Among several older, more prestigious, or more imperialistic Mesopotamian cities, Babylon imposed itself as the sole political capital of the country during the reign of Hammurabi (1793-1750). At that time, the city had the ambition to become the only religious capital of southern Mesopotamia, as the exclusive residence of Marduk, king of the gods and head of the Mesopotamian pantheon. From the thirteenth century BC, Babylon dominates the whole of the country nowadays called 'Babylonia'. From 624 to 539 BC the city even becomes the capital of the last great Babylonian political construction identified as the 'Neo-Babylonian Empire', which dominates the whole of the Near East and appears to be a perfect illustration of oriental despotism for its immediate or more distant neighbours.