Ebla tablets and Ebla (Arabic: إبلا‎, modern: Tell Mardikh

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Ebla
HPIM3078 1.JPG
Ruins of the outer wall and the "Damascus Gate"
Ebla is located in Syria
Ebla
Shown within Syria
Alternate nameTell Mardikh (Arabic: تل مرديخ‎)
LocationIdlib Governorate, Syria
Coordinates35.798°N 36.798°E
Typesettlement
History
Foundedc. 3500 BC
Abandoned7th century AD
PeriodsBronze Age
Site notes
Excavation dates1964–present
ArchaeologistsPaolo Matthiae
OwnershipPublic
Public accessYes
A clay tablet found in Ebla, Syria
The Ebla tablets are a collection of as many as 1800 complete clay tablets, 4700 fragments and many thousand minor chips found in the palace archives[1] of the ancient city of Ebla, Syria. The tablets were discovered by Italianarchaeologist Paolo Matthiae and his team in 1974–75[2] during their excavations at the ancient city of Tell Mardikh.[3] The tablets, which were found in situ on collapsed shelves, retained many of their contemporary clay tags to help reference them. They all date to the period between ca. 2500 BC and the destruction of the city ca. 2250 BC.[4] Today, the tablets are being held in the Syrian museums of Aleppo, Damascus, and Idlib.

Language[edit]

Two languages appeared in the writing on the tablets: Sumerian, and a previously unknown language that used the Sumerian cuneiform script (Sumerian logograms or "Sumerograms") as a phonetic representation of the locally spoken Ebla language.[citation needed] The latter script was initially identified asproto-Canaanite by professor Giovanni Pettinato, who first deciphered the tablets, because it predated the Semitic languages of Canaan, like Ugaritic andHebrew. Pettinato later retracted the designation and decided to call it simply "Eblaite", the name by which it is known today.[4]
The purely phonetic use of Sumerian logograms marks a momentous advance in the history of writing.[5] From the clumsier system developed by Sumerian scribes, employing a mixed use of logograms and phonetic signs, the scribes at Ebla employed a reduced number of signs from the existing systems entirely phonetically, both the earliest example of transcription (rendering sounds in a system invented for another language) and a major simplifying step towards "reader friendliness" that would enable a wider spread of literacy in palace, temple and merchant contexts.

Archaeological context[edit]

The tablets were discovered just where they had fallen when their wooden shelves burned in the final conflagration of "Palace G". The archive was kept in orderly fashion in two small rooms off a large audience hall (with a raised dais at one end); one repository contained only bureaucratic economic records on characteristic round tablets, the other, larger room held ritual and literary texts, including pedagogical texts for teaching young scribes. Many of the tablets had not previously been baked, but when all were preserved by the fire that destroyed the palace, their storage method served to fire them almost as thoroughly as if in a kiln: they had been stored upright in partly recessed wooden shelves, rectos facing outward, leaning backwards at an angle so that the incipit of each tablet could be seen at a glance, and separated from one another by fragments of baked clay. The burning shelving pancaked – collapsing in place and preserving the order of the tablets.[6]

Content and significance[edit]

The tablets provide a wealth of information on Syria and Canaan in the Early Bronze Age,[7] and include the first known references to the "Canaanites", "Ugarit", and "Lebanon".[8] The contents of the tablets reveal that Ebla was a major trade center. A main focus was economic records, inventories recording Ebla's commercial and political relations with other Levantine cities and logs of the city's import and export activities. For example, they reveal that Ebla produced a range of beers, including one that appears to be named "Ebla", for the city.[4] Ebla was also responsible for the development of a sophisticated trade network system between city-states in northern Syria. This system grouped the region into a commercial community, which is clearly evidenced in the texts.[8]
There are king lists for the city of Ebla, royal ordinances, edicts, treaties. There are gazetteers listing place names, including a version of a standardized place-name list that has also been found at Abu Salabikh (possibly ancient Eresh) where it was datable ca. 2600 BC.[9] The literary texts include hymns and rituals, epics, proverbs.
Many tablets include both Sumerian and Eblaite inscriptions with versions of three basic bilingual word-lists contrasting words in the two languages. This structure has allowed modern scholars to clarify their understanding of the Sumerian language, at that time still a living language, because until the discovery of the tablet corpus there were no bilingual dictionaries with Sumerian and other languages, leaving pronunciation and other phonetic aspects of the language unclear. The only tablets at Ebla that were written exclusively in Sumerian are lexical lists, probably for use in training scribes.[4] The archives contain thousands of copybooks, lists for learning relevant jargon, and scratch pads for students, demonstrating that Ebla was a major educational center specializing in the training of scribes.[8] Shelved separately with the dictionaries, there were also syllabaries of Sumerian words with their pronunciation in Eblaite.

