The Mesopotamia Valley, situated between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, was ruled by a number of civilizations including the Sumerians and the Akkadians between 3000 and 2000 BC. Around 1800 BC, Hammurabi, the King of the City of Babylon, came into power over the entire empire of Sumer and Akkad, founding the first Babylonian dynasty. While this empire was not always the centre of the culture associated with this time in history, conventionally the name Babylonian is used for the region of Mesopotamia from around 2000 to 600 BC.

The oldest known Babylonian texts have been dated at around 1900 – 1600 BC. Archaeologists working in Mesopotamia have unearthed over 500,000 inscribed clay tablets, 300 of which contain mathematical tables and problems. Many people in modern societies have attempted to decipher these Babylonian inscriptions. The puzzle was eventually solved by Rawlinson in 1847 although further work continues today.