Position in chronology
Lipit-Eštar 01
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSRI(1) Lipit-Eštar, the humble shepherd of Nibru, the true farmer of Urim, ceaseless provider of Eridug, the en priest suitable for Unug, king of Isin, king of Sumer and Akkad, the favourite of Inana, the king who established justice in Sumer and Akkad.
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions — scholar edition (Vienna).
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Why it matters
Lipit-Eštar's self-presentation as 'humble shepherd' who 'established justice' in Sumer and Akkad — predating Hammurabi by roughly 150 years — anchors the ideological lineage of Mesopotamian law-giving kingship.
Scholarly note
Sumerian royal inscription, published in the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI) by Gábor Zólyomi and collaborators. Translation reproduced from the ETCSRI edition. ORACC text Q001959.
Attribution
Image: BM 137351 (British Museum, London, UK) — from Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.earth/artifacts, P428510). source
Translation excerpted from Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q001959/.
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