The analysis of the organization of local
societies in the Middle Euphrates and the Northern Mesopotamia area -
and, at the same time, of the historical models used to describe them -
shows that during the late Bronze and Iron Ages these regions are not
to be considered settled only by semi-nomadic Aramaic tribes or by
their enemy, the Assyrians. The stele found in 1948 in Tell Ashara -
Terqa, dated from the beginning of the Ninth century BC, is the best
evidence of the existence and of the survival of an ancient urban
culture. A study of this document enlightens the main characters of the
political structure of the local society, integrating not only the
sedentary population, but also its semi-nomadic component, and their
relationship with the Assyrian imperial power.