Ur-Baba

{{Short description|Ruler of Lagash in present-day Iraq (r. 21st or 20th century BCE)}}

{{Infobox royalty

| name = Ur-Baba
{{nobold|{{script|Xsux|𒌨𒀭𒁀𒌑}}}}

| image = Diorite Statue of Ur-Ba'u, Prince of Lagash, c. 2130 BC.jpg

| image_size = 250

| caption = Diorite Statue of Ur-Ba'u (Ur-Baba), Prince of Lagash. Louvre Museum, AO 9{{cite web |title=Site officiel du musée du Louvre |url=http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not&idNotice=11976 |website=cartelfr.louvre.fr}}{{cite book |last1=Eppihimer |first1=Melissa |title=Exemplars of Kingship: Art, Tradition, and the Legacy of the Akkadians |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-090302-2 |page=108 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1iieDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA108 |language=en}}

| death_date = c. 2144 BC

| spouse =

| issue = Ninalla

| reign = c. 2164 – c. 2144 BC

| father =

| predecessor = Possibly Kaku

| successor = Gudea

| dynasty = 2nd Dynasty of Lagash

| succession = King of Lagash

}}

{{Location map

| Near East

| width = 260px

| float = right

| border =

| caption = Location of Lagash

| alt =

| relief = yes

| AlternativeMap =

| overlay_image =

| label = Lagash

| label_size =

| position =

| background =

| mark =

| marksize =

| link =

| lat_deg = 31.411389

| lon_deg = 46.407222

}}

Ur-Baba or Ur-Bau ({{langx|sux|{{cuneiform|𒌨𒀭𒁀𒌑}}}} {{transl|sux|ur-^Dba.ba₆}} or {{transl|sux|ur-^Dba.U₂}}, servant of the goddess Bau; died {{Circa}} 2144 BC) was ensi of Lagash from 2093 BC – 2080 BC (short chronology) or 2157 BC – 2144 BC (middle chronology), roughly contemporaneous with the last king of Akkad, Shu-turul. In one of his inscriptions, he refers to himself as a child of the god Ninagal ({{langx|sux|{{cuneiform|𒀭𒎏𒀉𒃲}}}}).

According to inscriptions of Ur-Baba, during his reign, Lagash enjoyed prosperity and independence from the Akkadians. His daughter Ninalla married Gudea, who succeeded him as ensi.{{cite book |last1=Leick |first1=Gwendolyn |title=Who's Who in the Ancient Near East |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781134787951 |page=185 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3A2GAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT185 |language=en}}

File:Girsu Tablet of Ur-Baba.jpg|Tablet of Ur-Baba, Girsu.

File:Cone with name and title of Ur-Bau (Ur-Baba), king of Lagash.jpg|Cone with name and title of Ur-Baba, king of Lagash

File:Ur-Bau foundation tablet.jpg|Ur-Bau foundation tablet. Walters Art Museum

File:Ur-Bau foundation tablet (front detail).jpg|Ur-Bau foundation tablet (front detail). Walters Art Museum

File:God nailing foundation-AO 311-P5280789-gradient.jpg|Foundation figurine of Ur-Baba

Cuneiform dedication cone of Ur-Bau, Lagash, c. 2200-2100 BC - Harvard Semitic Museum - Cambridge, MA - DSC06150.jpg|Cuneiform dedication cone of Ur-Bau

Ur Bau tablet AO261 mp3h9041.jpg|Ur-Baba inscription plaque enumerating the temples erected by him; Louvre collection (AO 261).Full translation of the tablet: {{cite book|last1=Edzard|first1=Sibylle|last2=Edzard|first2=Dietz Otto|title=Gudea and His Dynasty|date=1997|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-4187-6|page=20|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0guVA19YUVoC&pg=PA20|language=en}}