The Ambassasdors - (January 2008)

The sun's rays were barely visible on the horizon as we set out from Aleppo for Tell Mardikh (Tall Mardikh) where the ruins of the city-state of Ebla are located. The excellent four-lane highway was bordered on both sides by flourishing trees where, a few years previously, there had been only a bare landscape. Beyond, the green fields whose rich red soil has been farmed since the dawn of history, stretched as far as the eye could see. A short distance after passing the town of Saraqab, we were in Tell Mardikh, 64 km (40 mi) south of Aleppo.

It was a farmer while ploughing his field who first discovered Ebla. His discovery--a water basin for purification and decorated with bearded men on one side and fierce lions on the other--dated back to 1900-1850 B.C. However, the official name of the location was not known at the time. In 1964, when the University of Rome archaeologists led by Professor Paolo Mathiae began excavation work no one could have imagined the importance of Tell Mardikh.

It was in 1968 that the identity of the city-state unfolded due to the discovery of a basalt statue of a man with the head and part of one of the shoulders missing. Upon the statue were inscribed Akkadian and Sumerian cuneiform writings, which were familiar to the archaeologists. The statue was offered by the king of Ebla, Ibbit Lim (a prince of) the son of Ajresh-Hiba to the goddess Ishtar in Ebla’s temple. It was the first evidence that identified Tell Mardikh with Ebla.

Considered to be the most important archaeological site discovered in the last century, the excavations unveiled several centuries of 3rd millennium history about which very little had previously been known. From among these excavations, there was revealed the existence of Eblaic, a hitherto unknown ancient Semitic language. The remains uncovered left no doubt that Ebla had been the centre of a proto-Syrian culture that emerged during the 3rd millennium B.C. in northern Syria.

One of the most prestigious archaeological discoveries in Syria, this ancient city, now only an imposing mound, was the cradle of a civilization older than that of Mari, Ugarit and the Nile Valley. Once a major commercial and political centre, it covers an area of some 56 ha (138 ac) with an acropolis of 3 ha (7.5 ac). In its days of glory, the city was circular and surrounded by a 20 to 30 meter thick wall, perforated by four gateways, and guarded by bastions with fortified towers.

Because of its strategic location on the passageway leading from the Euphrates region to the Mediterranean, it allowed its kings to prosper and extend their domination to large parts of Syria. The city flourished, with an estimated population of 30,000, between 2500 and 1600 B.C. until it was first destroyed by the Akkadian kings of Mesopotamia in 2300 B.C., then finally by the Anatolian Hittite kings in 1600 B.C. However, a small town persisted long after its destruction. In 1450 B.C., an Egyptian recorded on a monument in Karnak that his armies marched through Ebla on their way to the Euphrates.

In 1975, Mathiae unearthed in its ruins a royal library with 17,000 clay tablets filled with new historical material in both the Eblaic and Sumerian languages. Archaeologists believe that these cuneiform tablets are older than those found in Mari and Ugarit. The tablets relate to children’s exercises, the first record of olives in history; aspects of the economy, administration of the city, commerce, marriages and political alliances; and recorded poems and religious hymns. They tell of the splendour of the Eblan civilization and enabled specialists to retrace its history. Today, most of the tablets, housed in the Aleppo Museum and National Museum in Damascus, are being slowly deciphered.

Basin with religious scene from Ebla.

Seal impression showing the God Baal
and King of Ebla

Cuneiform tablet found in Ebla from 2400 B.C.

The tablets have established that Syria was at the very foundation of Middle Eastern civilizations. From the deciphering of these earliest written records it has been learned that Ebla was at one time a prosperous city. For example, one of the tablets relates that the king of Ebla owned a field of olive trees, which covered 1,430 ha (3,532 ac). Another indicated that a system of weight units and measurements was introduced - a system that remained in use until the end of the Hellenistic Age.

The great prosperity, which Ebla reached in the 3rd millennium B.C. could not have happened suddenly. It was a culmination of long stages of development, going back to that of the going back to the millennium before.

