Research Program

Scientific Brackground

The mass of land spreading from the Mediterranean coast to the river Euphrates (closely parallel to the borders of modern-day Syria) is endowed with a unique geographical position. For millennia it served as a bridge and junction between Egypt and Canaan, Anatolia, Mesopotamia and the eastern basin of the Mediterranean. In the Late Bronze Age (16^th–12^th centuries BCE), this area fell alternatively into the hands of Hurrians, Egyptians, and Hittites. The latter conquered it by a series of military campaigns led by their king Šuppiluliuma. This is a first, as far as we know, in world history: a force from the west formed an empire eastwards, much as Alexander the Great and later the Romans tried to expand their control over territories and borders of the Near East. The Hittite empire controlled multiple inland principalities centered in key urban sites, from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean coast.

This research project will investigate one of the most dynamic periods in the history of the Ancient Neat East. The Hittite empire during the second half of the 14^th century to the opening decades of the 12^th century BCE provides us with an almost unparalleled opportunity to study the interplay of local and international agents in a well-defined chronological and geographical setting, particularly ample in textual as well as archaeological data. The research project will write a chapter in the dynamics of several political units spread out from the Mediterranean coast to the west bank of the Euphrates under the administration of the Hittite Empire and its strategic, economic, and religious policies.

Traditional research tended to reconstruct a historical narrative of the region describing the oppressive forces and the Hittite imperial system in its periphery. In other words, the historical narrative has usually focused on the military maneuvers and policy of the Hittites against local dynastic houses, executed by governors and officials stationed in conquered units of power (e.g. Bryce 1998; Singer 1999; Klengel 1992 and 1999). This research project will shift away from this paradigm and study the administrative peripheral apparatus which the Hittite empire established from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates from an intra-regional perspective. This specific focus is essential for understanding the mechanisms of forging an Empire, but it has never before been put into a comprehensive study.

Thus, all data offering information on the Hittite administrative machinery will be collected in order to create a record as complete as possible. Additional evidence on the micro-scale will also be considered, such as litigations and/or negotiations of control over resources, trade routes, ports and territories between local geo-political units or individuals and the Empire. The research project will provide descriptive and analytical historical perspectives, complemented by updated maps and spatial representations of the various regional political units.

The scientific background will shortly describe the political conditions leading to and following the conquest of cities and principalities by the Hittites, as well as the eventual consolidation of their rule. A short description of the major regional areas and their main city-states or urban centers will follow. Emphasis will be given to recent textual finds and to archaeological surveys in the past two decades.

A mosaic of kingdoms and ancient city-states from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates became, under the interests of the great powers of the day, subject to continuous intervention and meddling of the latter in their policies. Egypt of the 18^th and 19^th dynasties and the Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni, whose power center was in the Habur region, vied for influence over this vast territory at their mutual border zones (around the Homs region and the cities on the lower Orontes River and around the coastal areas). However, following a series of campaigns conducted by the Hittite king Šuppiluliuma I and his generals (ca. mid-14^th century BCE), Mitanni was dismantled and the Egyptian presence and influence dwindled. This was followed by a reconfiguration of the political structures as well as the demarcation of territorial borders of several kingdoms and city-states. On the political level, this was achieved by a series of treaties issued (and periodically renewed) to local dynasts or governing civil bodies by the Hittite ruling house. On the administrative level, Hittite governors holding strategic key-posts (at Carchemish and Halab) and exercising their power through lesser officials stationed at vassal kingdoms or provincial centers (e.g. Ugarit and Emar) assured that Hittite rule was maintained.

Egyptian interest in the area never fully waned, and a full-blown confrontation between Egyptian and Hittite forces broke out at Qadeš on the Orontes (ca. 1275 BCE). Hostilities came to an end some fifteen years later with the signing of a peace treaty between the two powers, stabilizing the political status-quo. But change was on the horizon, with the ever-growing interference of the Middle Assyrian state from across the Euphrates. The final years of the 13^th century saw the end of direct Hittite rule over the area, and the first decades of the 12^th century witnessed the collapse of the entire urban system, the result of a possible climate change that led to severe drought (e.g. Kaniewski et al. 2010; Langgut et al. 2013), followed by attacks of hostile forces, such as ‘Sea-peoples’ and proto-Aramean tribes. The area entered into a serious although not total decline until the Iron Age (i.e., the first centuries of the first millennium BCE).

The research project distinguishes several units that fell under the full or partial rule of the Hittite empire (see Cohen 2017; Rutz 2013). These units can be historically defined as kingdoms or sometimes provinces, and unsurprisingly they also occupy distinct geographical areas or ecological niches.

