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4.5 It may be concluded in general that the authority of the Palace
G royal family and of the other elite Eblaite families was organized
on a topographical basis for people living not far from the palace,
and that when interaction was needed with persons located farther
away, reference was made to ties based on kinship and politics.- F
5.1 There are no direct sources relating to family law. Indirect
information may be gleaned from sources concerning the royal fam-
ily and a few other elite families (such as Ib-rí-um). Features of the
marriage (níg-mu-sá) of the king and queen of Ebla (both of local
origin) are known thanks to two ritual texts published in ARET XI.
They refer to the last two Eblaite kings, and they start with the wed-
ding, at Ebla:And (in the following way the king) indeed takes her, the queen, to
His Father’s House: 1 golden bracelet is delivered (by the groom to
the bride) at the time of her/their(/his?) offering of 1 sheep for the
Sun-Goddess (and) of 1 sheep for [his] deceased father. And (the king)
indeed brings the queen to His Father’s House. And, on the day of
the queen’s wedding, (the king) indeed puts olive oil on the queen’s
head.^22The texts continue with rituals at Ebla prior to the queen’s entry
into the Temple of Kura (probably the dynastic god) and during the
ceremonies at that temple. Then there are the preparations, near
Ebla, of the royal procession for the journey to a place called Bina“,
the description of the journey and of the rituals en route, the ritu-
als at Bina“, and lastly the return of the royal couple to Ebla, where
further rituals were performed. The texts end with a list of gifts
received at the time of the wedding of the queen.5.2 Several interdynastic marriages (preceded by negotiations and
exchange of gifts, as in the case of local weddings of members of
the Eblaite court) are recorded.^23 Eblaite princesses married kings of
Syria (Lumnàn, Burmàn, ›arràn) and Mesopotamia (Nagar, Ki“,
but not Mari). In the case of Nagar, the bride received from her(^22) Bonechi, “On the Beginning...”
(^23) Biga, “I rapporti diplomatici...”
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