MAAO-2 Simon Halama
This volume presents the result of an International Workshop on the Chronology of the Late Bronze Age (15th-13th Century BC) in Northern Syria, which discussed the dating of recently excavated sites (Emar, Tall al-Qitar, Tall Munbaqa, Umm el-Marra and Tall Bazi) in the Upper Euphrates region. The relative and absolute chronology of each of the mentioned sites was analysed with the help of stratified pottery and associated material as well as radiocarbon dates. New chronological anchor points for the Upper Euphrates valley have been established, replacing the previous chronological scheme based on the supposed ‘fixed point’ of the Tablet Building at Tall Hadidi being dated to the 15th century BC. As a result, a new synchronized chronology for the LB IA, LB IB and LB II periods in Syria is proposed. An important historical conclusion of this research is that the destruction of most of the sites in the Upper Euphrates region can now be attributed to the Hittite expansion in the mid-14th century, during which only Emar, al-Qitar and Karkemish were spared and continued to flourish.