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Old Babylonian is a term used to describe the period of Mesopotamian history between the end of the Third Dynasty of Ur (c. 2000 BCE) through the end of the first dynasty of Babylon (c. 1600).

The term actually refers to the Akkadian language, which during this period was referred to as "Old Babylonian." Although Sumerian remained the dominant language used for literary compositions and legal texts, this period witnessed a sharp increase in the number of Akkadian texts. It is also during this period that the first traces of dialects of the Assyrian language can be documented.

The beginning of the period is marked by a power struggle between independent city-states. The most powerful city-states tried to negotiate alliances with smaller cities in order to accumulate more land. In the area that is now northern Syria the city-states of Aleppo and Qatna dominated politically. Ebla arose as an important urban center of which little evidence exists, although some inscriptions indicate that an Amorite dynasty ruled it. Northern Mesopotamia, particularly Mari, Nineveh, Ashur, and Shubat-Enlil, united briefly during this period under a dynasty begun by Shamshi-Adad I. This however, was short-lived. The Diyala River valley was ruled by the city of Eshnunna.

In southern Mesopotamia, the shifts in power centers can be documented by textual and archaeological evidence. A ruler named Ishbi-Erra, who had served under the last king of the third Ur dynasty, Ibbi-Sin, attempted to continue the Third Dynasty for a time. He fought off the forces of Elam that had contributed to the collapse of the dynasty and for a time managed to ensure stability.