The Amuq Valley region comprises the upper Orontes Valley and the river estuary at the Mediterranean coast. It contains the key strategic site of Alalakh (Tell Atchana), the capital of the kingdom of Mukiš, located at one of the entry points from Anatolia to Syria, hence crucial for the Hittites. After Šuppiluliuma conquered Mukiš it became a Hittite province ruled by Hittite-appointed officials, although local political representatives maintained some power. It continued under Hittite overlordship until the fall of Alalakh, sometime during the first decades of the 12th century BCE.

The research of the Amuq valley led by Yener (for the years 1995–2002; Yener et al. 2005) resulted in publications truly outstanding in their coverage and methodological approach. Surveys as well as the exploration of particular sites re-wrote or defined with a degree of higher resolution, for example, the hierarchy of sites in the Amuq valley (Casana & Wilkinson 2005), and came to describe how relatively small city states, because of their strategic location, gained power by controlling trade and traffic routes for merchants or armies (Yener et al. 2005).

Textual data from the Amuq is mostly related to the pre-Hittite conquest (Alalakh level IV; von Dassow 2008), although it can shed light on the social and bureaucratic structure of this geo-political unit. For instance, a subdivision of the kingdom in several ‘districts’ has been proposed (Matessi 2015). In addition, letter-orders from the Hurrian administration at Alalakh have been matched to parallels from Tell Hadidi/Azu in the Middle Euphrates area (Torrecilla & Cohen, in press a). Recent textual evidence from elsewhere advances our understanding of the place of the Mukiš governors over the inland territories of the empire. Obviously this geo-political unit and its role in the intra-politics of the coastal areas and the hinterland requires additional treatment (see below).

One of the better studied areas is the coastal area of the Jebleh plain consisting of the kingdom of Ugarit and its environs. The archives of Ugarit cover only the era of Hittite dominion, from the second half of the 14th century to the opening decades of the 12th century BCE. Ugarit (Ras Shamra) provided researchers with a wealth of written data that allow the reconstruction of the geo-political and economic history of this kingdom—as chief emporium at the Mediterranean—in relationship to its Hittite overlords (e.g. Singer 1999) and with regard to its internal governance (e.g. Márquez-Rowe 2006; van Soldt 2005). New textual data was recently brought about with the full publication of the epistolary archive of the Maison d’Urtēnu (Lackenbacher & Malbran-Labat 2016), where letters are found from the Hittite king, the viceroy at Carchemish, and from rulers of kingdoms, such as Tarḫuntašša or Kizzuwatna, which were submitted to Hatti. Recent archaeological reports from Ugarit and surveys of its environs include studies such as those found in Matoïan et al. (2012) and Matoïan & al-Maqdissi (2016). Although not plentiful, excavations and surveys of the past decade in the area, such as those conducted at Tell Tweini (perhaps ancient Gibala; Bretschneider & van Lerberghe 2008) provide more information regarding the administration of Ugarit.

The fortunes of Amurru, a newly-formed political unit, can be reconstructed mostly by sources from Ugarit, Hattuša and the Amarna letters. These sources show the diplomatic abilities of King Aziru, who succeeded in playing a double game of servitude to Egypt and Ḫatti (Klengel 1992). The kingdom stretches through the Akkar plain, threatening Byblos—the ancient trade port which had easy access, through the Homs gap, into the hinterland. Amurru has benefited from a detailed treatment by Singer (1991, 2010; also Goren et al. 2003). However, additional new textual and archaeological data is to be included after recent excavations in ancient Ṣumur (Tell Kazel; Roche 2003; Badre & Gubel 1999–2000). These invite a re-assessment that considers the importance of this site as a trade depot (Devecchi 2010). Other sites belonging to this kingdom, such as Irqata (Tell Arqa; Thalmann 2006), Ardata, and Ullasa are to be explored in terms of their role in the local configuration of this ambitious kingdom.

The Orontes city-states situated in the Ghab Valley and its environs include the kingdoms of Niya and Nuhašše, whose exact borders are still a matter of contention. Both, together with Mukiš, revolted against Šuppiluliuma but eventually were subdued and politically reconfigured. Additional centers in the environs of the Hama to Homs region include the city of Qadeš (Tell Nebi Mend), the site of the great battle conducted between Egypt and Hatti. Several documents discovered at the site in excavations conducted decades ago are now published (Millard 2010), leading to a preliminary discussion of their geo-political importance (Singer 2011).

