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Studies on the Old Babylonian period (ca. 2000--1595 B.C.) have traditionally focused on the political and economic history of the state as well as on royal deeds and policies. This dissertation examines the historiographic theories underlying the writing of Old Babylonian history and offers an alternative approach shifting the emphasis from the state to community institutions of authority. The analysis of the activities of local powers such as the rabianum (the chief of the city), the elders, the city, and the assembly beyond their competence in legal issues casts new light on their role in the functioning of Old Babylonian society. This is so because aside from judicial matters local powers actively participated in economic affairs involving both the state and community members. In this sense, local authorities were the hinge that articulated state and society. I study each of the institutions separately, establishing their role and jurisdiction, and I further consider their interaction as well as their dealings with royal representatives. Such an approach reveals mechanisms of collaboration between the state and local powers, but it also reflects certain disputes concerning the control of local resources. Although tensions become more apparent in periods of political turmoil, they are also traceable in times of stability. Even Hammurabi's overzealous administrators resorted to the mediation of local authorities, who did not hesitate to bypass the royal authority when the opportunity arose. The picture that emerges from this analysis reflects a complex network of traditional social and political relations embedded in the fabric of Old Babylonian cities, which not even the most centralized and efficient policies were able to suppress.