'''Gudea''' was a ruler (''ensi'') of the city of 2144 - 2124 BC. He probably did not come from the city, but had married 2164 - 2144 BC) of Lagash, thus gaining entrance to the royal house of Lagash. He was succeeded by his son Ur-Ningirsu.

==Inscriptions==
Inscriptions mention temples built by Gudea in Ur, Nippur, Adab, Uruk and Bad-Tibira. This indicates the growing influence of Gudea in Sumer. His predecessor Urbaba had already made his daughter Enanepada high priestess of Nanna at Ur, which indicates a great deal of political power as well.

==Title==
Gudea chose the title of ''ensi'' (town-king or governor), not the more exalted ''lugal'' (Akkadian ''sharrum''); though he did style himself "god of Lagash". Gudea claimed to have conquered Elam and Anshan, but his inscriptions emphasize the building of irrigation channels and temples, and the creation of precious gifts to the gods. Materials for his buildings and statues were brought from all parts of western Asia: cedar wood from the Amanus mountains, quarried stones from Lebanon, copper from northern Arabia, gold and precious stones from the desert between Canaan and Egypt, dolerite from Magan (Oman), and timber from Dilmun (Bahrain).

As the power of the Akkadian empire waned, Lagaš again declared independence, this time under Puzer-Mama, who declared himself lugal, or king, of Lagaš.  Thereafter, this title would not be associated with Lagaš, at least until the end of the Gudean period.  Lagašite rulers, including Ur-Ningirsu and Ur-Bau, whose reigns predated Gudea, referred to themselves as ensi, or governor, of Lagaš, and reserved the term lugal only for their gods or as a matter of rank in a relationship, but never as a political device.  The continued use of ‘lugal’ in reference to deities seems to indicate a conscious attempt on the parts of the rulers to assume a position of humility in relation to the world--whether this was honest humility or a political ploy is unknown.

==Statues of Gudea==

thumb|left|150px|Diorite statue, [[Louvre]]
Twenty-six statues of Gudea have been found so far during excavations of Adad-nadin-ahhe and Telloh with most of the rest coming from the art trade (These having unknown provenances and sometimes doubtful authenticity).  The early statues were made of limestone, steatite and alabaster); later, when wide-ranging trade-connections had been established, the more costly exotic diorite was used. Diorite had already been used by old Sumerian rulers (Statue of Entemena).  These statues include inscriptions describing trade, rulership and religion.

==Religion==
The pleas to the gods under Gudea and his successors appear more creative and honest:  Whereas the Akkadian kings followed a rote pattern of cursing the progeny and tearing out the foundations of those that vandalize a stele, the Lagašite kings send various messages.  Times were violent after the Akkadian empire lost power over southern Mesopotamia, and the god receiving the most attention from Gudea was Ningirsu--a god of battle.  Though there is only one mention of martial success on the part of Gudea, the many trappings of war which he builds for Ningirsu indicate a violent era.  Southern Mesopotamian cities defined themselves through their worship, and the decision on Gudea’s part for Lagaš to fashion regalia of war for its gods is indicative of the temperament of the times. 

Though obviously the foundation and progeny curse was not the only religious invocation by the political powers during the Akkadian empire, but it demonstrates a certain standardization, and with it, stagnation, of the position of the gods that likely didn’t sit well with the people of Lagaš.  Ur-Ningirsu I, with whom the Gudean dynasty of Lagaš begins, leaves little in the way of inscriptions, and though some mention of various gods seems to indicate a more central role, it isn’t until Gudea that there can be a side by side comparison with the old curse of Sargon.  The inscription on a statue of Gudea as architect of the House of Ningirsu (Dietz Otto Edzard, Gudea and His Dynasty, pp. 31 – 38), warns the reader of doom if the words are altered, but there is a startling difference between the warnings of Sargon or his line and the warnings of Gudea.  The one is length, Gudea’s curse lasts nearly a quarter of the inscription’s considerable length (pp. 36 – 38), and another is creativity.  The gods will not merely reduce the offender’s progeny to ash and destroy his foundations, no, they will, “let him sit down in the dust instead of on the seat they set up for him”.  He will be, “slaughtered like a bull… seized like an aurochs by his fierce horn”. (p. 38)  

But these differences, though demonstrating a Lagašite respect of religious figures simply in the amount of time and energy they required, isn’t as telling as the language Gudea uses to justify any punishment.  Whereas Sargon or Naram-Sin simply demand punishment to any who change their words, based on their power, Gudea defends his words through tradition, “since the earliest days, since the seed sprouted forth, no one was (ever) supposed to alter the utterance of a ruler of Lagaš who, after building the Eninnu for my lord Ningirsu, made things function as they should”. (p. 37)  Changing the words of Naram-Sin, the living god, is treason, because he is the king.  But changing the words of Gudea, simple governor of Lagaš, is unjust, because he made things work right.

==Reforms==
The social reforms instituted during Gudea’s rulership, which included the cancellation of debts and allowing women to own family land, may have been honest reform or a return to old Lagašite custom. 

His era was especially one of artistic development. But it was Ningirsu who received the majority of Gudea’s attention. Ningirsu the war god, for whom Gudea built maces, spears, and axes, all appropriately named for the destructive power of Ningirsu—enormous and gilt. 

In matters of trade, Lagash under Gudea had extensive commercial communications with distant realms. According to his own records, Gudea brought cedars from the Amanus and Lebanon mountains in Syria, diorite from eastern Arabia, copper and gold from central and southern Arabia and from Sinai, while his armies were engaged in battles in Elam on the east. 

thumb|right|175px|Statue de Gudea dédiée au dieu [[Ningishzida, v. 2120 av. J.-C., musée du Louvre]]

'''Gudea''' (« l'appelé ») est ''ensi'' (gouverneur) de la cité-État de 2141 à 2122 av. J.-C. Il est resté célèbre pour les nombreuses statues qui le représentent.

== Règne ==

Par son mariage avec Ur, Adab, Uruk et Bad-Tibira — indice intéressant de l'influence de Gudea à Sumer.

Le plus important est l’Suse, poursuivent le chantier. On utilise les matériaux les plus précieux : argent, porphyre, ce qui témoigne de la grande prospérité de la cité-État. En un an, l’Eninnu est achevé et Gudea peut clamer : « Le respect du temple emplit tout le pays ; la crainte qu’il impose habite l’étranger ; l’éclat de l’Enninu couvre l’univers comme un manteau ! »

== Statues de Gudea ==
thumb|left|140px|Fragment d'une stèle trouvée à Girsu, musée du Louvre

De nombreuses statues du roi Gudea (pour la plupart en diorite) et des fragments de bas-reliefs ont étés découverts sur le site de Tello, anciennement Girsu.