In the same region to the north, Qatna (Tell Mishrife) is found. The city has seen renewed excavations in the recent decade with spectacular discoveries (chiefly in grave goods). In addition, wide surveys of the area have been conducted (Morandi Bonacossi 2007). The textual remains discovered (in 2002) and promptly published (Richter et al. 2012) considerably supplement the little known of Qatna from (mostly) the Amarna letters. Discussions regarding the dating and historical relevance of the new sources are available (Richter 2005; Gromova 2012; Devecchi 2013; Oliva 2015), but more work is to be done. The intra-relations of Qatna with Niya or with the elusive city-state Barga (cf. Beckman 1999, no. 30) are to be explored in greater detail. Of further interest is the Hurrian language in use throughout the documents, evidence of the Hurrian speaking population in this region.

Still on the Orontes valley north of Hama is Tunip, one of the most important cities in the Middle-Orontes-Hama area and Ghab basin. Known mostly from the Amarna letters, it is probably to be identified with Tell Acharneh (Frayne 2006; Fortin & Cooper 2004). Tell Acharneh was excavated between 1998–2010; the preliminary results of these seasons are now published (Fortin 2006; Fortin & Cooper 2014).

Halab and lesser sites from the Orontes to the Euphrates valley cover a wide region, which is almost a terra incognita. However, the gaps are slowly filling up because of concentrated efforts of several international teams (until, of course, the eruption of the Syrian civil war). An important trade center, the ancient city of Halab was located at the acropolis of modern-day Aleppo. At the site of the Ayyubid citadel recent excavations have revealed important Iron Age remains (Gonnella et al. 2005; Kohlmeyer 2011). Information about the Late Bronze Age city, a central worship place for the god Teššub/Adad, derives from indirect sources, such as the Ḫattuša archives. Although it was the seat of the Hittite viceroy, this center was quickly eclipsed by Carchemish.

In Jazr plain in the region of Idlib lies the city of Ebla, famous for its Early Bronze Age Palace and archives; see Durand 2018 for newly published Old Babylonian texts from the site, which are also relevant for our study because of the geopolitical information they contain. Nearby, Tell Afis provides us with rare evidence of Hittite control over the hinterland. Three recently found Hittite letters inform not only of the city itself, but also of the wider constellation of political affairs touching Halab and elsewhere (Archi & Venturi 2012; Singer 2017).

Umm el-Marra (the ancient name is uncertain) is located in the easterly Sabkhat-al-Jabbul (the Salt Lake) plain. The site revealed a pre-Hittite documentation: a single tablet that relates to the Mitanni ruling house may shed some light on administration practices in pre-Hittite times (Cooper et al. 2005).

Carchemish on the Euphrates was a strategic powerbase for Mitanni and it only surrendered to the Hittites after a siege. Šuppiluliuma made sure to hold steadfast to the place by installing one of his sons as governor, in effect as the king of the whole inland (Miller 2010). Little is known from the city itself from this period, but excavations were renewed after a very long hiatus, and now archaeological remains of the Late Bronze Age city, as well as glyptics from the period, have been discovered (Marchetti 2012, 2014; Peker 2017). Much of the evidence about Carchemish comes from the archives of Emar and its satellite cities, as well as from Ugarit. These documents reveal the extent and complexity of Hittite imperial administration (Mora 2008a, 2008b; d’Alfonso 2005).

Down river from Carchemish, at the great bend of the Euphrates, is Emar and its hinterland (on the west bank of the river), which came under Hittite control following the conquests of Šuppiluliuma and re-conquests of his son Muršili II. The rich archives of Emar (recently reordered so as to afford a new chronology and historical reconstruction of the city; see Cohen & d’Alfonso 2008; Cohen 2009) reveal how the city negotiated with the imperial powers for its survival (Cohen 2011, 2012), and show a clear transition from a Hurrian-dominated system with much local autonomy to the imposition of a Hittite system of governance that reported only to Carchemish. Data from Emar, as well as nearby sites, contemporary or near contemporary (e.g. Azu [Tell Hadidi], Torrecilla & Cohen, in press a; Whiting 2007; Ekalte [Tell Munbaqa], Mayer 1998; Baṣiru [Tell Bazi], Sallaberger et al. 2006; Otto 2006; Tell Qitar, Snell 1983, Archi 1993), allow a reconstruction of land usage and agricultural practices and prices (Mori 2003; Chambon & Faist 2014); an investigation of the macro and micro dynamics of the river valley (Reculeau 2008, 2011); and a study of cultic and religious life in the shadow of the empire around Emar (Fleming 2000). Because Emar was an emporium, it also offers the opportunity to study more closely trade routes from Assur to Ugarit (Faist 2001; Cohen & Singer 2006), thus linking it to other political units discussed above. Finally, following the river downstream we find Tell Fray, which includes glyptic and written evidence (Wilhelm 2018; Archi 1980).

