Ugarit

Ugarit was an ancient Levantine coastal city in what is today northern Syria, at a site known in Arabic as Ras Shamra or Tell Shamra. It lies 10 km north of the Syrian city Latakia. Since its discovery in 1928, the site has revealed the oldest known systematic use of an alphabet. Ugaritic texts were written in a previously unknown Northwest Semitic tongue, the Ugaritic language.

Excavations show evidence of occupation since the 8th millennium BC, and the site continued as a settlement through the Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages until its destruction c. 1185 BC. Research has focused on the late Bronze Age levels, and relatively little is known about earlier occupation. During the Late Bronze Age the settlement saw significant growth, culminating in the Kingdom of Ugarit, which controlled about 2,000 km2 on average.

The city reached its golden age between 1500 BC and 1200 BC as a mercantile coastal kingdom, trading with Egypt, Cyprus, Aegean states, polities in Syria, the Hittites, and much of the eastern Mediterranean. Five of the Egyptian Amarna letters from the mid-14th century BC were written in Ugarit. The population in this period is estimated to be between 7,000 and 8,000 individuals. The city had close ties to the Hittite Empire, in later periods as a vassal state.

Scribes in Ugarit appear to have developed the oldest systematically used alphabet around 1400 BC, with 30 letters, corresponding to sounds, inscribed on clay tablets. The letters show little or no formal similarity to the Phoenician, but the standard letter order shows strong similarities between the two.

From the late 13th century into the early 12th century BC the eastern Mediterranean faced severe and widespread food shortages. Letters record desperate pleas for food, and then the appeals of the last king, Ammurapi, who wrote that the enemy's ships had come, that his cities were burned, and that his troops and chariots were in the Land of Hatti and his ships in the Land of Lukka. A Hittite viceroy sent troops, but Ugarit had already been sacked when they reached the city. A later letter says that food on the threshing floors was burnt and the vineyards were destroyed.

Ugarit has its origins in the Neolithic period of the Fertile Crescent. The site was occupied from the end of the 8th millennium BC and continued as a settlement through the Near Eastern Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages until its destruction c. 1185 BC. During the Late Bronze Age (c. 1500 – c. 1200 BC) the settlement saw significant growth, culminating in the establishment of the Kingdom of Ugarit.

The city had close ties to the Hittite Empire, in later periods as a vassal state. It sent tribute to Egypt at times, and maintained trade and diplomatic relations with Alashiya (possibly Cyprus), as documented in archives recovered from the site and corroborated by Mycenaean and Cypriot pottery found there. The polity was at its height from c. 1450 – c. 1185 BC, when it was destroyed, along with the sites of many other polities that fell in the Late Bronze Age collapse of 12th century BC. Both Tell Sukas and nearby Tell Tweini (proposed as ancient Gibala), a coastal city at the southern edge of the Kingdom of Ugarit, were also destroyed at this time.

Neolithic, Chalcolithic Age

Pre-Pottery Neolithic, Stratum 16

Pre-Pottery Neolithic, Stratum 15

Halafian Chalcolithic, Stratum 14

Halafian Chalcolithic, Stratum 13

Chalcolithic Ugarit Stratum 12

Early Bronze Age

EB I-II - Ugarit Stratum 11

EB III - Ugarit Stratum 10

EB IV - Ugarit Stratum 9

Middle Bronze Age

The Middle Bronze Age emerged after a major drought event that ended around 2020 BC. In Mesopotamia, the Fall of Ur III led to the Isin-Larsa period.

Middle Bronze I

Ugarit (Stratum 8) provides material from MB I.

Middle Bronze IIA

Around 1820 BC (MB IIA), the Great Kingdom of Yamhad (Aleppo) emerged under its King Sumu-Epuh as a regional power. Ugarit (Stratum 7) would eventually become a vassal of Yamhad along with several other petty kingdoms in the Northern Levant (Syria).

The Mari Archive (c. 1765 BC) mentions Ugarit. Mari was a kingdom located on the Middle Euphrates to the east of the Yamhad Empire. The archive contained cuneiform tablets written in Akkadian. Trade would have gone from Ugarit, Aleppo, Emar, Mari down to Babylon. Zimri-Lim of Mari (r. 1775–1760 BC) also made a state visit to Ugarit.

Ugarit had contacts with the Egyptian Middle Kingdom (c. 2000 – c. 1700 BC). One artifact is a carnelian bead inscribed with the name of Senusret I. A stela and a statuette from the Egyptian pharaohs Senusret III and Amenemhet III have also been recovered; it is unclear at what time these objects were brought to Ugarit.

