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Levant
Also called: Levantine
The lands along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, roughly modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine and Jordan, facing Cyprus to the east.
Cyprus lies only about 100 km from the Syrian coast, and the Levant was its closest and most constant partner. In the Bronze Age Cypriot pottery and copper went to Ugarit and the Canaanite cities, while cylinder seals, ivories and Canaanite jars came back. In the Iron Age Phoenicians from the Levantine coast, probably from Tyre, established themselves at Kition and elsewhere on the island.
The word comes from the French for 'rising', for the lands of the rising sun. Archaeologists call objects and styles from this coast Levantine, and many Cypriot wares, from White Painted juglets to Black-on-Red perfume juglets, are found in quantity at Levantine sites. See Ugarit and the Levant.
Full entry: Ugarit and the Levant
Related terms
- Aegean
The sea between Greece and Turkey and the lands around it, including Crete, the Cyclades and mainland Greece, home of the Minoans and Mycenaeans.
- Emporion
A Greek term for a trading post or market town where foreign merchants did business, often inside an existing settlement.
- Cylinder seal
A small engraved stone cylinder that, rolled across wet clay, leaves a continuous impression; used to mark ownership and authority.
Where it appears
- Faience in Ancient Cyprus
- Bichrome Ware
- Cypro-Archaic Cyprus
- Neighboring Cultures
- Plain White Ware
- The Philistines
- Glass in Ancient Cyprus
- The Phoenicians
- Black-on-Red Ware
- From Bronze to Iron: Cypriot Pottery c. 1300–950 BCE
- Base Ring Figurines (Astarte Type)
- Jars (Amphora)
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