These political units of the Hittite Empire stand at the center of the research project. Moreover, recent archaeological surveys and studies as well as textual data arriving from the Balih and Habur regions can supplement our picture. These include works dealing with settlement patterns, economics and land-usage such as found in Kühne (2010), Cancik-Kirschbaum & Hess (2016), and Ziegler & Langlois (2016). Textual data include letters from Tell Sabi Abyad on the Balih (Wiggermann, forthcoming) that report of affairs at the border zone in the final days of Hittite rule, when the empire was crumbling. Other secondary sources are relevant for our purposes, as they inform of the travel of merchants and emissaries across the trade routes: Dur-Katlimmu/Tell Sheik Hammad (Cancik-Kirschbaum 1996); Harbe/Tell Chuera (Jakob 2009). Additional near contemporary information that can be utilized for the study of the human geography and society in this period arrives from the Habur site of Ṭābatum (Tell Taban; Numoto 2009).

To conclude, the new data (textual and archaeological; see below, C 2) justify a comprehensive and synthetic investigation of the Empire regarding dynamics and negotiations between the administrative imperial agents and local, intra-regional policies.

Research Objectives and Expected Significance

Past research, justifiably so, was mainly concerned on understanding the ways the imperial center subjugated and ruled its newly conquered territories. Hence such traditional studies put on center stage classic historical questions regarding chronology, synchronisms, dynasties, and military struggles acted out by the main actors of the day, namely, the Hittite king, the viceroy at Carchemish and a host of local dynasts or leading families. The research objectives of the project, however, shift the point of view by looking at intra-regional units of power as a network of nodes or connections operating within the Hittite administration. A series of Hittite administrative positions ruling at a local and regional level are recorded, such as the Overseer of the Land at Emar or the Great Notable of Hatti and the “Charioteer” of the Hittite king at Ugarit. However, their responsibilities and position within the imperial hierarchy, as well as the precise role of bureaucrats that the imperial administration required in each location, are yet to be fully understood. For this objective we turn to study recently published data: the many letters from the Maison d’Urtēnu archive at Ugarit (Lackenbacher & Malbran-Labat 2016) are to be analyzed in detail, because they will provide us with information about the Hittite administration on both local and international level, with letters arriving from Egypt, Cyprus, as well as from the Eastern borders of the Empire. The data from Emar has been relatively well studied but the smaller Euphratean sites, which yielded textual material still demand our scrutiny. The textual remains from Ekalte/Tell Munbaqa and Azu/Tell Hadidi are now thoroughly studied by both the PI and the Post-doc Researcher (Torrecilla 2015, 2017; Torrecilla & Cohen, in press a). Ongoing excavations and research from the Hittite regional capital––Carchemish––is also providing us with new data, soon to be fully published (for now see Peker 2017): names of officials which Cohen (2009) dated according to Emar chronology, are now appearing in sealings in Carchemish levels, providing the excavators with near-absolute dating.

The objective of this integrative approach, hence, is not to write a linear or chronological narrative, but to offer an analysis of how political units, whether cities or larger territorial states, constantly negotiated their position in regards to their ecological context, topographical location and geographical disposition vis-à-vis the Empire. In such a position we can tackle several issues that require clarification, such as: the control of significant and strategic emporiums, such as Ugarit and Emar; the tracing of trade routes across northern Syria and their use by Hittite diplomats-cum-merchants; the role of peripheral cultic centers in the hinterland of Halab, Emar or Qatna; the demise of the political role of Halab in Yamhad and the rise of Carchemish; and the territorial fluidity of the Lands of Niya and Nuḫašše in the Orontes valley and the Ghab. These are examples of historically significant questions that the research project can deal with, owing to its methodological approach focused on the intra-regional apparatus functioning under the auspices of the Hittite empire.

The expected significance of this research can be described as follows. This research project will offer historians and archaeologists of the Late Bronze Age an original state-of-the-art and comprehensive study bringing about a synthesis of known, as well as newly-published data. Thus, this research project will present historical issues whose focus, as explained above, is less related to chronologically linked events. Rather, it will concentrate on the spatial and hierarchical dynamics within and between political units with respect to the Empire. Therefore, it will supplement the traditional studies dealing with the Hittite Empire by furnishing the current discussion with a fresh way to present a variety of historical questions (see below).

