Ancient Syria starting in the third millennium B.C., featured various city-states, such as Ebla, which appear and disappear until roughly 1000 B.C.

PAUL E. DION -- Professor at University of Toronto

There are city-states, such as ancient Sam'al, where there clearly were violent dynastic changes, helped by foreign intervention; but this material is very difficult (the most relevant inscriptions, those in the older dialect, are very poorly preserved), and I am afraid it is not sufficient to support your thesis, however likely it may seem in view of what we know of human natures and the record of other periods (e.g., ancient Greece and late medieval Italy).

Yours,

Paul

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INGOLF THUESEN -- Professor at Copenhagen University

Dear Dr. Kolkey,

You are right in assuming that we do not have detailed historical data
concerning warfare and even political structures of Ancient Syria. It is
also my experience that when it comes to describing wars, the sources
are highly biased. The Kadesh war between Egypt and the Hittites in 1275
BC are claimed to be won by both sides.

You are perhaps better off looking into the Sumerian city-states in
Mesopotamia, where there are direct evidence for conflicts on a
city-state level, e.g. the stele of Vultures which describe a war
between two city-states. A person that has been working with the
political structure of the Sumerian city-state society is Prof. Susan
Pollock, who has written substantial on the topic.

My immediate reaction to your thinking is, that our mind is very
determined by a national state mentality, which determines much of our
thinking on the past. In particular, when it comes to empire generating
societies such as the early civilizations in Mesopotamia. Conflicts in
the modern world is often based on national states, even globalized into
world wars or wart against terror. My attempt to identify city-state
structures in ancient Syria let me to the conviction that ancient Syria
and also ancient Mesopotamia basically through most of history were
city-state societies where people identified themselves with their city.
Empires were short lived, but spectacular in producing monumental
material and historic remains and in taking up space in our history
books. If we assume that city states were governed by ruling families,
dynasties, and I think this is very likely considering how contemporary
Middle east still is a kinship and tribal society, personal motives may
very well have been prime movers for the decision on when and where to
engaged in a conflict.

This is what I immediately can say, based on my research into the
city-state of Syria some years ago. Unfortunately our sources are
scarce.

Best greetings,

Ingolf Thuesen

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