The tell of Ras Shamra on the Mediterranean coast of Syria has yielded thousands of cuneiform tablets which shed light on the scribal traditions of ancient Ugarit, a city-state which flourished during the latter part of the Late Bronze Age. This dissertation treats one aspect of the local scribal practice, the letter-writing tradition in the Ugaritic language. The studies presented here contain a description and analysis of the formal characteristics of all currently known Ugaritic letters, not only stereotyped formulas, but also patterned motifs found in the body. Chapters 1-4 treat the major epistolary formulas, building on previous research by incorporating data from unpublished letters, by approaching the formal analysis from the wider perspective of cuneiform letter-writing in Late Bronze West Asia, and by consistently attempting to understand the patterns of formal variation in terms of social vocabulary drawn from the letters themselves. Chapter 5 is a preliminary study of the structural patterns in the body of Ugaritic letters. A dual emphasis on form and function is attempted; the provisional conclusions are intended to complement a more traditional philological approach in the ongoing interpretation of Ugaritic epistolary prose. On a broader level, the Ugaritic letter-writing tradition shows striking formal kinship with the Akkadian and Hittite epistolary traditions of the "Western periphery"; formal similarities with contemporary Mesopotamian traditions are much less pronounced. These parallels suggest that the Ugaritic epistolary tradition was a local manifestation of a common "Amorite" heritage which persisted among the scribal cultures of Hittite Syria. In its contemporary context, however, the Ugaritic tradition should ultimately be considered as independent, since none of the contemporary or anterior traditions is fully parallel. It was a local scribal culture, unique in many respects, and not demonstrably derivative of the traditions of neighboring cultures.

L’intérêt historique suscité par la richesse des vestiges provenant d’Emar et d’Ougarit ainsi que de plusieurs autres cités de l’époque, notamment Alalaḫ, nous a poussé à nous intéresser à la répartition des pouvoirs en Syrie à l’époque du Bronze Récent, question pour laquelle peu d’études des synthèse ont été consacrées à l’heure actuelle.Nous concentrerons notre étude sur plusieurs villes à l’époque du Bronze Récent, depuis le début de la deuxième moitié de deuxième millénaire jusqu’au début de XIIe siècle av. J.-C.Certes, Il existe un pouvoir religieux, économique ; mais le plus souvent la notion de pouvoir sous-entend la présence d’une puissance politique à laquelle est soumise une communauté. Nous distinguerons donc les termes d’ « autorité » et de « pouvoir », ce dernier devant être considéré comme l’application et la manifestation de l’autorité.Les textes anciens représentent pour notre étude une documentation directe. Les tablettes provenant des cités syriennes de cette époque sont au cœur de notre étude. Il s’agit surtout de tablettes cunéiformes écrites en akkadien.Nous pensons qu’une recherche analytique et comparative nous aidera de mieux connaître les différents types de pouvoir en Syrie, de repérer les divers détenteurs du pouvoir au Bronze Récent et de définir les caractéristiques propres à l’organisation politique syrienne durant cette même période. / The historical interest generated by the rich archaeological remains from Emar and Ugarit as well as several other cities of the era, including Alalah, encouraged us to take an interest in the distribution of power in Syria at the Late Bronze Age, a question for which few synthesis studies have been devoted today. We focus our study on several cities during the Late Bronze Age, since the beginning of the second half of the second millennium to the early twelfth century BC.Certainly, there is a religious power and economic power, but more often the notion of power implies the presence of a political power which is subject to a community. We therefore distinguish the terms “authority” and “power”, the latter to be considered the application and demonstration of authority. The ancient texts represent a direct documentation for this study. The akkadian cuneiform tablets from the Syrian cities of this period are in the middle of our research.We believe that a comparative and analytical research will help us better understand the different types of power in Syria, to identify the various rulers of the Late Bronze Age and define the characteristics of the Syrian political organization during this period.