A strictly administered royal population

The Eblaite kingdom operated under a centralized palatial economy where the palace employed and remunerated a major part of the workers through maintenance rations. The central administration directed the allocation of land and coordinated thousands of dependents divided into hierarchical groups under the supervision of overseers. The staff in the service of the palace numbered approximately 5,000 people, which allows for an estimate of at least 20,000 individuals for the total population of the kingdom.