Biblical archaeology[edit]

Further information: Biblical archaeology
Rituals like the release of a scape goat laden with impurities[10] in purification rites connected with a wedding and enthronement were immediately recognized as ancient Near Eastern parallels to Hebrew practice in the first millennium, recorded in Leviticus 16.
The application of the Ebla texts to specific places or people in the Bible occasioned controversy, focused on whether the tablets made references to, and thus confirmed, the existence of Abraham, David and Sodom and Gomorrah among other Biblical references.[8] The sensationalist claims were coupled with delays in the publication of the complete texts, and it soon became an unprecedented academic crisis.[2] The political context of the modern Arab–Israeli conflict also added fire to the debate, turning it into a debate about the "proof" for Zionist claims to Palestine.[8] Among the most notable claims were that the attested presence of "yā" in Eblaite names was a supposed form of Yahweh (a claim that has since been shown to be purely speculative);[11] speculation that local kings were elected, claimed to be uniquely reminiscent of practices in early Israel – and a mythological introduction to a hymn to the creator deity at Ebla, said to be akin to the account of creation in Genesis.[2] However, much of the initial media excitement about supposed Eblaite connections with the Bible, based on preliminary guesses and speculations by Pettinato and others, is now widely deplored as generated by "exceptional and unsubstantiated claims" and "great amounts of disinformation that leaked to the public".[12] The present consensus is that Ebla's role in biblical archaeology, strictly speaking, is minimal.[2]

References[edit]

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Ebla (Arabic: إبلا‎, modern: Tell Mardikh تل مرديخ, Idlib Governorate, Syria) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria, located about 55 km (34 mi) southwest of Aleppo near the village of Mardikh. It was an important center throughout the third millennium BC and in the first half of the second millennium BC, its discovery in 1968 proved the Levant to be an equal center of ancient centralized civilization next to Egypt and Mesopotamia,[1] and ruled out the view that the former two were the only important centers in the Near East during the early Bronze Age.[2][3][4][5]
Starting as a small settlement in the early Bronze Age (c. 3500 BC), it developed into a trading empire and later turned into an expansionist power that imposed its hegemony over much of northern and eastern Syria. Its language, Eblaite, is now considered the earliest attested Semitic language[6] afterAkkadian. The site is most famous for the Ebla tablets, an archive of about 20,000 cuneiform tablets found there,[7] dated to around 2350 BC.[a] Written in both Sumerian and Eblaite and using theSumerian Cuneiform, the archive has allowed a better understanding of the Sumerian language.
Ebla was destroyed during the 23rd century BC; it was then rebuilt and was attested in the records of the Third Dynasty of Ur. The second Ebla was a continuation of the first, ruled by a new royal dynasty. It was destroyed at the end of the second millennium BC, which paved the way for the Amorite tribes to settle in the city and form the third Ebla. The third kingdom flourished again as a trade center; it became a subject and an ally to Yamhad (modern Aleppo) until its final destruction by the Hittite king Mursili I in c. 1600 BC.
Ebla maintained its prosperity through a vast trading network. Artifacts from Sumer, Cyprus, Egypt and as far as Afghanistan were recovered from the palaces of the city. The political organization of Ebla had unique features different from the Sumerian model. Women enjoyed a special status and the queen had major influence in the state and religious affairs. The pantheon of gods was mainly north Semitic and included deities exclusive to Ebla.

History[edit]

A possible explanation of the word "Ebla" is "white rock", referring to the limestone outcrop on which the city was built.[8][9] Ebla was first settled around 3500 BC,[10][11] and its growth was supported by many satellite agricultural settlements. The city benefited from its role as an entrepôt of growing international trade, which probably began with an increased demand for wool in Sumer.[10] This early habitation period is designated by archaeologistsMardikh I, and ended around 3000 BC.[12] It is followed by the first and second kingdoms era from about 3000 to 2000 BC, designated Mardikh II.[13]

First kingdom[edit]

First Eblaite Kingdom
Ebla
c. 3000 BC–c. 2300 BC
The first kingdom territories under the direct rule of the king, only southern vassals are shown.
CapitalEbla
LanguagesEblaite language
ReligionLevantine Religion
GovernmentMonarchy
Historical eraBronze Age
 - Establishedc. 3000 BC
 - Disestablishedc. 2300 BC
Today part of Syria
During the first kingdom period between about 3000 and 2300 BC, Ebla was the most prominent kingdom amongst the Syrian states, especially during the second half of the 3rd millennium BC, which is known as the age of the archives after the Ebla tablets.[14]

Early period[edit]

The early period between 3000 and 2400 BC is designated Mardikh IIA. The first part of this period is identified with buildings located on the southern slopes of the acropolis in an area designated as CC, the most important of which was building G2.[15] The dates of the earliest kings have been estimated from king lists, and they suggest that the first royal dynasty started at the same period that G2 was built. This was apparently a royal palace built c. 2700 BC.[10][16] A sequence of 21 Kings ruling in this period has been constructed.

