The Late Bronze Age Town of Emar: An Examination of the Distribution of City Power Within the Context of the Major Rituals

Abstract

The scholarship on the Late Bronze Age town of Emar has neglected to study the major rituals within the town to provide insight upon the roles played by the king, the diviner, and the city elders. This paper examines several of the major rituals from the city, and, through an examination of the function of each office within the rituals, as well as an examination of function of the rituals themselves, provides a new viewpoint on the roles of these individuals. Of primary importance is the examination of the king within the rituals, and arguing against the majority of scholarship which displays his office as little more than a figurehead. This paper theorizes that these roles may have changed over time as the Hittites took control of the city, but displays possibilities for each office before and after the coming of the Hittites.