Code of Lipit-Ishtar
c. 1870 BCE · Ancient World
King Lipit-Ishtar of Isin created a written legal code around 1870-1860 BCE, making it the second oldest surviving legal code. Written in Sumerian on clay tablets, it contained legal articles addressing personal rights, marriage, inheritance, property contracts, and civil matters. The code included a prologue invoking gods An and Enlil to establish divine authority, and an epilogue. It served as a legal framework between the earlier Code of Ur-Nammu and later Code of Hammurabi, influencing Mesopotamian law for centuries.
Key Figures
Lipit-Ishtar
Locations
IsinNippur
Topics
cuneiformlawmesopotamiasumerianlegal history
Connected Events — 2 Connections
Lipit-Ishtar's Sumerian law code established legal precedents — restitution over retribution — that Hammurabi's later Babylonian code expanded into a comprehensive system Hammurabi's Code
Both Sumerian law codes from the Ur III period share legal principles including monetary compensation for bodily injury, reflecting a common Mesopotamian legal tradition Code of Ur-Nammu: The Oldest Known Law Code
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