Idin-Lagamal

Idin-Lagmal was a wealthy inhabitant of Dilbat. He is found in document doing business during the reigns of Sumu-abum and Sumu-la-ilum, the first two king of the Amorite dynasty. This was relatively peaceful time with investments in new canals that fostered the growth of cultivated area. Expansion of cultivated areas and agricultural growth positively reflected on increasing of trade in Babylonia, especially with regions to the north and west.

Idin-Lagamal and his eldest son Nahilum were able to take advantage of this general prosperity and through their foresight and industry laid the foundation for a family fortune that reached its zenith during the reign of Hammurabi (c. 1792 – 1750).

He is found buying houses and fields and making these estates remunerative. By the end of his life land possessed by him may be estimated to have been in excess of thirty-five acres. His real-estate operations within the town itself were conducted on a much more modest scale. His house, which stood on one side of the marketplace, was probably an inheritance from his father. He twice enlarged the house by two purchases from his neighbors.