This affluence was due, in a large part, to the governmental system. Ebla was governed by a ruler generally referred to on the tablets as lord or king and also by a senate, which was called in the language of Ebla, Abbu (meaning, the council of fathers and old men). Members of the senate were heads of influential and rich families who, along with the king, took necessary and decisive decisions for the protection of the welfare of the kingdom. It is believed that the king had to preserve their interests and, subsequently, was not authoritarian in the administration processes of the affairs of the kingdom.

Other tablets have established that Ebla was the capital of a large kingdom whose people were of Amorite descent and spoke Eblaic - a close relative to Arabic and the ancestor of Canaanite - the oldest Semitic language in western Syria, paralleling that of Akkadian in Mesopotamia. The name Ebla is the same as the Arabic ablaq (white), referring to the many white stones in the region.

To amateur archaeologists, it appears that the site has been barely touched. Only a tiny portion of the huge mound covering the ruins has been excavated. Four temples, dating back to 2000 - 1800 B.C., with rooms for worshipping, sacrifice altars and statues, have been unearthed. However, most of the work has taken place around the site of the Royal Palace where a spacious audience assembly hall and burial chambers have been uncovered.

Gold jewellery found in Ebla.

Human-headed bull of gold & lapis lazuli found in Ebla

Gold jewellery from Ebla -17th Century B.C.

Large quantities of lapis lazuli originating from Afghanistan, Egyptian Pharaonic cups and alabaster vases were found in the palace's courtyard, indicating that Ebla was an important trading centre. These and finely engraved cylinder seals, female figurines holding their breasts, stone cisterns carved in bas-relief with banqueting scenes and military parades uncovered in the ruins are now displayed in the National Museum in Damascus.

Professor Paolo Mathiae, who could be considered the father of modern Ebla, is continuing to work with 150 workers on the excavation and renovation of the site. According to Adnan, our guide from Tell Mardikh, Mathiae is a great archaeologist and a modest man – one who has literally uncovered Syria’s history. “Mathiae is not interested in finding gold and jewels but is passionately concerned in proving that Ebla was once the oldest and largest empire in the Greater Syria area.”

After exploring the excavation site, we returned to Aleppo, then quickly made our way to visit the Ebla section in the Aleppo museum. The visit to the site of the once famous city had imbued us with a feeling that we must see more. The relics found in Ebla, exhibited on the ground floor of the famous Museum, are some of the finest archaeological remains found in the world. It is said that if the Ebla section in the Aleppo Museum were the only tourist attraction in the city, it would be worthwhile for those interested in history to travel to Aleppo, simply to examine the exhibited relics.

In the years to come there is little doubt that Ebla will become a visitor’s point of interest. In October of 2002, Asma al-Assad, wife of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, opened a newly established park around the ancient city. Besides luring tourists, the park is expected to be a focal point for Syrians wanting to have a look at a proud landmark in their history.

The best places to stay in Syria are the Cham Palaces and Hotels--a deluxe chain covering the whole of the country. In Aleppo, the Chahba Cham Palace Hotel is a prime choice. For prices and for reserving rooms in all the Cham Palace Hotels in Syria, check http://www.chamhotels.com

In addition, there are a series of budget hotels in Aleppo like the run-down but renowned Baron Hotel where a double room, including breakfast, costs about $40 per day.

For Further Information, Contact: Syrian Embassy, Ottawa, 151 Slater Street, Suite 1000, Ottawa Ontario, Canada, K1P 5H3. Tel: 613-569- 5556. Fax: 613-569- 3800. E-mail: syrianembassy@on.aibn.com or Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic, 2215 Wyoming Ave. N.W., Washington D.C., 20008 U.S.A. Tel: 202/232-6313. Fax: 202-234-9548. E-mail: info@syrianembassy.us or see website: http://www.syriatourism.org/new/

Habeeb Salloum is a Canadian freelance writer and author who has traveled to many parts of the world and has written comprehensively about the countries and their cuisines. His email is: habeeb.salloum@sympatico.ca.