Ebla (Sumerian: 𒌈𒆷 eb₂-la, Arabic: إبلا, modern: تل مرديخ, Tell Mardikh) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria. Its remains constitute a tell located about 55 km (34 mi) southwest of Aleppo near the village of Mardikh. Ebla was an important center throughout the 3rd millennium BC and in the first half of the 2nd millennium BC. Its discovery proved the Levant was a center of ancient, centralized civilization equal to Egypt and Mesopotamia and ruled out the view that the latter two were the only important centers in the Near East during the Early Bronze Age.
Starting as a small settlement in the Early Bronze Age (c. 3500 BC), Ebla developed into a trading empire and later into an expansionist power that imposed its hegemony over much of northern and eastern Syria. Ebla was destroyed during the 23rd century BC. It was then rebuilt and was mentioned 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 3rd millennium BC, which paved the way for the Amorite tribes to settle in the city, forming the third Ebla. The third kingdom also flourished as a trade center; it became a subject and an ally of Yamhad (modern-day 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 city's palaces. The kingdom had its own language, Eblaite, and the political organization of Ebla had 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. The city was excavated from 1964 and became famous for the Ebla tablets, an archive of about 20,000 cuneiform tablets found there, dated to 2500 BC–2350 BC. Written in both Sumerian and Eblaite with cuneiform script, the archive has allowed a better understanding of the Sumerian language as well as Levantine political organization and social customs of the mid-3rd millennium BC.
Based on remote sensing as of 2022, the site has been and continued to be heavily damaged by military activity and associated looting. Especially important, "The central high mound was badly damaged in February 2017 by military trenching and looting, which became even more severe by October 2022".
Etymology
The word "Ebla" may derive from a Semitic word meaning "white rock", possibly referring to the limestone outcrop on which the city was built. It has been reported that local people still often use the toponym Tell Abyad (Arabic: تل أبيض, tal ˈabyaḍ), literally "White Hill".
History
Chalcolithic
Artifacts from the late Ubaid and late Chalcolithic periods were recovered from the central mound.
Early Bronze
Ebla was first settled around 3500 BC; 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. Archaeologists designate this early habitation period "Mardikh I"; it ended around 3000 BC.
Mardikh I is followed by the first and second kingdoms era between about 3000 and 2000 BC, designated "Mardikh II". I. J. Gelb considered Ebla a part of the Kish civilization, which was a cultural entity of East Semitic-speaking populations that stretched from the center of Mesopotamia to the western Levant.
First kingdom
Ebla was the most prominent kingdom among the Syrian states during the first kingdom period between about 3000 and 2300 BC, particularly during the second half of the 3rd millennium BC, known as "the age of the archives" after the Ebla tablets.
Mardikh IIA: The early period between 3000 and 2400 BC is designated "Mardikh IIA". General knowledge about the city's history prior to the written archives is obtained through excavations. The first stages of Mardikh IIA is identified with building "CC", and structures that form a part of building "G2", which was apparently a royal palace built c. 2700 BC. Toward the end of this period, a hundred years' war with Mari started. Mari gained the upper hand through the actions of its king Saʿumu, who conquered many of Ebla's cities. In the mid-25th century BC, king Kun-Damu defeated Mari, but the state's power declined following his reign.
Mardikh IIB1: 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 referring to the destruction of the royal palace (called palace "G" and built over the earlier "G2"), and much of the acropolis. During 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 archives. Most of the tablets, which date from that period, are about economic matters but also include royal letters and diplomatic documents.
The written archives do not date from before Igrish-Halam's reign, which saw Ebla paying tribute to Mari, and an extensive invasion of Eblaite cities in the middle Euphrates region led by the Mariote king Iblul-Il. Ebla recovered under King Irkab-Damu in about 2340 BC; becoming prosperous and launching a successful counter-offensive against Mari. Irkab-Damu concluded a peace and trading treaty with Abarsal. This Treaty between Ebla and Abarsal is one of the earliest-recorded treaties in history.