Archive period[edit]

Royal palace G
The archive period, which is designated Mardikh IIB1, lasted from c. 2400 BC until c. 2300 BC. The end of the period is known as the "first destruction", mainly of the palace (called palace G and built over the earlier G2) and much of the acropolis.[6][17] In the archive period Ebla had political and military dominance over the other Syrian city-states of northern and eastern Syria, which are mentioned in the tablets.[18] Most of the tablets, which date from that period, are about economic matters, but they also include royal letters and diplomatic documents.[18]
In the middle of the 25th century BC, Mari was defeated by Ebla, perhaps by King Kun-Damu, whose reign over Ebla can be dated to this period.[b][19] The power of Ebla then declined,[c] and during the reign of King Igrish-Halam in the mid-24th century it paid tribute to Mari.[19] Ebla recovered under King Irkab-Damu in about 2340 BC; becoming prosperous and launching a successful counteroffensive against Mari.[20] At its greatest extent Ebla controlled an area roughly half the size of modern Syria,[21] half of which was under the direct control of the king and administered by governors, while the rest consisted of vassal kingdoms paying tribute and supplying military assistance to Ebla.[21] One of the most important of these vassals was Armi, which was the city most often mentioned in the Ebla tablets.[22] In total Ebla had more than sixty vassal kingdoms and city-states,[23] including Khashshum, Gasur, Emar andBurman.[20]
The king's chief official was called the vizier, the holder of this office started to acquire substantial authority during the reign of Irkab-Damu. Important viziers included Darmiya and Arrukum (Ar-Ennum), but the most powerful was Ibrium, who campaigned against the city of Abarsal (probably located along the Euphrates river east of Ebla) during the term of his predecessor Arrukum.[24][25][26] In the last two years of Irkab-Damu's reign Ibrium was appointed vizier, and he continued to hold office during the succeeding reign of Isar-Damu. He kept his position for about 20 years in the mid-24th century BC, and was succeeded by his son Ibbi-Sipish, thus establishing a parallel dynasty of viziers after to the royal family.[24] In his ninth year as vizier, Ibrium defeated the rebellious vassal state of Armi near a town called Batin, which may be northeast of Aleppo.[27] He also conducted several campaigns against other rebellious vassals and concluded a peace and trading treaty with the vassal state of Abarsal, one of the first recorded treaties in history.[28]
Ibbi-Sipish conducted a military campaign in his third year against a city called Bagara, and also launched several attacks on Armi, in one of which he received linen textiles.[29][30] He also campaigned against the city of Ibal in the south (close to Qatna), and made an alliance with Nagar and Kish to defeat Mari in a battle near Terqa.[31] The alliance then attacked Armi and occupied it, leaving Ibbi-Sipish's son Enzi-Malik as governor, Ebla itself suffered its first destruction a few years after the campaign making Isar-Damu the last king of the first kingdom and preventing Dubuhu-Ada the designated son and heir of Ibbi-Sipish from inheriting his father's office.[30][32]

First destruction of Ebla[edit]

The first destruction occurred during the 23rd century BC. Palace G was burned, baking the clay tablets of the royal archives, and thus preserving the Ebla tablets. Many theories have been suggested for the cause, the date and the perpetrator:[33][34]
  • High (early) dating hypothesis: Giovanni Pettinato supports a high dating for Ebla which would put the destruction at around 2500 BC.[d] Pettinato, while preferring the date of 2500 BC later accepted that the event could have happened in 2400 BC. If the event took place in 2400 BC, Pettinato suggests that the city was destroyed by a Mesopotamian such as Eannatum of Lagash, who boasted of taking tribute from Mari, or Lugalzagesi ofUmma, who claimed to have reached the Mediterranean.[35] However, Michael Astour argues that according to the high chronology, Eannatum's reign ended in 2481 BC and Ebla was not destroyed until 2400 BC; according to the same chronology Lugalzagesi's reign would have just started in 2400, and at this stage he faced powerful enemies near his kingdom in southern Mesopotamia and Mari, so he could not have attacked distant Ebla.
  • Akkadian hypothesis: both Kings Sargon of Akkad and his grandson Naram-Sin claimed to have destroyed a town called Ibla,[36] The discoverer of Ebla, Paolo Matthiae considers Sargon more likely,[e][37] and his view is supported by Trevor Bryce.[38] However, Astour believes that Sargon and his grandson were referring to a city with a similar name in Iraq called Ib-la.[39] Astour points that the archives of Ebla at the time of their destruction correspond to the political situation that predate the establishment of the Akkadian empire not just the reign of Naram-Sin.[40] It is also unlikely that Sargon was responsible as the Ebla tablets at the time of their destruction describe Kish as independent, and Lugalzagesi sacked Kish and was himself killed by Sargon before Sargon destroyed Ibla or Ebla.[41]
  • Mari revenge: The destruction happened three years after the battle of Terqa,[42] Amanda Podany and Mario Liverani suggest that the destruction was caused by Mari in retaliation for its humiliating defeat in Terqa.[43][44]
  • Natural catastrophe: Astour suggests that a natural catastrophe caused the blaze which ended the archive period, as the destruction was limited to the area of the royal palace, and there is no convincing evidence for looting. He dates the fire to c. 2290 BC (Middle Chronology).[45][46]

