Ugarit facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Ugarit

Entrance to the Royal Palace of Ugarit
Location in Near East Show map of Near East Location in Syria Show map of Syria
Alternative name	Ras Shamra (Arabic: رأس شمرة)
Location	Latakia Governorate, Syria
Region	Fertile Crescent
Coordinates	35°36′07″N 35°46′55″E / 35.602°N 35.782°E / 35.602; 35.782
Type	settlement
History
Founded	c. 6000 BC
Abandoned	c. 1185 BC
Periods	Neolithic–Late Bronze Age
Cultures	Canaanite
Events	Bronze Age Collapse
Site notes
Excavation dates	1928–present
Archaeologists	Claude F. A. Schaeffer
Condition	ruins
Ownership	Public
Public access	Yes

Ugarit (Ugaritic: 𐎜𐎂𐎗𐎚, ʾUgarītu; Arabic: أُوغَارِيت Ūġārīt or أُوجَارِيت Ūǧārīt) was an ancient port city in northern Syria. It was found by accident in 1928. Its ruins are often called Ras Shamra (meaning "Cape Fennel") after the place where they lie.

Ugarit had strong ties to the Hittite Empire and sometimes sent gifts to Egypt. It also traded and had friendly connections with Cyprus (then called Alashiya). We know this from old records found at the site. Pottery from Mycenae and Cyprus also proves these connections.

The city was most powerful from about 1450 BC until it was destroyed around 1185 BC. This destruction might have been caused by groups called the Sea Peoples or by fights within the kingdom. Ugarit was one of many kingdoms that fell during the Bronze Age Collapse, a time when many ancient civilizations in the Near East collapsed.

History of Ugarit

Ras Shamra is on the Mediterranean coast, about 11 kilometers (7 miles) north of Latakia. It is near the modern town of Burj al-Qasab.

Early Days and Growth

A tomb in the Royal palace's courtyard

Ugarit was important enough to have a wall built around it as early as 6000 BC. People might have lived there even before that. The city was likely important because it was both a port and a gateway. It was a key point for trade routes going inland to the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.

The city was at its peak between 1800 and 1200 BC. During this time, it ruled a coastal kingdom that focused on trade. Ugarit traded with Egypt, Cyprus, the Aegean Sea region, Syria, the Hittites, and much of the eastern Mediterranean.

The first written mention of Ugarit comes from the nearby city of Ebla around 1800 BC. Ugarit later came under the influence of Egypt, which greatly affected its art. The earliest proof of Ugarit's contact with Egypt is a carnelian bead. It belonged to the Middle Kingdom pharaoh Senusret I, who ruled from 1971–1926 BC.

A stone slab (stela) and a small statue of Egyptian pharaohs Senusret III and Amenemhet III were also found. Letters from Ugarit around 1350 BC, known as the Amarna letters, mention its kings. From the 16th to the 13th century BC, Ugarit regularly communicated with Egypt and Alashiya (Cyprus).

In the second millennium BC, most people in Ugarit were Amorite. The Ugaritic language likely came directly from the Amoritic language. The kingdom of Ugarit may have controlled about 2,000 square kilometers (770 square miles) of land. For some of its history, it was very close to, or even part of, the Hittite Empire.

The Fall of Ugarit

The last king of Ugarit during the Bronze Age was Ammurapi. He ruled from about 1215 to 1180 BC. He lived at the same time as the last known Hittite king, Suppiluliuma II. We don't know the exact dates of Ammurapi's rule.

However, a letter from King Ammurapi still exists. In it, he talks about how serious the crisis was for many Near Eastern states due to attacks. Ammurapi's reply to a request for help from the king of Alashiya shows how desperate Ugarit and other cities were:

My father, look, enemy ships came here. My cities were burned, and they did bad things in my country. Does my father not know that all my soldiers and chariots are in the Land of Hatti? And all my ships are in the Land of Lukka? ... So, the country is left alone. My father should know this: the seven enemy ships that came here caused us much harm.

Eshuwara, a high official from Cyprus, replied:

About those enemies: it was people from your country and your own ships who did this! And it was people from your country who committed these wrongs ... I am writing to tell you and to protect you. Be careful!

The ruler of Carchemish sent soldiers to help Ugarit, but Ugarit had already been attacked and robbed. A letter sent after Ugarit was destroyed said:

When your messenger arrived, the army was defeated and the city was robbed. Our food in the threshing floors was burned and the vineyards were also destroyed. Our city is robbed. You should know it! You should know it!

By digging up the top layers of the city's ruins, archaeologists can learn about Ugaritic life just before its destruction. They can compare items with those from nearby cultures to help figure out dates. Ugarit also had many hidden collections of cuneiform tablets. These were like libraries full of important information.

The destruction layers of the ruins contained pottery from the Late Helladic IIIB period, but no LH IIIC pottery. This helps date the LH IIIC phase in mainland Greece. An Egyptian sword with the name of pharaoh Merneptah was found in the destruction layers. This led to 1190 BC being considered the start date for LH IIIC.