Middle Bronze IIB

In MB IIB (c. 1628 – c. 1590 BC), the Hattusili I of Hatti attacked Yamhad around 1620 with Mursili I of Hatti making new raids around 1600/1590 BC, causing the Great Kingdom of Yamhad to collapse. Ugarit (Stratum 6) was relatively shielded lying on the coast behind a mountain range. Large parts of Inner Syria were devastated by the Hittite onslaught ending MB IIB. In the Northern Levant there is no MB IIC (c. 1590 – c. 1550 BC) as in the Southern Levant, but the material culture changes to LB IA.

Late Bronze Age

The city reached its golden age between 1500 BC and 1200 BC when it ruled a mercantile coastal kingdom, trading with Egypt, Cyprus, Aegean states (primarily Minoan Crete), polities in Syria, the Hittites, cities of the Levantine core (including Ascalon in Canaan), and much of the eastern Mediterranean. Five of the Egyptian Amarna letters from the mid-14th century BC were written in Ugarit. The population of Ugarit in this period is estimated to be between 7,000 and 8,000 individuals. The kingdom of Ugarit controlled about 2,000 km2 on average.

In the mid-14th century BC, Ugarit was ruled by king Ammittamru I. A letter (EA45) sent by him, probably to pharaoh Amenhotep III (1388–1351 BC), expresses cordial diplomatic relations between the two. During the reign of his son Niqmaddu II (c. 1350 – c. 1315 BC) Ugarit became a vassal of the Hittite Empire, first under a viceroy in Karkemiš and then, with the Hititte collapse, directly under Karkemiš. During the reign of

Niqmaddu III Ugarit was one of several vassals which supplied troops to support the Hittites against the Suteans

in a battle at Tuttul (possibly modern Tell Bi’a though there were two cites with that name in the region). Diplomatic relations with Egypt continued, as evidenced by two letters sent by Niqmaddu II (EA49) and his wife Ḫeba (EA48), probably sent to Akhenaten (1351–1334 BC). The former includes a request from the Egyptian king to send a physician to Ugarit.

Destruction

From the late 13th century into the early 12th century BC the eastern Mediterranean faced severe and widespread food shortages, possibly from crop failures due to climate change or plant disease. The kings of Ugarit—a major supplier and transporter of foodstuffs—received a number of desperate pleas for food from neighboring states. Eventually Ugarit itself faced shortage and hunger. A letter from Egyptian pharaoh Merenptah (r. 1213 – 1203 BC) referred to a message sent by the ruler of Ugarit:

So you had written to me: “Could I not have demanded my needs [from] the Great King, the king of Egypt, my lord? I demand this request: [In] the land of Ugarit there is a severe hunger (bi-ru-ú dan-niš): May my lord save [the land of Ugarit], and may the king give grain (ZÍZ.AN.MEŠ) to save my life … and to save the citizens of the land of Ugarit.

The last king of Ugarit, Ammurapi (c. 1215 – c. 1180 BC), was a contemporary of the last known Hittite king, Suppiluliuma II. A letter by Ammurapi stresses the seriousness of the crisis faced by many Near Eastern states due to attacks from outsiders. Ugarit's army and navy joined with Hittite forces to stem the oncoming enemy; the allies eventually had to fall back from Anatolia to the Syrian frontier. Ammurapi's response to the king of Alashiya's appeal for assistance from highlights the desperate situation in Ugarit and across the eastern Mediterranean:

My father, behold, the enemy's ships came (here); my cities(?) were burned, and they did evil things in my country. Does not my father know that all my troops and chariots(?) are in the Land of Hatti, and all my ships are in the Land of Lukka? ... Thus, the country is abandoned to itself. May my father know it: the seven ships of the enemy that came here inflicted much damage upon us.

Eshuwara, the senior governor of Alashiya, responded:

As for the matter concerning those enemies: (it was) the people from your country (and) your own ships (who) did this! And (it was) the people from your country (who) committed these transgression(s) ... I am writing to inform you and protect you. Be aware!

In the end Ammurapi begged for forces from the Hittite viceroy at Karkemiš. The invaders had captured the kingdom's other port, Ra’šu, and were advancing on the city of Ugarit.

To the king, my lord say, thus Ammurapi, your servant.… I wrote you twice, thrice, [new]s regarding the enemy! … May my lord know that now the enemy forces are stationed at Ra’šu, and their avant-guard forces were sent to Ugarit. Now may my lord send me forces and chariots, and may my lord save me from the forces of this enemy!

The viceroy sent troops to assist Ugarit, but Ugarit had already been sacked when the Hittite forces reached the city. A letter written to the viceroy after the destruction said:

When your messenger arrived, the army was humiliated and the city was sacked. Our food in the threshing floors was burnt and the vineyards were also destroyed. Our city is sacked. May you know it! May you know it!