Second kingdom[edit]

Palace P5
The second kingdom is designated Mardikh IIB2. It lasted until the second destruction between 2050 and 1950 BC.[47][48] During the reign of Naram-Sin (c.2254–c.2218), the whole of northern Syria including Ebla became a part of the Akkadian Empire.[49]
A new local dynasty ruled the second kingdom of Ebla, but there was continuity with its first kingdom heritage. Ebla maintained its earliest features including its architectural style, religion and the sanctity of the acropolis.[38][50] The transition from the archive period is marked only by the destruction of the palace G.[51] A new royal palace was built in the northern part of the lower city, the archaic palace P5, and a new temple that was built in the same area (designated D) as the old temple in the acropolis. However little is known about the second kingdom as no tablets have been discovered and only one inscription which dates to the end of the period.[52]
Ebla continued to be a center of trade.[f][47] An inscription by Gudea of Lagash asked for cedars to be brought from Urshu in the mountains of Ebla, indicating that Ebla's territory included Urshu, north ofCarchemish in modern Turkey.[53] A text that dates to the seventh year of Amar-Sin (c. 2040 BC), a ruler of the Third Dynasty of Ur, mentions a messenger of the Ensí (Megum) of Ebla, showing that the kingdoms were in communication.[54][55][56] Megum is thought to have been a title of the ruler of Ebla rather than a personal name.[g][57][58][59]
The second kingdom ended with the destruction of the city by fire, although evidence has only been found on the western side outside of the temple and in the area of residence E on the acropolis. The reason for the destruction is not known.[60][61]

Third kingdom[edit]

Third Eblaite Kingdom
Ebla
c. 2000 BC–c. 1600 BC
CapitalEbla
LanguagesAmorite language
ReligionLevantine Religion
GovernmentMonarchy
Historical eraBronze Age
 - Establishedc. 2000 BC
 - Disestablishedc. 1600 BC
Ishtar terrace
The third kingdom is designated Mardikh III, and is divided into periods A (c. 2000–1800 BC) and B (c. 1800–1600 BC). In period A the kingdom was settled by the Amorites and Ebla was quickly rebuilt as a planned city. The foundations covered what remained of Mardikh II; new fortifications were built in two circles, one for the low city and one for the acropolis, in addition to new palaces and temples in the lower city.[62] The city was laid out on regular lines and large public buildings were built on the acropolis including royal palace E.[63] Further construction took place in period B.[64]
The first known third kingdom king is Ibbit-Lim, who described himself as the Mekim of Ebla.[h] A basalt votive statue bearing his inscription was discovered in 1968 and helped to identify the site of Tell-Mardikh with the ancient kingdom Ebla.[59][65] The names of the king and his father Igrish-Heba (who is not known to have been a king) are Amorite, and in the view Giovanni Pettinato it is therefore probable that the inhabitants of third kingdom Ebla were predominantly Amorites, as were most of the inhabitants of Syria at that time.[66]
By the beginning of the 18th century BC Ebla had become a vassal of Yamhad, an Amorite kingdom centered on Aleppo,[67][68] a status which it kept until the end of both kingdoms.[64] One of the known rulers of Ebla during this period was Immeya; a silver bowl bearing his name was found in the "tomb of the lords of the goats", together with an Egyptian ceremonial mace presented by Pharaoh Hotepibre to the Eblaite king. The mace and other Egyptian jewels in the tomb indicate the continuing wide connections and importance of Ebla.[69]
Ebla is mentioned in tablets from the Yamhadite vassal city of Alalakh in modern Turkey; an Eblaite princess married a son of King Ammitaqum of Alalakh, who belonged to a branch of The royalYamhadite dynasty.[70][71]
Ebla and Yamhad were destroyed by the Hittite King Mursili I in about 1600 BC.[72] Indilimgur was probably the last king of Ebla;[73] a seal of his crown prince was discovered in the western palace Q.[74]
The destruction of Ebla is mentioned in the fragmentary Hurro-Hittite epic Song of Release,[75] discovered in 1983. In the epic an Eblaite assembly led by a man called Zazalla prevents King Meki from showing mercy to prisoners from its former vassal city Ikinkalis,[76] provoking the wrath of the storm god Teshshub and causing him to destroy the city.[75]

