Ricerc@Sapienza

Syrian stopovers in long-distance trade routes in the III millennium b.C. · The recent publication of Egyptian and Syrian texts and the rereading of some known texts, all dating back to the III millennium b.C., proved that in Syria, back then, several cities, capitals of kingdoms, were important stop-overs in the long-trade routes that connected the Middle East to Egypt. This article focuses on traded goods, especially timber, ivory, lapis lazuli, tin, silver and gold. The Egyptian stopover in the trade of such wares has been recently questioned ; this article will try to prove instead that Egypt was a key stopover in long-distance trade routes.