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Code of Lipit-Ishtar

Also Known As Laws of Lipit-Ishtar
Ancient and Near Eastern Law Codes

The Code of Lipit-Ishtar is a Sumerian-language cuneiform law code issued by Lipit-Ishtar, fifth king of the Isin dynasty in Lower Mesopotamia, in the nineteenth century BCE. It survives as a prologue, roughly fifty legal provisions and an epilogue, the standard three-part structure of Mesopotamian royal law codes, covering boat rental, agriculture, slavery, false testimony, foster care, apprenticeship, marriage and livestock rental. It is the second-oldest known extant legal code after Ur-Nammu's, and scholars treat it as a direct forerunner of the Code of Hammurabi roughly a century later.

Facts
Era
c. 1934 to 1924 BCE (reign of Lipit-Ishtar); one secondary source dates the text to c. 1850 BCE under a different chronology convention 1
Promulgated By
King Lipit-Ishtar of Isin 1
Era
Era (category)
20th Century (1900-1999) 1
Connections

Associated With

The Code of Lipit-Ishtar is a documented forerunner of the Code of Hammurabi, roughly a century earlier.

Source Code of Lipit-Ishtar (Wikipedia)

The Code of Lipit-Ishtar stands between the Code of Ur-Nammu and the Code of Hammurabi in the Mesopotamian codification tradition, following Ur-Nammu's casuistic form.

Source Code of Lipit-Ishtar (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Code of Lipit-Ishtar (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Overview section
    a collection of laws promulgated by Lipit-Ishtar (r. 1934-1924 BCE), a ruler in Lower Mesopotamia.
  • Associated With: Code of Ur-Nammu, Historical Significance section
    the second-oldest known extant legal code after the Code of Ur-Nammu... it paved the way for the famous later Code of Hammurabi.
  • Associated With: Code of Hammurabi, Historical Significance section
    the second-oldest known extant legal code after the Code of Ur-Nammu... it paved the way for the famous later Code of Hammurabi.
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