Lecture by Dr. Marwan Kilani (FU Berlin)

Abstract: For centuries, the Lebanese city of Byblos enjoyed a unique position in the local and international landscape, as it played the role of “contact zone” between the Near East and Egypt. This reality, however, seems to change during the Late Bronze Age, following a declining trajectory that see Byblos passing from prosperous and powerful city at the end of the Middle Bronze Age, to small and peripheral town in the Iron Age. The lecture will first provide an overview of the archaeological and written sources that inform us about this period (and of the problem affecting them). It will then explore selected aspects of the history and sociocultural reality of the city during this period, showing how different types of evidence can be combined to explore different questions. The presentation will touch on different aspects of the life in the city such as economy and trade, war, religion, politics and cultural contacts. The ensuing discussion will aim both at providing a sketch of the reality of the city, and at contextualizing such reality within the bigger picture of the very dynamic geopolitical landscape of the region at the time.