of these differences. The unique tribal pastoral character, particularly in the middle
Euphrates, may account for distinctive socio-political developments, namely the
prevention or constraint of the growth of absolute kingships and highly centralised
governments. As for parts of western Syria, its fertility and potential for both
agricultural and pastoral productivity, coupled with the region’s location at a crossroads
of trade and communication, not only with the lands of Mesopotamia but also Egypt
and other polities reached via the Mediterranean Sea, gave it plenty of opportunities
for economic growth and varying cultural stimuli. At the same time, distance from the
principal Near Eastern centres of power, namely Sumer and Egypt, meant that the
people of western Syria would never be subject to those civilisations’ rises and falls.
While they never experienced the heights of success and prosperity of these
neighbouring polities, they also did not have to suffer from their tumultuous demises.
They continued to sustain themselves and maintain their own cultural traditions,
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–– Lisa Cooper ––