Detailed Description of the Proposed Research

1) Working Hypothesis

The working hypothesis of this research is that an intra-regional history of the administrative mechanisms of Hittite-dominated areas in the Late Bronze Age can add a new dimension of historical questions not usually posited by traditional historical research. By analyzing newly-published texts and archaeological key sites, we will be able to deepen our understanding of the geo-political, economic, and religious functioning and interrelations of the political units, which fell under the Hittite Empire. The research project will be in a position to offer a number of novel scenarios or historical reconstructions by identifying the bureaucratic relations between local political units and the imperial administrative and trading network. The research will take into account the geo-political relevance of each unit: its accessibility, proximity to sea ports or river emporiums, access to natural recourses, control of trade routes, etc.

2) Research Procedures and the Conditions for Conducting the Research

The research integrates both textual data and also recent archaeological surveys. The wealth and variety of Late Bronze Age textual data is almost unparalleled as far as the ancient Near East is concerned. A considerable amount of information is derived from various types of documents (e.g. private and institutional contracts, letters, land-grants, palace and cult inventories). These were found at the respective sites or at secondary archival deposits elsewhere (e.g. the Amarna archive; Rainey 2015). More information arrives from sources written elsewhere—e.g. political treaties from Ḫattuša; texts from the core and periphery of the Middle Assyrian kingdom, such as Harbe/Tell Chuera, Dur-Katlimmu, Tell Sabi Abyad and Ṭābatum/Tell Taban (Jakob 2009; Postgate 2013; Röllig 2008; Reculeau 2011; Salah 2014; Shibata 2012, 2013; Wiggermann, forthcoming). In full-scale overviews of the Hittite Empire, direct and indirect textual evidence of recent years has not yet been taken into consideration, hence their integration into the research project is essential for obtaining up-to-date results. The textual data will be collected and submitted to a primary analysis in search for geographic, trading, and bureaucratic interconnections between the units. At a second stage, information on administrative positions and responsibilities will be collected, as well as evidence of intra-regional, explicit communication between rulers, officials (Hittite or local), merchants, etc. Analysis of formal features of the texts according to their place of origin will also be carried out in search of shared pre-Hittite administrative traditions, such as those of the Old Babylonian Kingdom of Yamhad (Lauinger 2015) and the Mitanni Empire (Cancik-Kirschbaum et al. 2014).

Extensive regional archaeological surveys were conducted in Syria during the decade prior to the civil war outbreak. The data was collected by traditional survey methods, as well as by more innovative methods, such as global positioning systems (GPS) and geomagnetic surveys. Online resources, such as Google Earth and online de-classified satellite images provided a much improved understanding of trade routes and the correct identification and precise coordinates of many sites. Mention is to be made of the surveys conducted by Casana & Wilkinson (2005) in the Amuq (also Yener et al. 2005), Bitelli et al. (2013) for the hinterland of Ebla; and Morandi Bonacossi (2007) for Qatna.

This research will no doubt contribute to our understanding of the administration of the different units of power in the vast territory spanning from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates and running under the rule of the vast Hittite imperial apparatus.

3) Preliminary Results

The PI and the Post-doc researcher have studied together the Middle Euphrates legal deeds, achieving new and surprising results about pre-Hittite administration texts by identifying a Hurrian letter-order from Azu (Torrecilla & Cohen, in press a). They have also determined that several legal deeds from Emar are actually recent copies of older documents which needed to be re-produced (Torrecilla & Cohen, in press b). In addition, the PI has recently contributed a concise study of the Hittite empire in Syria to the new handbook Hittite Landscape and Geography (Cohen 2017). Three studies devoted to the eastern borders of the Hittite empire are forthcoming (Cohen, forthcoming a and b; Cohen & Anor, forthcoming).

4) The Researcher’s Expertise and Experience

The PI fully controls the primary sources in their original languages (Akkadian, Hittite, Ugaritic and other West Semitic dialects) and scripts (chiefly cuneiform). He has written extensively about the history and chronology of Emar (e.g. Cohen 2009, 2013) and collaborated with d’Alfonso (2008) and Singer (2006) on the chronology, trade, and politics of Late Bronze Age Syria. He has thoroughly studied Hittite rule in Emar, investigating officials and governors in imperial and post-imperial times (2011, 2012). In 2013–2014 he worked with his post-doc Dr Maurizio Viano on Emar history (Cohen & Viano 2016), as well as Babylonian literature in the West. In 2017–2018, he studied with his post-doc Dr Eduardo Torrecilla local administrative traditions vis-à-vis Hittite imperial administration.

The post-doc to be employed in this project, Dr. Eduardo Torrecilla, is an experienced scholar in the field of Assyriology. His field of expertise is Late Bronze Age legal texts. His Ph.D. dissertation on the Ekalte (Tell Munbāqa) archive was published as a monograph (Torrecilla 2014). He is currently studying legal records from Hurrian and Hittite controlled areas (Torrecilla 2017, in press).