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The Problem of the Identification of the City on Ras Ibn Hani, Syria Adnan Bounni

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The Problem of the Identification of the City on Ras Ibn Hani, Syria Adnan Bounni The Problem of the Identification of the_ City on Ras Ibn Hani, Syria Adnan Bounni Our aim in this article is to review the prob­ phases of its Iron Age occupation; future excava­ lem of the identification of the Ugaritic city on tion may shed light on this. the cape now known as Ras Ibn Hani, 10 km The Ugaritic city on the cape, in which two north of Latakia and about 4 km west of Ras royal palaces have been excavated, was proba­ Shamra/Ugarit. This name is relatively recent, bly built by King Ammishtamru II (1260-1230), taken from the name of the neighboring fisher­ whose mother, the Amorite Ahat-milki, lived and men's village oflbn Hani. In the late nineteenth traded there. More than one identification has and early twentieth centuries the cape was called been proposed for this Ugaritic city. The first, Ras al-Fanar, "the cape of the lighthouse," a adopted byCaquot (1978-79:486) isAp (Appu), structure that still stands. According to some the which appears four times in the texts of U garit cape was called Ras az-Ziarah ("the cape of the (Virolleaud 1965:40, 42, 74; and RS 20.157) holy tomb"), but Weulersse (1940:150, fig. 44) and probably in the Ras Ibn Hani texts as well located the cape of Ras az-Ziarah nearer to Lata­ (RIH 78.3 + 30; see Bordreuil and Caquot kia. 1980:356-58). This toponym is always at the Ras Ibn Hani has been excavated since 1975 head of the lists of towns and villages of the king­ by a joint Syrian-French team (A. Bounni,J. and dom of U garit as a city or administrative district. E. Lagarce, N. Saliby, and others). Since the first "Ap" means "nose," and the prominent shape season it was clear that the ruins of a new U ga­ of the cape might be the origin of this name. ritic royal town occupied the center of the cape, South of Tripoli of Lebanon there is a cape under four other levels from the Iron Age I to with a similar name, 'Anfeh (Arabic 'anf is cog­ the time ofJustinian (527-565 CE) .1 According to nate with appu and also means "nose"). In an arti­ Dussaud (1927:416-17), the Hellenistic-Roman cle dedicated to the memory of the Lebanese city Diospolis mentioned in Pliny's Natural His­ archaeologist Roger Saidah, I suggested (Bounni tory was located on the cape of Ras Ibn Hani. 1982:154) that the site was Mahadu, the harbor Diospolis is probably the name of the fortified ofUgarit, a subject also studied by Astour (1970). Seleucid city founded after the end of the Lagid Geomorphology has confirmed that Ras Ibn occupation of the cape and the establishment of Hani was the principal harbor of Ugarit, since the military base there during the third Syrian it was more protected than Minet al-Beida itself War (246-241 BCE). We know nothing about (see Sanlaville 1978:303-4). Finally, Liverani the ancient name of the site during the various (1980:1315) proposed that the cape of Ras Ibn Hani might be the site of Atalig. Since 1984, new identifications for the Uga­ 1 The preliminary reports of the excavations at Ras lbn Hani are published in Syria, Annal,es Archeologiques Arabes Syriennes, ritic city at Ras Ibn Hani have been proposed. and Comptes Rendus de l'Academie des Inscriptions et Bell,es Lettres. RIH 78.3+30, a letter to the king of Egypt found 81 The Archaeology ofJordan and Beyond in the northern palace, twice mentions ugrtym requires that this Beirut is not far away. Arnaud (Bordreuil et al. 1984:437), which could be inter­ also discusses another text, published by Virolle­ preted either as "Ugarit of the Sea" or "the aud (1965: No. 101), which deals with the deliv­ Ugaritians": ery of a quantity of bronze to the craftsmen of Bi'ruti. On the other hand the protestation of ] y. ugrtym. hw. ] p. hw bym. hw. d. ugrtym the king of Siyannu against the Bi'rutim indi­ [ ...... ] Ugarit of the sea(?) cates that they have common boundaries or at [ ...... ] This is from the sea, from U garit of the Sea least an easy access by the sea to the land of Siyannu (see Nougayrol 1956:16-17); this is con­ "Ugarit of the Sea," according to Bordreuil and firmed by text RS 17.34 (Nougayrol 1956:161-63, Caquot ( 1980), is a name which admirably suits especially line 14). Moreover, the great number Ras Ibn Hani, and is consistent with later Phoe­ of wells on the cape also provides support for the nician practice, which distinguished between the identification of Ibn Hani as Bi'ruti, but does continental city of Sidon and maritime Sidon not preclude the existence of another "city of (Jdn ym) (see Arnaud 1984:15-23). the wells" in the region. Another problem with Finally, Daniel Arnaud, one of the epigra­ locating Bi'ruti on the cape of Ras Ibn Hani phers of Akkadian texts for the Mission of Ras is that text RS 16/191 +272 is impressed with Ibn Hani, has proposed a new identification for the seal of king Niqmaddu II or III (Virolleaud the U garitic royal city on the cape: BPruti (" [ the 1957:18-19), while we assume that the city was city of] the wells") (Arnaud 1984:15-23). His built by Ammishtamru II (1260-1230). Another hypothesis is based on the text RIH 81 .4, from text,RS 11.750 (Nougayrol 1955:12-13) supports the northern royal palace of the site. In this the identification of Ras Ibn Hani as Bi'ruti. Akkadian text, the sender begs the thousand This text is clearly sent from a king of Bi'ruti gods (of the Hittites), the gods of the land of with a messenger to a governor of Ugarit who is the city of Bi'ruti, and the gods of the queen his son, or like his son. We propose as a tenta­ of the city of Ugarit to keep the health of the tive hypothesis that this king (Ammishtamru?) addressee: was resident at Ibn Hani with his mother (Ahat­ li-im DINGIR.MES DINGIR.MES KUR URU bi-'-ru-ti milki) and governing the capital itself through DINGIR.MES MI.LUGAL URU u-ga-ri-it his son or his representative. a-na sul-ma-ni PAP-ru-ka Finally, we have a new text from Ras Shamra The essential element in Arnaud's argument is which must have been addressed to Ugarit from that the letter was addressed to the place where Beirut according to Arnaud (1991:219-20, No. it was found, namely, Bi'ruti. Arnaud also refers 107), who compares it with RS 34.137 coming to text RS 21.183 (Nougayrol 1968:124-26, 392), from that city. It is clear that Ewri-Kili was a man which mentions the inhabitants of Bi'ruti. In his of the king ofUgarit who was going from Beirut view this letter was sent to the king of Ugarit by the sea to bring wood to the king. But if this from the king of Siyannu asking him to arbitrate king was Niqmaddu of RS 16.191+272, we should in a problem caused by the Bi'rutim. It would expect that Beirut of the cape of Ras Ibn Hani not be logical to ask the king of Ugarit to settle was not a newly founded city during the reign of a problem with Beirut in Lebanon, far from Ammishtamru II but was known from the time his own sphere of influence, and even farther of Niqmaddu. Clearly the entire issue needs fur­ from that of the Hittites; the context of this text ther study. 82 .
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