Later periods[edit]

Ebla never recovered from its third destruction. It was a small village in the phase designated Mardikh IV (1600–1200 BC), and was mentioned in the records of Alalakh as a vassal to the Idrimi dynasty.[77] Mardikh V (1200–535 BC) was a rural early Iron Age settlement which grow in size during its later periods. Further development occurred during Mardikh VI, which lasted until c. 60 AD. The site was largely abandoned in the 2nd century AD duringMardikh VII, between 60 AD and the seventh century AD. Some parts were sparsely populated until the third century AD, and perhaps to the middle of the 1st millennium AD, after which the site was forgotten until its rediscovery in 1968.[72][78]

Government and organization[edit]

Ebla Landmarks
Ebla was a large city protected by a fortified rampart and towers. A raised acropolis in the centre was surrounded by the lower city,[79] which was divided into four districts each with its own gate in the outer wall. During the first kingdom the gates were double chambered.[79][80] The acropolis was fortified and included the king's palace (Palace G)[80] and the main temple of Ishara.[79][81] The lower city had many public buildings[79] including the Vizier Palace,[i][82] the temple of Shapash (Temple N) and two other palaces.[j][79] The royal cemetery and the temple of Resheph (Temple B1) were located in the south of the lower city and the temple of Hadad in the southeast.[k][79]
During the second kingdom, the royal palace (Archaic Palace P5) was built north west of the acropolis, in addition to the western palace (in area Q),[83] while the intermediate palace, palace E and Ishtar temple (in area D) were built during the third kingdom.[84]
The government consisted of the king (styled Malikum) and the grand vizier who headed the elders (Abbu) council and the administration.[85] The central administration was located in the acropolis. The queen had a share with the king in running the affairs of the state,[80] and the crown prince was involved in the internal matters while the second prince was involved in foreign affairs.[80] Most affairs including military ones were handled primarily by the grand vizier and the administration,[24] which consisted of 13 court dignitaries, each of whom controlled between 400 and 800 men forming a bureaucracy with a total of 11,700 people.[85] Each of the four quarters of the lower city was governed by a chief inspector and many deputies.[80] Smaller cities were governed by governors, and each governor was under the authority of the grand vizier.[24] Women received salaries equaled to men and could accede to important positions and head government agencies.[86]

Kings of Ebla[edit]

The Eblaites worshipped dead kings as gods. For the first kingdom monarchs, tablets listing offerings to kings mention 10 names,[6] and another list mentions a total of 26 kings.[l][87] No kings are known from the second kingdom, and only three from the third kingdom, Ibbit-Lim (c. 2000 BC), Immeya (c. 1750 BC),[88] and Indilimgur (c. 1600 BC). All dates are estimates according to the Middle chronology.[10][89]

First Kingdom monarchs[edit]

Seated ruler, dates to the third kingdom.[90]
RulerReignedComments
Kulbanu
Assanu
Samiu
Zialu
Enmanuc. 2740 BC
Namanuc. 2720 BC
Da .. .c. 2700 BC
Sagishuc. 2680 BC
Dane'umc. 2660 BC
Ibbini-Limc. 2640 BC
Ishrut-Damuc. 2620 BC
Isiduc. 2600 BC
Isrut-Halamc. 2580 BC
Iksudc. 2560 BC
Talda-Limc. 2540 BC
Abur-Limc. 2520 BC
Agur-Limc. 2500 BC
Ibbi-Damuc. 2480 BC
Baga-Damuc. 2460 BC
Enar-Damuc. 2440 BC
Eshar-Malikc. 2420 BC
Kun-Damuc. 2400 BC
Adub-Damuc. 2380 BCshort reign
Igrish-Halamc. 2360 BCruled at least 12 years
Irkab-Damuc. 2340 BCrise of vizier Ibrium
Isar-Damuc. 2320 BCruled about 30 years, rise of vizier Ibbi-Sipish

People, language and culture[edit]

