The Inscription of 36 lines is
given
twice on this
nail, once around the shaft in two
columns, with
division between lines 20 and 21, and
once on
the head also in two columns divided
between
lines 20 and 21. The Text is a royal
inscription of
Lipit-Ishtar, king of Isin in
Babylonia (c.
1935
-1924 BCE). It reads:
" Lipit-
Ishatr, shepherd
who reverences (the town) NIppur,
reliable
farmer of Ur, ceaseless for (the town)
Eridu, high
priest the adornment of (the town)
Uruk,
king of
Isin, king of the land of Sumer and
Akkad,
favourite of (the goddess) Ishtar am
I.
I made to potstands the delight of
(the
god) Enlil
and (goddess) Ninlil in Isin, my royal
city,
at the
gate of the palace, did I, lipit-
Ishtar, son
of (the
god) Enlil when I established justice
in the
land
of Sumer and Akkad."
The king first stresses his concern
for the
cults
of the major cities of Sumer: Nippur,
Ur,
Eridu,
and Uruk, then after giving his
titles, he
refers to
his making of two pot stands to put at
his
palace
gate from which the divine pair Enlil
and
ninlil
would receive some benefit. The
Occasion of this
dedication was when he established
justice in his
land. This was the cancellation of
certain
types of
debts to prevent the rich from getting
richer and
the poor poorer. The head of this nail
is
incomplete, but the shaft is complete.
There is
some salt encrustation on the surface.
Other
copies of this inscription are known
to
exist,
although on cones only. This would
then
be the
only existing nail of such kind ever
found.
[Translation and interpretation by
Prof.
W.G.Lambert].
