To place the Mesopotamian empires in chronological order, here’s the sequence from earliest to latest:
- Sumerians (around 4500 – 1900 BCE)
- Akkadian Empire (around 2334 – 2154 BCE)
- Babylonians (first rule around 1894 – 539 BCE, with the Old Babylonian period most prominent during Hammurabi's reign around 1792 – 1750 BCE)
- Hittites (although primarily a Anatolian empire, they interacted and had influence in Mesopotamia, peaking from about 1600 – 1178 BCE)
- Persian Empire (first appearing around 550 BCE and lasting until the Macedonian conquest in 330 BCE)
So the correct chronological order is: Sumerians, Akkadian, Babylonians, Hittites, Persian.