Royal palace G courtyard
During the Mardikh I & II periods the population is estimated to have numbered around 40,000 people in the capital, and over 200,000 people for the whole Kingdom.[91]
The Eblaites were Semites.[92] Giovanni Pettinato and Mitchell Dahood believed that the Eblaite language was aWest Semitic language, but I. J. Gelb and others suggested it was an East Semitic dialect, closer to the Akkadian language, a view which is now generally accepted.[93][94]
The Eblaite gods mostly belonged to the northwestern semitic pantheon,[95] and some deities were unique to Ebla.[96] Ebla held several religious and social festivals such as the rituals for the succession of a new king, which normally lasted for several weeks.[97]
Society was less centered around the palace and the temple than in Mesopotamian kingdoms. The Eblaite palace was designed around the courtyard, which was open toward the city, thus making the administration approachable. This contrasts with Mesopotamian palaces which resembled citadels, with narrow entrances and limited access to the external courtyard.[98]
The Mardikh III population was predominately Semitic Amorite.[66] The Amorites were mentioned in the first kingdom tablets as neighbors and as rural subjects.[99] They came to dominate Ebla after the destruction of the second kingdom,[100] and formed the bulk of its population. The city witnessed a great increase in construction, and many palaces, temples and fortifications were built.[101] The Amorite Eblaites worshiped the same deities as the Eblaites of earlier periods,[102] and maintained the sanctity of the acropolis in the center of the city.[60]

Economy[edit]

During the first kingdom period, the palace controlled the economy,[24] but wealthy families managed their financial affairs without government intervention.[103] The system was redistributive, and the palace distributed food to its permanent and seasonal workers. It is estimated that around 40,000 persons contributed to this system, but in general (unlike Mesopotamia) lands stayed in the hands of the villages which paid an annual share to the palace.[104] The agriculture was mainly pastoral; large herds of cattle were managed by the palace,[104] and the city's inhabitants owned about 200,000 head of sheep, goats, and cows.
The prosperity of Ebla derived from trade, much of it with Mesopotamia, and the kingdom's wealth was equal to that of the most important Sumerian cities. Finds in the palaces include a small sculpture made out of precious materials, such as black stones and gold.[105] The kingdom's major commercial rival was Mari.[106] Ebla's main articles of trade were probably timber from the nearby mountains (and perhaps from Lebanon) and textiles, which are mentioned in Sumerian texts from the city-state of Lagash.[107]
Ebla possessed a wide commercial network reaching as far as modern Afghanistan.[108] It also shipped textiles to Cyprus possibly through the port ofUgarit,[109] but most of its trade seems to have been directed (by river-boat) towards Mesopotamia (chiefly Kish).[110] The main palace G was also found to contain "antiques" dating from Ancient Egypt with the names of pharaohs Khafra and Pepi I.[111] Handicrafts may also have been a major export, and exquisite artifacts have been recovered from the ruins, including wood furniture inlaid with mother-of-pearl and composite statues created from different colored stones.[112]
Ebla continued to be a trading state during the third kingdom. Archaeological finds show that there was extensive exchange with Egypt and coastal Syrian cities such as Byblos.[113]

Religion[edit]

Ishtar was the most important goddess during the third kingdom.
Ebla was a polytheistic state.[114] During the first kingdom, the pantheon had three genres of deities; in the first and most common there were pairs of gods, such as the deity and his female consort, or divine twosomes such as the deities that cooperate to create the cosmos, as in the Egyptian and Mesopotamian pantheons.[96] The second genre included single deities, while the third genre consisted of divine duos who were actually a single deity that had two different names.[96]Eblaites worshipped few Mesopotamian and Hurrian deities, preferring northern Semitic gods, some of them unique to Ebla.
The first genre included the eastern semitic chief god Dagan[115] and his consort, Belatu, meaning his wife. The patron gods of the city were Kura (who was unique to Ebla)[116] and his consort Barama.[117] Other major deities included Hadad(Hadda)[95] and his consort Habadu,[118] Rasap and his consort Adamma.[119]
The second genre included the Hurrian goddess Ishara, who was the goddess of the royal family.[117] Ishtar was also worshiped, but Ishara was far more important, appearing 40 times in one of the monthly offering lists, while Ishtar was mentioned only five times.[120] Other deities included Nidakul, who was exclusive to Ebla, the Mesopotamian god Utu,[95] the Hurrian god Ashtapi,[121] and Shipish the goddess of the sun, who had a temple dedicated to her cult.[122]
The third genre included many gods such as the artisan god Kamish/Tit, Kothar-wa-Khasis, and the planet Venusrepresented by Shahar as the morning star and Shalim as the evening star. Eblaites also practiced the deification of dead kings.[96] The four city gates were named after the gods Dagan, Hadda, Rasap and Utu, but which gate had which name is unknown.[123] Overall, about forty deities are mentioned in the offering lists as receiving sacrifices.[95]
During the third kingdom, Amorites worshipped common northern Semitic gods, and the unique Eblaite deities disappeared.[124] Hadad, (whose consort became Atargatis)[125] was the most important god, while Ishtar took Ishara's place and became the city's most important deity apart from Hadad.[125]

