Lipit-Ishtar ( Akkadian: ''Lipit-Ištar''; c. 1934-1924 BC ( MC) was the 5th king of the

First Dynasty of Isin The Dynasty of Isin refers to the final ruling dynasty listed on the ''Sumerian King List'' (''SKL''). The list of the Kings of Isin with the length of their reigns, also appears on a cuneiform document listing the kings of Ur and Isin, the ''Lis ...

, according to the ''

Sumerian King List The ''Sumerian King List'' (abbreviated ''SKL'') or ''Chronicle of the One Monarchy'' is an ancient Composition (language), literary composition written in Sumerian language, Sumerian that was likely created and redacted to legitimize the claims ...

'' (''SKL''). Also according to the ''SKL'': he was the successor of Išme-Dagān.

Ur-Ninurta Ur-Ninurta, c. 1923 – 1896 BC ( MC), was the 6th king of the 1st Dynasty of Isin. A usurper, Ur-Ninurta seized the throne on the fall of Lipit-Ištar and held it until his violent death some 28 years later. Biography He called himself “son ...

then succeeded Lipit-Ištar. Some documents and royal inscriptions from his time have survived, however, Lipit-Ištar is mostly known due to the

Sumerian language Sumerian ) was the language of ancient Sumer. It is one of the List of languages by first written account, oldest attested languages, dating back to at least 2900 BC. It is a local language isolate that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia, in the a ...

hymns that were written in his honor, as well as a legal code written in his name (preceding the famed

Code of Hammurabi The Code of Hammurabi is a Babylonian legal text composed during 1755–1750 BC. It is the longest, best-organized, and best-preserved legal text from the ancient Near East. It is written in the Old Babylonian dialect of Akkadian language, Akkadi ...

by about 100 years)—which were used for school instruction for hundreds of years after Lipit-Ištar's death. The annals of Lipit-Ištar's reign recorded that he also repulsed the

Amorites The Amorites () were an ancient Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic-speaking Bronze Age people from the Levant. Initially appearing in Sumerian records c. 2500 BC, they expanded and ruled most of the Levant, Mesopotamia and parts of Eg ...

.Ferris J. Stephens, "A Newly Discovered Inscription of Libit-Ishtar", ''

Journal of the American Oriental Society The ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'' is a quarterly academic journal published by the American Oriental Society since 1843. The editor in chief is Peri Bearman (Harvard University).Isin Isin (, modern Arabic language, Arabic: Ishan al-Bahriyat) is an archaeological site in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq which was the location of the Ancient Near East city of Isin, occupied from the late 4th millennium Uruk period up until at ...

Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. ...

Cuneiform law Cuneiform law refers to any of the legal codes written in cuneiform script that were developed and used throughout the ancient Middle East among the Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Elamites, Hurrians, Kassites, and Hittites. The Code of Hammurab ...

History of Sumer The history of Sumer spans through the 5th to 3rd millennia BCE in southern Mesopotamia, and is taken to include the prehistoric Ubaid period, Ubaid and Uruk period, Uruk periods. Sumer was the region's earliest known civilization and ended with ...

List of Mesopotamian dynasties The history of Mesopotamia extends from the Lower Paleolithic period until the establishment of the Caliphate in the late 7th century AD, after which the region came to be known as History of Iraq, Iraq. This list covers dynasties and monarchs of ...

Notes

References

* James R. Court, ''Codex Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor''. Scholars Press, 1995.
Francis R. Steele, ''The Code of Lipit Ishtar''
- University of Pennsylvania Museum Monographs, 1948 - includes complete text and analysis of all fragments eprinted from ''American Journal of Archaeology'' 52 (1948)">American_Journal_of_Archaeology.html" ;"title="eprinted from ''American Journal of Archaeology">eprinted from ''American Journal of Archaeology'' 52 (1948) Sumerian kings Amorite kings Ancient legislators Ancient Near East law 19th-century BC Sumerian kings Dynasty of Isin {{AncientNearEast-bio-stub