Ebla

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Ebla was an ancient city in northern Syria, about 55 km south-west of Aleppo. She had during two periods at the end of the 3rd millennium BC and 1800-1650 BC, the state of a city-state. The settlement mound the excavation site, which is primarily known for its archive of over 20,000 cuneiform clay tablets, dating from the 3rd millennium BC, is called Tell Mardikh.

Discovery and excavation

Italian archaeologists in 1964 began the University of Rome under the direction of Paolo Matthiae with excavations at Tell Mardikh. In 1968, she found a statue of the goddess Ishtar, the name of a king of Ebla - wore - Ibbit -Lim. This was the city that had long been known by Egyptian and Akkadian writings identified. In the following decade the team discovered a palace which has been dated to 2500-2000 BC. In the ruins, there were already mentioned above about 20,000 well-preserved cuneiform tablets in the Sumerian and Eblaitisch - are written - a previously unknown Akkadian dialect. These tables indicate the close relationship of the city to the southern Mesopotamia, where cuneiform writing was developed. The tablets also contained vocabulary lists, which enabled their translation.

The translations showed that you can not the palace library here - had been found, but an archive of taxes and duties, legal texts, diplomatic and trade contacts, and a writing desk, were copied into the texts - that may still waiting to be discovered. The larger panels were originally housed in shelves from which they had fallen in the destruction of the palace. The references of panels allowed the excavators to reconstruct their former position. It turned out very quickly that they must have been sorted according to their content on the shelves.

Ebla in the third millennium BC

The name Ebla means " white rock " and goes back to the limestone rock, on which the city was built. The area showed traces of settlements in the 4th millennium BC, but the highlight of the importance of the city was only achieved in the second half of the next millennium. Eblas first bloom is 2400-2240 BC His name is mentioned in Akkadian texts around 2300 BC.

Most of the found cuneiform tablets dating from this period include economic data. They give a good impression of the daily life of urban residents and the cultural, economic and political situation in northern Syria and the Middle East around the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. You mention places and people that are mentioned later in the Old Testament, among others can be found here the first mention of Jerusalem.

Economy

At the heyday of Ebla was by its strategic location on the trade routes between the Euphrates and the Mediterranean an important economic center. The panels show that residents eblas over 200,000 animals had (sheep, goats and cows). The most important commodity of the city was probably wood from the nearby mountains, and possibly also from Lebanon, and textiles, which are mentioned in Sumerian texts of the city-state of Lagash. Main trading partner was probably Mesopotamia, especially Kish, also contacts with Egypt by gifts of the pharaohs Khafra and Pepi I. are known. The Egyptians were also the main consumers of originating from Afghanistan lapis lazuli. Trade Goods may also have been an important export: Exquisite items were salvaged from the ruins, as ebony furniture inlaid with mother of pearl and statues from different colored stones. The art style of Ebla may have altered the 2350-2150 BC following Akkadian Empire.

Politics and Administration

The political organization is rather unclear, but the city seems to have been dominated by a commercial aristocracy, who chose a king and entrusted the defense of the city on paid mercenaries. Due to the cuneiform tablets, the names of five kings or similar high -ranking personalities were handed down:

• Igris - Halam
• Irkab - Damu
• Ar - Ennum
• Ebrium
• Ibbi - Sipiš.

The monarchy could become hereditary by Ebrium, as is said by his sons, that they ruled over nearby towns.

Religion

At this time in Ebla some known ( Dagan, Ishtar, Reshef, Kanisch, Hadad ) and some unknown ( Kura, Nidakul ) were worshiped Semitic deities, along with some Sumerian ( Enki, Ninki ) and Hurrian gods ( Aschtapi, Hepat, Ischara ). The principal gods of Ebla were KU- ra, Utu and Adda ( NI dabbal ). Giovanni Pettinato assumes that Dagan (DBE ) was the chief god of Ebla, possibly even a high god ( henotheism ), but here he was followed by a few other researchers. After Feliu DBE can dingir - dingir not be safely identified with Dagan.

The destruction of Ebla

Sargon of Akkad and his grandson Naram -Sin, the conqueror of large parts of Mesopotamia, both claim to have destroyed Ebla; the exact date of destruction is controversial, in 2240 BC, is a possible candidate. For the next three centuries, Ebla was a small settlement under the control of the nearby town Urschu.

Ebla in the 2nd millennium BC

Several centuries after its destruction by the Akkadians Ebla reached back part of its purpose and experienced a second flowering between 1850 and 1600 BC Its inhabitants were called Amorites as their first king Ibbit -Lim was. Ebla is mentioned in texts from Alalakh from about 1750 BC. The city was by the Hittite king Mursili I. Hattusili or destroyed I. in the turbulent period from 1650 to 1600 BC.

Ebla never recovered from this second destruction, yet was proven continuously until the Hellenistic period ( Ebla VI B dates back to the 1st century BC) colonized. A part of the hill was built over in the Christian era from an existing until the 7th century Byzantine monastery. After that, the place was abandoned.