Leiden University Student Repository

Choutsisvili, Anna (2020)

Finding the 'King' of Alashiya. The Political Organization of Cyprus during the Late Bronze Age (ca.1600-1100 B.C.)

Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)

The status and political organization of Cyprus during the Late Bronze Age (c. 1600-1100 BC) is a controversial topic. On the one hand the king of Alashiya ‘Cyprus’ is mentioned as an equal to the Egyptian King in the Amarna Letters. Various texts from Egypt, Hatti and Ugarit reveal the increasing activity of the island in the trade networks of the eastern Mediterranean area and its dominant role as a copper supplier. On the other hand, the archaeological data inside the island display a society with simple socio-economic structures. The few signs of economic intensification, surplus manipulation and craft specialization are not enough to prove the “supremacy” of a certain elite or even a king. The current study aims to investigate these data, identify the urban and administrative centers of Late Bronze Age Alashiya and to reconstruct the networks within the island and the Eastern periphery. The results of this survey will reveal possible hierarchy among the urban sites and attempt...Show moreThe status and political organization of Cyprus during the Late Bronze Age (c. 1600-1100 BC) is a controversial topic. On the one hand the king of Alashiya ‘Cyprus’ is mentioned as an equal to the Egyptian King in the Amarna Letters. Various texts from Egypt, Hatti and Ugarit reveal the increasing activity of the island in the trade networks of the eastern Mediterranean area and its dominant role as a copper supplier. On the other hand, the archaeological data inside the island display a society with simple socio-economic structures. The few signs of economic intensification, surplus manipulation and craft specialization are not enough to prove the “supremacy” of a certain elite or even a king. The current study aims to investigate these data, identify the urban and administrative centers of Late Bronze Age Alashiya and to reconstruct the networks within the island and the Eastern periphery. The results of this survey will reveal possible hierarchy among the urban sites and attempt to clarify the political organization of Late Bronze Age Cyprus. Did the 'King of Alashiya' truly exist?Show less

Cyprus

Alashiya

Late Bronze Age

Texts

Archaeology

Author

Choutsisvili, Anna

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Assyriology

Supervisors

Waal, Willemijn

ECTS Credits

25

Language

en