A cuneiform tablet found in 1986 shows that Ugarit was destroyed after Merneptah died (1203 BC). Most experts agree that Ugarit was already destroyed by the eighth year of Ramesses III (1178 BC). Recent studies, including radiocarbon dating, suggest a destruction date between 1192 and 1190 BC. Many arrowheads were found in the destruction layer.

Kings of Ugarit

Language and Writing

The Ugaritic Alphabet

Scribes in Ugarit seem to have created the "Ugaritic alphabet" around 1400 BC. This alphabet had 30 letters, each standing for a sound. These letters were carved onto clay tablets. Even though they look like cuneiform writing, the letters are not related to Mesopotamian cuneiform signs. Instead, they seem to be connected to the Egyptian-based Phoenician alphabet.

The Ugaritic letters don't look much like Phoenician letters. However, the order of the letters is very similar in both alphabets. This suggests that the Phoenician and Ugaritic writing systems were not invented completely separately.

The Ugaritic Language

We know the Ugaritic language existed from texts written between the 14th and 12th centuries BC. Ugaritic is usually grouped as a Northwest Semitic language. This means it is related to languages like Hebrew, Aramaic, and Phoenician.

Its grammatical rules are very similar to those found in Classical Arabic and Akkadian. It has two genders (male and female) and three cases for nouns and adjectives. It also has three numbers: singular, dual, and plural. The way verbs work is similar to other Northwest Semitic languages.

Ugaritic Stories and Writings

A Baal statuette from Ugarit

Besides letters between kings, Ugaritic writings found in the city's libraries include:

• Mythological stories written as poems.
• Letters.
• Legal papers, like records of land being sold.
• A few international agreements.
• Lists for managing the city.

Parts of several poems have been found. These include the "Legend of Keret" and the "Legend of Danel". There are also the Ba'al tales, which tell about the god Baal-Hadad's fights with Yam (the god of the sea) and Mot (the god of death).

The discovery of the Ugaritic writings in 1929 was very important for understanding the Bible. These writings gave the first detailed look at Canaanite religious beliefs. This was during the time just before the Israelites settled in the area. These texts show many similarities to Hebrew Bible stories, especially in how they describe gods and their poetic style. Ugaritic poetry has many features later found in Hebrew poetry. These include parallel lines, rhythms, and repeating sounds. The discoveries at Ugarit have helped people see the Hebrew Bible in a new way as literature.

Religion in Ugarit

The important texts found at the site tell us a lot about the religious life of the city. The ancient city of Ugarit was divided into different areas. In the northeast part of the walled city, archaeologists found the remains of three important religious buildings. These included two temples (for the gods Baal Hadad and Dagon) and a building called the library or the high priest's house.

Inside these buildings, on top of the acropolis (the highest part of the city), many valuable mythological texts were found. These texts have helped us understand the Canaanite mythological world and religion. The god Baal of Ugarit was likely the same as the Baal mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. The Baal cycle tells the story of Baal Hadad destroying Yam (the god of chaos and the sea). This shows how the Canaanite idea of a warrior god defeating chaos is similar to stories from Mesopotamia and the Aegean. In these stories, a hero god rises to defeat chaos and bring order to the world.

Archaeology and Discovery

How Ugarit Was Found

After it was destroyed in the early 12th century BC, Ugarit's location was forgotten. Then, in 1928, a farmer accidentally found an old tomb while plowing his field. This discovered area was the burial ground (necropolis) of Ugarit, located in the nearby seaport of Minet el-Beida. Since then, excavations have uncovered a city with a history going back to about 6000 BC.

The Site and Palace

The site is a mound about 20 meters (65 feet) high. From an archaeological point of view, Ugarit is seen as a classic Canaanite city. A short study of a robbed tomb at Minet el-Beida was done in 1928. Then, the main mound of Ras Shamra was examined. In the next year, scientific digs at Tell Ras Shamra began. These were led by archaeologist Claude Schaeffer from the Musée archéologique in Strasbourg. Work continued under Schaeffer until 1970, with a break during World War II.

The excavations uncovered a royal palace with ninety rooms built around eight enclosed courtyards. Many large private homes were also found. At the top of the hill where the city was built, there were two main temples. One was for Baal, the "king" and son of El. The other was for Dagon, the god of fertility and wheat. Twenty-three stelae (carved stone slabs) were found. Nine stelae, including the famous Baal with Thunderbolt, were near the Temple of Baal. Four were in the Temple of Dagon, and ten more were scattered around the city.

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  Boar rhyton, a Mycenaean ceramic imported to Ugarit, from the 14th–13th century BC (Louvre).

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  Remains of the ancient city, showing some walls and what looks like a small well.

The Ugarit Texts

During the excavation of the site, several collections of cuneiform clay tablets were found. These have been very important for understanding history.

See also

In Spanish: Ugarit para niños

• Asherah
• Cities of the ancient Near East
• Elohim (gods)
• Short chronology timeline
• Ugaritic mythology