From the beginning of the excavations at Ugarit, it was apparent that, alongside agriculture and animal husbandry, commerce represented one of the foundations of this nation's economy and of its politics. Ugarit occupied a major position in the Levant. It was the natural crossroads for the commercial trade coming from Mesopotamia that crossed the Euphrates at Carchemish or at Emar. It was also the point of departure for the southward maritime route towards Cyprus then on to Minoan Greece, as well as a staging platform for caravan commerce to Egypt and Hatti. There was little trade in grain, which was essentially a local commodity. However, certain regional specialties became the object of regular commerce among the different capitals of Syria. This was the case, for example, with cheeses and dried fish, the latter a specialty of Tyre. Exports included the products of local craft industry, notably manufactured furniture often decorated with ivory inlay, textiles, olive oil and wine. Ugarit was also a place of transport for precious objects such as semi-precious gems, and metals, in particular copper from Cyprus and tin from Iran. Excavations of the palace have provided evidence of the existence of a merchant class that was dependent on it. Upon royal appointment, the "merchant' received an endowment from the king or queen for the acquisition of goods and business negotiations. The merchant was responsible for the sums that were entrusted to him, but he could nonetheless manage them as he wished for his personal affairs for the period he held his appointment. However, our knowledge of the relations between the political and commercial powers has been revised by the unearthing of some very important residences that were adjacent to the palace. Discovered in them were "business papers" of rich businessmen of Ugarit, which are all but unattested from the palace. In a vast residence called the South Palace, the first ocuments were unearthed that indicated an active participation on the part of the merchants in the administration of the kingdom and in the organization of foreign trade. The head of this office was undoubtedly an influential person, Yabninu, who occupied a prominent position in the kingdom and was entrusted with important judicial and diplomatic responsibilities But as with other businessmen, it is very difficult to distinguish between his own affairs and those of the palace economy. Several houses in the residential quarter have also yielded documentation that records commercial activities. Since 1973, the excavation of another building situated further south on the tell has offered new data on the organization of commerce in the last decades of Ugarit's existence. The house of Urtenu ppears to have been cosely tied to the political and economic powers in this last phase of the kingdom. With large areas for storage and warehousing and situated on an important thoroughfare near the gate opening to the south of the city, its commercial activity seems to have been quite intense. At present, the archives of this house are the most abundant ever to have been unearthed outside the palace. The business handled there was the concern of important international commercial firms run by dignitaries. One of these great financiers was Shiptibaal, the queen's representative in several real estate transactions and the spouse of a royal princess Through deciphered documents, he can be seen visiting one of his business offices located at Emar. He can