Lipit-Ishtar
Lipit-Ishtar (Lipit-Eshtar), was the fifth ruler of
the first dynasty of Isin in Ancient Babylon, and ruled from around 1934 BCE to
1924 BCE. Some documents and royal inscriptions from his time have survived,
but he is mostly known because of Sumerian language hymns written in his honor.
In addition, a so-called legal code was written in his name (preceding the
famed Code of Hammurabi by about 200 years). This code was used in schools for hundreds of years after his death.
Inscription of Lipit-Ishtar
The divine
Lipit-Ishtar,
The humble shepherd
of Nippur,
The faithful
husbandman of Ur,
Who does not change
the face of Eridu,
A king befitting
Erech,
The king of Isin,
The king of Sumer and Akkad (North and South
Babylonia)
Who captivated the
heart of the goddess Inanna (Ishtar)
Am I.
When justice in Sumer and Akkad
he had established,
The temple of justice
he built.
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