Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus | Explore & Learn

Ruler: Syria

Return to The Ruler

Like the rulers of south, the rulers of kingdoms in Syria presented themselves as chosen and nurtured by the gods, and a close association between the ruler and the divine world was often stressed in royal monuments and inscriptions. One of the central themes, demonstrated most clearly by the buildings at the city of Mari on the middle Euphrates, is the king's role as builder for the god, refurbishing and restoring the deity's temples. Another important theme of kingship is the ruler as warrior. Often the king is shown successfully leading an army against human enemies, such as on stone inlay decoration, while on other occasions the king is victorious over wild animals. Palaces, such as the elaborate building at Ebla, have been identified dating from the mid-third millennium B.C. Cuneiform clay tablets preserved in the royal archives at Ebla reveal the diplomatic and military activity of the city's ruler in relation to the neighboring city-states and kingdoms.


	Select an image below to learn more and see the enlarged view.

Images, from top to bottom: Standing figure of Ishqi-Mari (formerly read Lamgi-Mari), ca. 2400–2250 B.C.; Early Dynastic IIIB. Syria, Mari, Ishtar temple, Level a, room 20, M.174. Cuneiform inscription in an early Semitic dialect. National Museum, Aleppo, Syria 10406. Fragment of an Egyptian jar lid naming Pepi I, ca. 2289–2255 B.C.; Old Kingdom, reign of Pepi I. Syria, Ebla (modern Tell Mardikh), Palace G, TM.77.G.600. Egyptian hieroglyphic inscription. National Museum, Aleppo, Syria 10588. Inlay of a warrior, ca. 2350–2250 B.C.; Early Bronze Age, Mardikh IIb 1. Syria, Ebla (modern Tell Mardikh), Palace G, room L.4436. TM.88.G.451a, b. Idlib Museum, Syria 3297.

Photograph Credits