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La reconstitution de la conquête hittite de la Syrie à l’époque amarnienne : l’apport des textes de Tell Sakka
The text TS 2 unearthed at Tell Sakka, some 12 km north of Damascus, and published by J.-M. Durand and F. Abdallah in the present volume, is of significant import for the reconstruction of historical geography and political history of the Late Bronze age Syria. It records a legal transaction taking place in the city of Ugulzat. The character of the transaction, a real estate transfer, makes probable the identification of the find place, Tell Sakka, as ancient Ugulzat. Apart from the newly found Tell Sakka text, Ugulzat is mentioned in various sources dating to the Middle and Late Bronze age period. The city plays a prominent role in Hittite religious and historical records, including the description of the famous One Year War fought by the king Suppiluliuma I against the Mitannian supremacy in Syria (CTH 51.I). Another important attestation of Ugulzat comes from recently published texts from Qaṭna. This evidence, however, didn’t allow a precise localisation of the toponym. The identification of Ugulzat with modern Tell Sakka brings about important additions to the current historical reconstruction. It confirms a vast territorial sway of Nuhašše lands which was already surmised by Assyriologists. It also lends support to the traditional view on Suppiluliuma’s Syrian campaign of the One Year War which presumes the Hittite advance up to the Damascus region, supposedly designated as Abina in the text of CTH 51.I. The installation of Takip-šarri on the throne of Ugulzat (CTH 51.I.A: 39–40) may be regarded as one of its episodes.