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of Umma swears repeatedly to uphold the treaty provisions on the
Stela of the Vultures. Both the Ebla treaty and the Stela of the
Vultures record curses against a treaty violator.3.3.1 Archival documents from Ebla record oil offerings and other
gifts for ceremonies referred to as “oath taking” or “treaty making.”^24
The protagonists are rulers, officials and other elites of Syrian city-
states. When Ebla’s treaty partner is one of its northwest Syrian vas-
sals, the ceremony takes place in Ebla or its immediate vicinity, but
when the regional powers Mari or Nagar are involved, the ceremony
is in Mari itself or in the sanctuary of the transnational high god
Dagan at Tuttul.3.3.1.1 The oil offerings are probably for ceremonial unction. Both
the Enna-Dagan letter (see below) and the excerpt from the treaty
between Ebla and Armi mention the “oil of the lands.” The Stela
of the Vultures portrays an elaborate administration of oaths to a
series of gods, each involving the anointing and release of birds.3.3.1.2 Gifts were presented as part of the ratification ceremony
and were expected to continue subsequently. In the ›amazi letter,
the king of Ebla demands a gift of equids from his “brother,” king
of ›amazi, in return for a gift he has given him, justified explicitly
on the principle that “brothers” satisfy each other’s desires.3.4 Treaty provisions vary according to the purpose of the pact.
The Abarsal treaty is a comprehensive declaration of that city’s vas-
salage to Ebla, whereas the Naramsin treaty has to do primarily with
military assistance, and the Lagash-Umma treaty settles a territorial
dispute. Many of the documented treaty provisions are familiar from
the better understood treaties of the second millennium.3.4.1 Both preserved treaties and the Stela of the Vultures begin
with introductions that are not formally part of the treaty provisions.(^24) Catagnoti, “Lessico.. .,” and “Serments.. .” For the use of Akkadian terms
for “oath” to mean “treaty,” cf. Kienast, “Vertrag.. .,” 232f. Whereas Catagnoti
asserts that the actual word for treaty at Ebla is Semitic kittum(so used also in the
Late Bronze Age), Archi (“Regional State.. .,” 1, n. 1) says the word for an agree-
ment between states is ù-“u-rí and Pettinato and D’Agostino (“Proposta.. .,” 197)
suggest that “treaty” is represented by the Sumerogram gi“-eren 2.
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