= Paper =
At the end of the late Bronze Age, Alashiya was characterized by a very mixed population: Mycenians, Hittites, “people of the sea”, Syrians.
The different excavations carried on the island show a general state of prosperity, with international trade expansion. Relations were numerous particularly with Ugarit as shown by the finding of a lot of cypriot ceramics in this city and its harbour, a specific writing, the settlement of Alashiyan people in Ugarit, letters sent between the two courts. The documentation unearthed from the “Urtenu’s house” confirms these relationships. People from Alashiya worked in Ugarit, Cyprus shifted copper, Ugarit horses, oil and handicrafts. Both royal courts exchanged “presents” and pieces of information; it might even be possible that they had been bound by mariage.
