Introduction The Law Code of Lipit-IÅ¡tar is a collection of laws dating back to the reign of Lipit-IÅ¡tar of the First Dynasty of Isin (r.... Read More
Matthew Saunders
Matthew Saunders is a PhD student in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Johns Hopkins University. He researches the languages and literatures of the ancient Near East, especially Aramaic Studies, Ugaritic Studies, and Comparative Semitics.

Introduction In three previous posts (here and here and here), I’ve introduced and translated the first three columns of the Gudea Cylinders which tell of... Read More

Introduction In two previous posts (here and here) I’ve introduced and translated the first two columns of the Gudea Cylinders which tell of the construction... Read More

Introduction In a previous post, I introduced you to the Gudea Cylinders which tell of the construction of Ning̃irsu’s É-ninnu Temple. Gudea was the ruler... Read More

Introduction The Gudea Cylinders (A and B) are cylindrical clay tablets which tell of the construction of Ning̃irsu’s É-ninnu Temple (É-ninnu = ‘House of the... Read More
Introduction The following unprovenanced and undated text records what appears to be a legal case about adultery. J. van Dijk (1962) called it an Ehescheidungsprozeß... Read More
Introduction The following text is a Sumerian legal case, called a ditila, about a breach of betrothal promise (so Neumann), or possibly a case of... Read More
Introduction The following text survives in at least eight copies on door sockets and stone blocks. The 30-line inscribed object included here is a door... Read More