Biblical connection theories[edit]

At the beginning of the tablets deciphering process, Pettinato made claims about a possible connections between Ebla and the Bible. However, much of the initial media excitement about a supposed Eblaite connections with the Bible, based on preliminary guesses and speculations by Pettinato and others, is now widely deplored as "exceptional and unsubstantiated claims" and "great amounts of disinformation that leaked to the public".[126][127] In Ebla studies, the focus has shifted away from comparisons with the Bible, and Ebla is now studied above all as a civilization in its own right.[126] The tide turned after a bitter personal and scholarly conflict between the scientists involved, as well as what some described as interference by the Syrian authorities on political grounds.[128]

Yahweh[edit]

Among Pettinato's controversial claims, he suggested that there was a change in the Theophoric names (names of gods) shown in many of the tablets from El to Yah (the change is represented by the cuneiform sign NI which Pettinato read as ya)[m][129][130] indicated in the example of the transition from Mika'il to Mikaya.[131] He regards this as evidence for an early use of the divine name Yah,[132] however Pettinato doesn't conclude that this is the same Jewish god Yahweh (YHWH).[133] Jean Bottéro has suggested that this shift may instead indicate the Akkadian god Ea (Ia).[134]
On the other hand, both Alfonso Archi (at first) and Anson Rainey,[135][136] have suggested that the -ya is actually a diminutive ending used in shortened forms of personal names, while Hans-Peter Müller has argued that the cuneiform sign NI should be in this case interpreted as a short for NI-NI and read as í-lí which mean My God,[137] a view that Archi has since adopted with a modification, his reading of NI being íl (god).[138] No list of gods or offerings mentions a deity by the name of Ya,[138][139] and the connection with Yahweh is largely rejected today by scholars.[63]

Hebrew names[edit]

Many ancient Hebraic names that have not been found in other Near Eastern languages have been reported to occur in similar forms in Eblaite (Adamu,H'à-wa, Jabal, Abarama, Bilhah, Ishma-el, Isûra-el, Esau, Mika-el, Saul, David). A large number of Biblical locations (many of them known from other sources) have also been reported to occur in the texts, for example Ashtaroth, Sinai, Hazor, Lachish, Gezer, Dor, Megiddo, Joppa, Ur etc. Giovanni Pettinato has also claimed to find references to Sodom and Gomorrah.[140]
Contrary to many earlier claims, the present consensus is that "Ebla has no bearing on the Minor Prophets, the historical accuracy of the biblical Patriarchs, Yahweh worship, or Sodom and Gomorra".[126]

Creation myth[edit]

Three versions of a text described as an Eblaite creation hymn have been found. They have been translated by Pettinato as :
Lord of heaven and earth:
the earth was not, you created it,
the light of day was not, you created it,
the morning light you had not [yet] made exist.[114]
These lines seem to have points in common both with known Sumerian creation stories and with the Biblical account. Nevertheless, Alfonso Archi has objected that the original text is unclear to the point of being incomprehensible,[135] (texts from Ebla are difficult to read in general),[127][141] leading him to conclude that "there is no Genesis creation story" in the Ebla documents.[135][126][142]

Discovery and excavation[edit]

Part of the excavations, showing palace Q
In 1964, Italian archaeologists from the University of Rome La Sapienza under the direction of Paolo Matthiae began excavating at Tell Mardikh. In 1968, they recovered a statue dedicated to the goddessIshtar bearing the name of Ibbit-Lim mentioning him as king of Ebla.[143] That identified the city, long known from Egyptian and Akkadian inscriptions.[144] In the next decade the team discovered a palace (palace G) dating c. 2500 – 2000 BC. About 2,500 well-preserved cuneiform tablets were discovered in the ruins.[145] About 80% of the tablets are written using the usual Sumerian combination of logogramsand phonetic signs,[146] while the others exhibited an innovative, purely phonetic representation using Sumerian cuneiform of a previously unknown Semitic language, which was called Eblaite.[147] Bilingual Sumerian/Eblaite vocabulary lists were found among the tablets, allowing them to be translated.[123]
Ebla's close link to southern Mesopotamia, where the script had developed, further highlights the links between the Sumerians and Semitic cultures at that time. The tablets provide many important insights into the cultural, economic, and political life in northern Mesopotamia around the middle of the third millennium BC.[148] They also provide insight into the everyday life of the inhabitants, as well as containing information about state revenues, Sumerian-Eblaite dictionaries,[123] school texts, an archive of provisions and tribute, law cases,[149] diplomatic and trade contacts, and a scriptorium where apprentices copied texts.[150] The tablets also includes writings on Ebla's hymns, legends, scientific observations, and magic.[147] The larger tablets had originally been stored on shelves, but had fallen onto the floor when the palace was destroyed.[151] The location where tablets were discovered where they had fallen allowed the excavators to reconstruct their original position on the shelves, and it was found that they were originally shelved according to subject.[152]

