Ur-Nammu: Founder of the Sumerian Renaissance (opens in new tab)

Ur-Nammu purposefully presented himself as the inheritor of the glory of Akkad as part of the Akkadian lineage. He instituted a patrimonial state in which his subjects were encouraged to see him as a father figure who cared for his children and wanted only the best for them. To this end, he created his code of laws circa 2100-2050 BCE. He continued (or may have continued) the effort to expel the remaining Gutians from Sumer and took control of other Sumerian cities such as Lagash on the Persi...