The tenth ruler of the First Dynasty of Babylon, Ammi-saduqa, who ruled circa 1646 - circa 1626 B.C.E., issued a reform edict that included many provisions referring to the cancellation of debts, a royal tradition that dated back to about 2400 B.C.E., when king Uru'inimgina of Lagash canceled obligations resulting from nonpayment of debt and slave status resulting from punishment for theft or murder. Ammi-saduqa's edict freed only citizens from debt obligations. Foreigners, prisoners of war, or house-born slaves were not affected by the decree. In Mesopotamian societies the concept of social justice existed to re-establish or restore the status of those citizens who fell into debt or servitude. Equality did not extend to all inhabitants of the land, and there existed no incentive to aid those born into poverty or slavery:

(This is) the tablet [of the...