See also[edit]

Portal iconAncient Near East portal

Notes[edit]

  1. Jump up^ All dates in the article are estimated by the Middle Chronology.
  2. Jump up^ It is suggested that he was a contemporary of king Ishtup-Ishtar of Mari (who is also mentioned in the tablets).
  3. Jump up^ The political weakness started during the short reign of Adub-Damu.
  4. Jump up^ At first Pettinato supported the Sargon theory before proposing the High dating.
  5. Jump up^ At first Matthiae supported the Naram-Sin theory then switched to Sargon.
  6. Jump up^ Archaeologist Alessandro de Maigret (judging by the surrounding cities that appeared during this period and were destroyed along with Mardikh IIB2) deduced that Ebla retained its trading position.
  7. Jump up^ King Ibbit-Lim of the later third kingdom of Ebla also used this title, an Eblaite seal that reads the sentence Ib-Damu Mekim Ebla, was used in the 19th century BC by an Assyrian merchant named Assur-Nada from Kültepe, Ib Damu was the name of an Eblaite king from the early period of the first kingdom.
  8. Jump up^ This led Astour, David I. Owen and Ron Veenker to identify Ibbit-Lim with the pre-Amorite Megum of the Third Ur era, however this identification is now refused.
  9. Jump up^ Called the southern palace (in area FF), it was located at the foot of the acropolis southern side.
  10. Jump up^ In the northern part.
  11. Jump up^ Area HH.
  12. Jump up^ Tablet TM.74.G.120 discovered by Alfonso Archi.
  13. Jump up^ Cuneiform sign NI is ascribed the unicode codepoint U+1224C, it is number 380 according to the sign numbers (MesZL) of Riekele Borger.

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

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  137. Jump up^ Jan. G. Platvoet,Karel Van Der Toorn (1995). Pluralism and Identity: Studies in Ritual Behaviour. p. 244.
  138. ^ Jump up to:a b Cyrus Herzl Gordon, Gary Rendsburg, Nathan H. Winter (1992).Eblaitica: Essays on the Ebla Archives and Eblaite Language, Volumen 3. p. 11.
  139. Jump up^ K. Van Der Toorn (1996). Family Religion in Babylonia, Ugarit and Israel: Continuity and Changes in the Forms of Religious Life. p. 282.
  140. Jump up^ Louis Klopsch, Thomas De Witt Talmage, George Henry Sandison (1977).Christian Herald, Volume 100. p. 29.
  141. Jump up^ Geoffrey W. Bromiley (1995). International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Q–Z. p. 756.
  142. Jump up^ Jack Finegan (1997). Myth & mystery: an introduction to the pagan religions of the biblical world. p. 136.
  143. Jump up^ Lorna Oakes (2009). Mesopotamia. p. 751.
  144. Jump up^ Barbara Ann Kipfer (2000). Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology. p. 683.
  145. Jump up^ Paolo Matthiae (2007). The Royal Archives of Ebla.
  146. Jump up^ Joseph Naveh (1982). Early history of the alphabet: an introduction to West Semitic epigraphy and palaeography. p. 28.
  147. ^ Jump up to:a b Stuart A. P. Murray. The Library: An Illustrated History. p. 22.
  148. Jump up^ Norman Yoffee,Bradley L. Crowell (2006). Excavating Asian History: Interdisciplinary Studies in Archaeology and History. p. 134.
  149. Jump up^ Mary Tilma (2008). Ancient Book Relevant Faith. p. 33.
  150. Jump up^ Roy MacLeod (2005). The Library of Alexandria: Centre of Learning in the Ancient World. p. 21.
  151. Jump up^ Michael Dumper, Bruce E. Stanley (2007). Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: A Historical Encyclopedia. p. 141.
  152. Jump up^ Patricia C. Franks (2013). Records and Information Management. p. 2.

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

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