Following the collapse of the Ur III states, the Isin and Babylonian kings took control of southern Mesopotamia successively. Most famous of the Babylonian kings was Hammurabi who transformed the city of Babylon into the capital of Mesopotamia from humble beginnings.
Terracotta plaques of this sort were mass-produced from moulds and represent a form of “mass” art available to ordinary Babylonians. They have been found in temples as well as household shrines in private homes. The subject matter was heavily influenced by the iconographies of Mesopotamian cylinder seals and varies widely from religious images, mythological and erotic scenes, to representations of rulers and gods.
