Babylonia (/ˌbæbɪˈloʊniə/; Akkadian: 𒆳𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠, māt Akkadī) was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). A small Amorite-ruled state emerged in 1894 BC, which contained the minor administrative town of Babylon. It was a small provincial town during the Akkadian Empire (2335–2154 BCE) but greatly expanded during the reign of Hammurabi in the first half of the 18th century BCE and became a major capital city. During the reign of Hammurabi and afterwards, Babylonia was called "the country of Akkad" (Māt Akkadī in Akkadian), a deliberate archaism in reference to the previous glory of the Akkadian Empire.It was often involved in rivalry with the older state of Assyria to the north and Elam to the east in A