At its greatest extent, Ebla controlled an area roughly half the size of modern Syria, from Ursa'um in the north, to the area around Damascus in the south, and from Phoenicia and the coastal mountains in the west, to Haddu in the east. Large parts of the kingdom were under the direct control of the king and were administered by governors; the rest consisted of vassal kingdoms. One of the most important of these vassals was Armi, which is the city most often mentioned in the Ebla tablets. Ebla had more than sixty vassal kingdoms and city-states, including Hazuwan, Burman, Emar, Halabitu and Salbatu.
According to Archi, these are "the twelve Syrian cities long allied with Ebla that (presumably) assisted in some way during the expedition against Mari: NIrar, Ra’ak, Burman, Dub, Emar, Garmu, Lumnan, Ibubu, Ursaum, Utik, Kakmium, and Iritum (Irridu)." Furthermore, the following cities were under Ebla's hegemony at that time, and annually delivered tribute: Dub, Dulu, Harran, Ibubu, Iritum, Kablul, Sanapzugum, Ursaum, and Utik.
Modern scholars have termed the king's chief official "the vizier". The most powerful vizier was Ibrium, who campaigned against Abarsal during the term of his predecessor Arrukum. Ibrium held office for 18 years with warfare occurring in all but one year. During the reign of Isar-Damu, Ebla continued the war against Mari, which defeated Ebla's ally Nagar, blocking trade routes between Ebla and southern Mesopotamia via upper Mesopotamia. Ebla conducted regular military campaigns against rebellious vassals, including several attacks on Armi, and a campaign against the southern region of Ib'al – close to Qatna. In order to settle the war with Mari, Isar-Damu allied with Nagar and Kish. Some scholars have suggested that the Kish in question was not the Mesopotamian city but rather a town near Nagar in the Khabur area. The campaign was headed by the Eblaite vizier Ibbi-Sipish, who led the combined armies to victory in a battle near Terqa. The alliance also attacked Armi and occupied it, leaving Ibbi-Sipish's son Enzi-Malik as governor. Ebla suffered its first destruction a few years after the campaign, probably following Isar-Damu's death.
First destruction of Ebla
The first destruction occurred c. 2300 BC; palace "G" was burned, baking the clay tablets of the royal archives and preserving them. Many theories about the cause and the perpetrator have been posited:
- High (early) dating hypothesis: Giovanni Pettinato supports an early dating for Ebla that would put the destruction at around 2500 BC. Pettinato, while preferring the date of 2500 BC, later accepted the event could have happened in 2400 BC. The scholar suggests the city was destroyed in 2400 BC by a Mesopotamian such as Eannatum of Lagash – who boasted of taking tribute from Mari – or Lugalzagesi of Umma, who claimed to have reached the Mediterranean.
- Akkadian hypothesis: Both kings Sargon of Akkad and his grandson Naram-Sin claimed to have destroyed a town called Ibla. The discoverer of Ebla, Paolo Matthiae, considers Sargon a more likely culprit; his view is supported by Trevor Bryce, but rejected by Michael Astour. The conquest of Armanum and Ebla on the Mediterranean coast by Naram-Sin is mentioned in several of his inscriptions:
"Whereas, for all time since the creation of mankind, no king whosoever had destroyed Armanum and Ebla, the god Nergal, by means of (his) weapons opened the way for Naram-Sin, the mighty, and gave him Armanum and Ebla. Further, he gave to him the Amanus, the Cedar Mountain, and the Upper Sea. By means of the weapons of the god Dagan, who magnifies his kingship, Naram-Sin, the mighty, conquered Armanum and Ebla."
— Inscription of Naram-Sin. E 2.1.4.26
- Mari's revenge: According to Alfonso Archi and Maria Biga, the destruction happened approximately three or four years after the battle at Terqa. Archi and Biga say the destruction was caused by Mari in retaliation for its humiliating defeat at Terqa. This view is supported by Mario Liverani. Archi says the Mariote king Isqi-Mari destroyed Ebla before ascending the throne of his city.
