Code of Ur Nammu

At that time, he established for him 90 kôr of barley, 30 sheep, and 50 quarts of butter as a regular offering. After An and Enlil had turned over the kingship of Ur to Nanna, Ur-Nammu, son born of the goddess Ninsun, for his beloved mother who bore him, in accordance with the principles of equity and truth of the god Nanna, established justice. He set up the seven, and Nammahni, the ensi of Lagash, he slew. By the might of Nanna, lord of the city of Ur, he returned the Magan-boat of Nanna to the boundary-canal and made it famous in Ur. At that time, the fields had been subject to the nisqum-official, and maritime trade was under the seafarers' overseer. The herdsman was subject to the "oxen-taker," the "sheep-taker," and the "donkey-taker." Ur-Nammu, the mighty warrior, king of Ur, king of Sumer and Akkad, by the might of Nanna, lord of the city of Ur, and in accordance with the true word of Utu, established equity in the land and banished malediction, violence, and strife. By granting immunity in Akkad to the maritime trade from the seafarers' overseer, and to the herdsman from the "oxen-taker," the "sheep-taker," and the "donkey-taker," he set Sumer and Akkad free. At that time, he established standardized weights and measures. He fashioned the bronze silé-measure, standardized the one mina weight, and set the stone-weight of a shekel of silver in relation to one mina. The orphan was not delivered up to the rich man; the widow was not delivered up to the mighty man; the poor man with one shekel was not delivered up to the man of one mina.⁠a If a man plants for another without the owner's knowledge, he must bring in the produce. If the wife of a man, by employing her charms, followed another man and he slept with her, they (the authorities) shall slay that woman, but the man shall be set free. If a man deflowers a virgin slave-woman of another by force, he must pay five shekels of silver. If a man divorces his primary wife, he must pay her one mina of silver. If he divorces a widow, he must pay her one-half mina of silver. If he had slept with the widow without a marriage contract, he owes her nothing. If a man accuses another and takes him to the river-ordeal, but the river-ordeal proves the accused innocent, the accuser must pay three shekels of silver. If a man accuses another man's wife of fornication, but the river-ordeal proves her innocent, the accuser must pay one-third of a mina of silver. If a prospective son-in-law is rejected after bringing bridal presents, the father-in-law must return double the amount. If a slave crosses city boundaries and is returned, the owner must pay two shekels of silver to the one who returned the slave. If a man cuts off the limb of another, he must pay ten shekels of silver. If a man injures another in a scuffle, he must pay one mina of silver. If someone severs another's nose with a copper knife, they must pay two-thirds of a mina of silver. If a man cuts off another’s body part, he must pay an appropriate amount of silver. If a man knocks out another's tooth, he must pay two shekels of silver. If a man lacks silver for compensation, he may pay with other possessions. If a slave-woman speaks insolently to her mistress, her mouth shall be scoured with salt. If a man gives false witness, he must pay fifteen shekels of silver. If a man refuses to testify, he must compensate as involved in the case. If a man plows another's field by force, he forfeits his expenses. If a man floods another's field, he must provide three kôr of barley per iku of field. If a man leases a field but fails to cultivate it, causing it to become wasteland, he must pay three kôr of barley per iku of field.