He achieved the greatest territorial expansion of the Assyrian Empire which included Babylonia, Persia, Syria, and Egypt. He is best known for his vast library at Nineveh, which he himself considered his greatest achievement.Toward the end of his reign, however, the empire had grown too large and too difficult to properly defend. The Assyrian Empire was already crumbling toward the end of his reign and, with his death, fell apart completely.