Irikagina made a contract with (the god) Nin-ºgirsu.k, that he will not
deliver to the powerful the orphan and the widow.^9The other basic purpose was the (re)establishment of divine owner-
ship over estates administered (and allegedly exploited in the past)
by the ruler and members of his family.^10 Some scholars now view
with skepticism the ruler’s claim to have enacted these “reforms.”^111.1.3 In the twenty-second century, Gudea of Laga“claims to have
given inheritance rights to daughters of families without male heirs
(Stat. B vii 44–46; cf. Laws of Urnamma §a9').1.2 Administrative orders and appeals to higher authority (letters)
first occur during the Sargonic period.^121.3 Private Legal Documents
1.3.1 The earliest documents refer to huge areas of land (ELTS
1–13; 19) and were written on stone artefacts. They are of unknown
provenance, except for one found in a secondary layer of the Sîn
temple at ›afà[ìand one in Tell K at Tellò, which is said to have
contained the remains of a temple of Nin-ºgirsu.k. Most record more
than one transaction, with one person seemingly acquiring different
tracts of land from more than one previous owner. Two are most
probably linked to marital property (ELTS 10 with 11 and 12).^131.3.2 The stone tablet with the “Figure aux plumes” contains a lit-
erary, (partly) hymnal inscription and may relate to a gift or a dec-
laration of immunity of the fields mentioned.^14 Later OS stone
documents, among them a statue,^15 are clearly abbreviated copies(^9) FAOS 5/1 Ukg. 4 xii 13–28 = 5 xi 20–xii 4.
(^10) FAOS 5/1 Ukg. 1 v 1"–10"; 4 iv 9–v 3 = 5 iv 9–25 || 4 ix 7–21 = 5 viii
16–27; 6 i 22'–26'. See Wilcke, “Neue Rechtsurkunden.. .,” 46; Steinkeller, “Land-
tenure.. .”; Kraus, “Provinzen.. .” See further 6.1.2 below.
(^11) Hru“ka, “Die innere Struktur.. .,” 5; Edzard, “‘Soziale Reformen’.. .,” 148f.
and n. 17.
(^12) FAOS 19.
(^13) Wilcke, “Anfänge...”
(^14) Wilcke, “Die Inschrift.. .”; Cavigneaux, “Un détail...”
(^15) The Lú-pà.d Statue (ELTS no. 21). Later statues dedicated to the wellbeing
of Gudea of Laga“and ”ulgi of Ur report immunities.
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