Babylonians

Also known as the Chaldeans and the Amorites, the Babylonians lived in Mesopotamia (Syria today). The Babylonian kingdom got its start under Hammurabi, the king whose code of conduct is sometimes quoted in the Bible. When the Assyrian Empire rose to power, the Babylonians paid tribute money to the Assyrians but later fought for independence. Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, defeated the Babylonians in 703 BC and destroyed Babylon in 689 BC. The Babylonians fought back and destroyed Nineveh. Under King Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonians defeated the Egyptians and destroyed Jerusalem.