- Natural catastrophe: Astour says a natural catastrophe caused the blaze which ended the archive period. He says the destruction was limited to the area of the royal palace and there is no convincing evidence of looting. He dates the fire to c. 2290 BC (Middle Chronology).
Second kingdom
The second kingdom's period is designated "Mardikh IIB2", and spans the period between 2300 and 2000 BC. The second kingdom lasted until Ebla's second destruction, which occurred anytime between 2050 and 1950 BC, with the 2000 BC dating being a mere formal date. The Akkadians under Sargon of Akkad and his descendant Naram-Sin invaded the northern borders of Ebla aiming for the forests of the Amanus Mountain; the intrusions were separated by roughly 90 years and the areas attacked were not attached to Akkad. Archi accept that the Ibla mentioned in the annals of Sargon and Naram-Sin is the Syrian Ebla but do not consider them responsible for the destruction which ended the Archive period. By the time of Naram-Sin, Armi was the hegemonic city in northern Syria and was destroyed by the Akkadian king.
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 and the sanctity of the first kingdom's religious sites. A new royal palace was built in the lower town, and the transition from the archive period is marked only by the destruction of palace "G". Little is known about the second kingdom because no written material have been discovered aside from one inscription dating to the end of the period.
The second kingdom was attested in contemporaneous sources; in an inscription, Gudea of Lagash asked for cedars to be brought from Urshu in the mountains of Ebla, indicating Ebla's territory included Urshu north of Carchemish in modern-day Turkey. Texts that dates to the seventh year of Amar-Sin (c. 2040 BC), a ruler of the Ur III empire, mention a messenger of the Ensí ("Megum") of Ebla. The second kingdom was considered a vassal by the Ur III government, but the nature of the relation is unknown and it included the payment of tribute. A formal recognition of Ur's overlordship appears to be a condition for the right of trade with that empire.
The second kingdom disintegrated toward the end of the 21st century BC, and ended with the destruction of the city by fire, although evidence for the event has only been found outside of the so-called "Temple of the Rock", and in the area around palace "E" on the acropolis. Conflict may have preceded the fire; according to Astour, it could have been the result of a Hurrian invasion c. 2030 BC, led by the former Eblaite vassal city of Ikinkalis. The destruction of Ebla is mentioned in the fragmentary Hurro-Hittite legendary epic "Song of Release" discovered in 1983, which Astour considers as describing the destruction of the second kingdom. In the epic, an Eblaite assembly led by a man called "Zazalla" prevents king Meki from showing mercy to prisoners from Ebla's former vassal Ikinkalis, provoking the wrath of the Hurrian storm god Teshub and causing him to destroy the city.
Middle Bronze
Third kingdom
In the Middle Bronze Age, a third kingdom is designated "Mardikh III"; it is divided into periods "A" (c. 2000–1800 BC) and "B" (c. 1800–1600 BC). In period "A", Ebla was quickly rebuilt as a planned city. The foundations covered the remains of Mardikh II; new palaces and temples were built, and new fortifications were built in two circles – one for the low city and one for the acropolis. The city was laid out on regular lines and large public buildings were built. Further construction took place in period "B".
Middle Bronze I - Mardikh IIIA
The first known king of the third kingdom is Ibbit-Lim, who described himself as the Mekim of Ebla. A basalt votive statue bearing Ibbit-Lim's inscription was discovered in 1968; this helped to identify the site of Tell-Mardikh with the ancient kingdom Ebla. The name of the king is Amorite in the view of Pettinato; it is therefore probable the inhabitants of third kingdom Ebla were predominantly Amorites, as were most of the inhabitants of Syria at that time.
- Meki (king) of Ebla Ibbit-Lim, son of Igrish-Kheb
Middle Bronze II - Mardikh IIIB
During Middle Bronze IIA (MB IIA), Ebla Mardikh IIIB1 became a vassal of Yamhad, an Amorite kingdom centered in Aleppo.