Interconnections between the Aegean and the Levant during the Bronze Age: minoica in the Syro-Palestinian area and the role of the Minoan Palaces in the near eastern political and economic system

Abstract

It has been established, through archaeological, textual, and pictorial evidence, that Minoan Crete was in contact with Egypt and the Near East throughout much of the Bronze Age, and particularly during the Late Bronze Age. The material and textual evidence available both in Crete and in the different regions of the Eastern Mediterranean have been collected by scholars and presented in several catalogues of data. The possible interpretations and discussions of these data is necessary in order to answer the questions that arise around the problematic place that Minoan Crete held in the Bronze Age economical world system. The aim of this thesis is to present the Minoan pottery and artefacts found in Bronze Age contexts in the Eastern Mediterranean and particularly in the Levantine area, which geographically extends from the south of the Taurus Mountains, reaches the Mediterranean Sea in the west, the Arabian Desert in the south and Mesopotamia in the east. It will also examine textual evidence as well as the wall and floor paintings found in Syro-palestinian sites that reflect contact between Crete and the Levant. By elaborating on the material evidence it is attempted to reach a better understanding of the Minoan presence in the south-east part of the Mediterranean and the political and economic intricacies in this area during the second millennium B.C.