In a wide valley that stretches in the North-West of Syria, there are dozens of hills, in the majority of artificial origin. They have grown on the spot settlements, erased from the face of the earth once in ancient times. Over the ancient ruins of the forgotten Sands of the desert cities formed mounds of different size.

Since 1964, near one of the modern Syrian villages on the mound of tel Mardikh, near the border with Iraq, conducts excavations doctor of historical Sciences Paolo Mattie from the University of Rome. Since then, they produced a sensational trophies, made the largest archaeological discovery of the XX century Mattie convincingly proved that in those places, where, apparently, except for nomadic dwellings of the black goat skins, never had nothing and was not, in fact, in the III Millennium BC flourished capital-rich Kingdom - city Ebla.

In the beginning of works Mattie happen to open the majestic front gate in a massive fortress wall. Year after year, penetrating further into the depths of centuries, he began to find the remains of houses, temples, buildings for the storage of water, and in 1974 in the ruins of the Royal Palace, destroyed in XXIII century BC, discovered the true treasure - the biggest archive of documents which date back to the third Millennium BC, More than 17 thousand clay tablets covered with cuneiform, were such that it was possible to reconstruct the way their normal storage. Plate set "packs" on the wooden stand and put to the wall. In short, the ancient vault resembled modern archaeologists filing. The fire destroyed the Palace, but was subjected fired clay products, increasing their strength.

To the work of archaeologists joined the famous Italian epigraphy Giovanni Pettinato. He managed to decipher the lyrics, and then cuneiform spoke the language of the kings, priests, merchants and diplomats who lived in a rich Eble, the capital reopened States of the Ancient East.

Archive clay tablets found in Eble

These records, according to scientists, able to compete with the famous Dead sea scrolls, helping researchers to penetrate into biblical and pre-biblical times.

Able supported political and economic ties with two major civilizations - Sumer and Egypt, despite the fact that he was separated from them a huge desert. However, there is an assumption that Able, perhaps, was originally designed as a distant Outpost of the Sumerian Empire, but then was quickly transformed into an independent state.

Opening Paolo Mattie were not accidental. In 1964, the Syrians appealed to the Italian scientist with the offer to take part in archaeological excavations on the territory of their country. Roman University sent to the excavations of the young scientist, who wrote by the time the candidate's thesis devoted to the art of Syria II Millennium BC

During one of their previous trips to the middle East Mattie found in the storeroom of the Museum Syrian city of Aleppo basalt bowl, decorated with the heads of roaring lions and the frieze with the image of the king and warrior. Peasants from the village of tel Mardikh found a bowl, opening the box. The scientist decided to study carefully the hill where the find was made, and I found a huge amount of ceramics, testified that at the turn of the III and II millennia BC there was a large settlement.

In the place where the peasants came across a large basalt bowl, Mattie found the temple. However, at that time Mattie still did not know what exactly he did. A little later, in 1968, in one of the temples was found a statue of the goddess Ishtar. It has established a ruler who call themselves EBIT-lim, the son of Igris-chepa, king of Ebla. So Mattie gained his Kingdom.

The mound of tel Mardikh with its Palace complex and temples called the Acropolis. Trench excavation was furrowed slopes and top of the mound. Archeologists have proved that the Acropolis of Ebla built for 3.5 thousand years B.C. its Length from North to South is almost a kilometer. The city had four gates.

During excavations of Ebla discovered the construction of the Palace servants for up to 12 thousand people. About 50 thousand people lived within the city walls, and with a population of suburbs and nearby settlements, the number of residents exceeded a quarter of a million!

During the excavations found a stepped tower - ziggurat, where king descended from the top floor of the Palace, making solemn outputs. The tower is built of mud brick 4400 years ago. The height of six meters. Ancient clay bricks is very fragile. Under the influence of the sun, air and snow (in winter snow in the desert is not uncommon) they quickly destroyed, so Mattie ordered to cover the walls of the tower fresh clay. Also found in the rich burial in the tomb - gold jewelry, which could belong to one of the king's daughters. Of tablets it became known that the kings of Ebla was given power not by inheritance - she was elected for a seven-year term and was shared with the Council of elders.

Among the trading partners of Ebla called Mediterranean Beirut and Byblos, and Damascus and Gas, along with two biblical Sodom and Gomorrah, and the unknown city of IRAM, once mentioned in the Quran. Merchants, residents of Ebla, carried to the capital metals from Anatolia and timber from the Mediterranean forest of Lebanon and are exported abroad expensive purple with gold threads of fabric, izgotovlenie by local craftsmen. Fabric these, apparently, was not very different from satin and brocade, which are still produced in Syria.

According to Paolo Mattie, Able to 2400 BC turned into a huge wealth of policy. Gradually the kings of Ebla have become so powerful that entered in competition with Sargon, king of Akkad, and the conqueror of Sumer, for control of the Euphrates river. Able sought to gain control of important trade routes, vital for the economy and country's development. The struggle between the two rivals ended with the defeat of Ebla, about 2300 B.C. Naramsin, grandson of Sargon, captured Able and gave the city the fire. In memory of the deed that he ordered to erect the monument and to cut on it an inscription: "Naramsin, the mighty conqueror of Ebla, which earlier nobody was able to conquer".

But the most interesting in the history of a previously unknown city and state associated with signs of Ebla. In the cuneiform archive detected lists, stories of the gods, kings, professions (named over 60!), the plants, minerals, birds, mammals, fish, personal names, and also the texts listing the names of cities, names of different tools. Found and Sumerian-Blackie dictionaries containing over three thousand words and poetic narration about the creation of the world, the story of the great flood.

In Eble, it appears, was even going scientific conference reports are found in the Palace archives. Scientists from other countries came to Able and taught there. There was also a special school, where he taught cuneiform.

Especially curious mentioned in the tablets own names: AB-RA-mu (Abraham), E-sa mind (Isaiah), CA-at-Lum (Saul). Nowhere in the ancient written monuments, but the old Testament, was not observed in the name of David, but here it is: Yes-do-dum. The name of the king of Ebrima, who ruled around 2300 BC, amazing sounds like Hebert from the biblical Book of Genesis. According to Scripture, Eber had a great-great grandson and grandfather Noah to Abraham.

Three world religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - are descended from the Patriarch Abraham. Genesis represents him as a native of the city of Ur of the Chaldees, which was situated in the southern part of Mesopotamia. Most scientists-theologians believed that approximately 1800 BC Abraham with his people went out of Ur of the North and through the land of Syria reached Canaan.

Clay tablets of Ebla, as if challenging the interpreters of old Testament texts mention neighboring Ur, which was boiling business life of at least 500 years before the biblical city. Finds Mattie made a strong impression on researchers of the Holy Scriptures.

- Judge for yourself, " said Mitchell Dahod, Dean of Oriental faculty of the Vatican biblical research Institute. In the earliest parts of the old Testament God is called by the name of El. During the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt he revealed to Moses his real name is Yahweh (or Jehovah). At the same time, signs of Ebla indicate that a thousand years before described in the Bible event names El Yahweh already existed among the Northwest Semitic peoples of Syria.

Scientists believe that after the disappearance of Ebla its language and culture was revived in such urban cultures, as, for example, Ugarit - a port city on the Mediterranean coast, which accounts for the flourishing of the XIV century BC Professor Pettinato found that the language of the inhabitants of Ebla was the forerunner of all the Canaanite languages such as Ugaritic, Phoenician and Hebrew.