رأس ابن هاني(in Arabic) | |
 A tomb at Ras Ibn Hani | |
  Ras Ibn Hani Shown within Syria | |
| Alternative name | Betyllion |
|---|---|
| Location | Latakia,Syria |
| Coordinates | 35°35′6″N35°44′45.6″E / 35.58500°N 35.746000°E /35.58500; 35.746000 |
| Type | Settlement |
| Area | 2 ha (4.9 acres) |
| History | |
| Periods | LateBronze Age to EarlyByzantine |
| Cultures | Canaanite, Hellenistic, Roman |
| Satellite of | Ugarit |
| Site notes | |
| Ownership | Mixed public and private |
| Public access | Partial |
| Now is the site ofCote d'Azur | |
| Ugarit |
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Ras Ibn Hani (Arabic:رأس ابن هاني), UgariticRaʾšu,[1] is a small cape located 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) north ofLatakia,Syria on theMediterranean Sea. It is an important archaeological site as it was occupied almost continuously from the lateBronze Age untilByzantine times.[2] The site now is in a major resort area called theCote d'Azur of Syria.[2]
In the Late Bronze, Raʾšu was a port and resort on the northern coast in the Petty Kingdom of Ugarit. It was about two-hour walk from the capitalUgarit.
During the middle of the 14th-century BC, a golden age began for Ugarit after stable borders had been achieved through treaties with theEgyptians. During this phase of expansion, a second residence for the king, for example as a summer palace (south palace), and a residence for queenAhatmilku were built. In the 13th century BC, the site had an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 inhabitants.
The site survived in modest fashion Ugarit'scollapse at the end of the Bronze Age, as the capital Ugarit fell around 1192 BCE.
In inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III (r. 745-727 BCE), it appear as Re'si-suri meaning "Cape of Tyre".[3] The inscriptions refer to Tyrians (Phoenician) ports from Gubla in the south to Re'si-suri in the north, controlled by the petty king Sibittibi'ili of Gubla (Byblos) who pays tribute to Assyria.
"Ugarit's inhabitants dispersed, but no crisis could neutralize their invaluable asset, the coast's best natural harbour on the promontory of Ras ibn Hani; it became known from its low white cliff as the 'White Harbour' in later Greekcoastal guidebooks, a name which persists in modern Arabic asMinet el-Beida", observes Robin Lane Fox,[4] who identified Ras Ibn Hani as the site later Greeks knew asBetyllion,[5] possibly a Hellenized version, he suggests, of the Semiticbait-El or "house ofEl, a name which, if that is the derivation, "confirms thatCanaanite-Phoenician culture never entirely died at the site".
Ras Ibn Hani had aPtolemaic base,[6] since the Third Syrian War (246–241 BC). The Seleucid KingAntiochus IXr. 116–96 BC had a small fortification built in the southeast corner.
Robin Lane Fox notes[4] that the Roman emperorTrajan landed at this spot to join his troops in Syria for the fateful Mesopotamian campaigns of 114–117.
During the first three centuries AD, the city was practically uninhabited, there were probably some buildings on the western tip of the peninsula, the location of which can no longer be explored, as the area has been built over in the meantime. Building remains, pot fragments and coin finds indicate settlement in the earlyByzantine period from the 4th to the 6th century.
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