UGARIT
Although
Ugarit was probably occupied much earlier, its first permanent settlement
seems to date to around 6000 BC, at which point a fortified wall
was put up around it. The city was located on the Syrian coast,
and remains within modern Syria. It lay on the crossroads of trade
routes from Babylonia, Anatolia and Egypt and, thanks to its good
sea harbour, traders from all the major states conducted business
there. First mentioned in records in about 1800 BC by Ebla, the
city reached its height during the mid-fifteenth century BC under
Egyptian overlordship, and maintained its position until the start
of the twelfth century BC.
Ugarit
has so far provided archaeologists with the largest selection of
Syrian texts, including something unique to this city: two private
libraries which both date from Ugarit's last days, although other
cities, such as Emar, have yielded literary material as well. Ugarit's
own script seems to have originated about 1400 BC, when cuneiform
characters were adapted to the local language. Such works are the
only extensive remnants of literature from this area, except for
the later Hebrew Bible. Culturally Ugarit was heavily influenced
by the Hurrian empire of Mitanni during the middle centuries of
the second millennium. Syrian musicians at Ugarit performed Hurrian
compositions.
(Information
by Peter Kessler, with additional information from Mittani Empire
and the Question of Absolute Chronology: Some Archaeological Considerations,
Mirko Novák (published as part of The Synchronisation of
Civilisations in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Second Millennium
BC III, Manfred Bietak & Ernst Czerny (Eds), Österreichische
Akademie der Wissenschaften Denkschrift Band XXXVII; Wien, 2007),
from Historical Atlas of the Ancient World, 4,000,000 to 500 BC,
John Haywood (Barnes & Noble, 2000), from The Ancient Near East,
c.3000-330 BC, Amélie Kuhrt (Volumes I & II, Routledge,
2000), from The Penguin Atlas of Ancient History, Colon McEvedy
(which misses the period 1600-1300 BC but shows a Mitanni kingdom
in 1300-1000 BC, by which time it had certainly disappeared - Penguin
Books, 1967, revised 2002), from The Hurrians, Gernot Wilhelm (Aris
& Philips Warminster 1989), and from A History of the Ancient
Near East c.3000-323 BC, Marc van der Mieroop (Blackwell Publishing,
2004, 2007).)
c.6000
BC :
Ugarit
is first founded as a permanent settlement, probably after some
centuries (or even millennia) of being used as a seasonal encampment.
The erection of a fortified wall at this point shows that the settlement
pattern here has changed, and that the site's current occupants
have no plans to leave.
c.1776
BC :
Following
the break-up of the kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia, Yamkhad becomes
the dominant force in north-western Syria, controlling Ugarit.
![](Map1500BC_full.jpg)
Small
cities and minor states that had been founded by the Hittites littered
the meeting point between Anatolia and Syria (in the ancient period
there was significant overlap between the two), with the coastal
city of Ugarit being located directly to their south
c.1478
BC :
Egypt
expands rapidly through Palestine and reaches Mitanni-controlled
Syria, making Ugarit a vassal state. The Egyptians also raid further
inland, where local resistance is supported by Mitanni. Hittite
agents are constantly at work, trying to draw Syrian states over
to them, a policy which gradually sees them gain more influence.
Nothing is known about the three earliest named rulers of Ugarit.
c.1430
BC :
The
Hittite ruler, Tudhaliya II, begins a restoration of Hittite power,
conducting his third campaign against the Kaskans in the north and
concluding a treaty with Arzawa. Probably coincidentally, a series
of kings rules Ugarit from this period onwards, although it is more
likely that the Hittite resurgence also sparks a more general resurgence
that encourages better records-keeping.
fl
c.1420s? :
Niqmadu
I / Nqmd : Name alone recorded.
Yaqurum
: Name alone recorded.
Ibiranu
I : Name alone recorded.
?
- c.1354 BC :
Ammistamru
I / Amttmr / Am-my-is-tam-ru
c.
1353 - 1318 BC :
Niqmadu
II / Nqmd : Son. Became a vassal of the Hittites.
c.1340
BC :
Suppiluliuma,
the new Hittite ruler, takes control of northern Syria by dealing
Mitanni a final defeat. To all intents and proposes this also ends
Hurrian culture which has previously provided a heavy influence
upon Ugarit. The king of Ugarit informs the Hittites of a planned
revolt by Alalakh, so that kingdom is incorporated directly into
the empire and its lands are assigned to Ugarit as a reward, along
with the territories of Nuhašše and Niya (in northern
Syria). Ugarit remains a Hittite subject state but with its own
royal house still in place.
c.1317
- 1314 BC :
Arhalba
/ Ar-Khalba : Son. Removed for revolting.
c.1313
- 1251 BC :
Niqmepa
: Brother. Selected by Mursili II.
1286
BC :
The
Battle of Kadesh/Qadesh (the earliest surviving report of a major
engagement) sees the forces of Egypt, under Ramses II, and the Hittites
together with their various allies, including troops from Arzawa
and the Lukka, clash for control of former Mitanni Syria. The battle
ends with no clear outcome although the Hittites come out on top,
gaining uncontested control of Syria, and also raiding further south
into Canaan. The victory, though, seems to spark the beginnings
of a civil war in the Hittite nobility which lasts for about three
generations.
![](Ancient_Alep01_full.jpg)
The
'Aleppo Treaty' was drawn up on a cuneiform tablet between Mursili
II of the Hittites and Talmi-Sharruma of Alep in the mid-fourteenth
century, reflecting the increasing Hittite influence in the region
at the expense of the Mitanni
c.1250
- 1210 BC :
Ammistamru
II : Son. Divorced his wife, daughter of Benteshina of
Amurru.
c.1209
- 1200 BC :
Ibiranu
II : Son.
c.1200
- 1195 BC :
The
Hittite empire is destroyed by the Kaskans and the Sea Peoples.
Other important Hittite cities such as Emar also disappear after
a period of troubles which are characterised by attacks by seaborne
raiders. There may be a severe attack on Ugarit around 1195 BC,
as some sources date this as the city's last days.
c.1199
- 1192 BC :
Niqmadu
III / Nqmd : Son. Vassal to Carchemish.
c.1191
- 1182 BC :
Ammurapi
/ Hammurabi : Possible usurper, emphasising the absence
of Hittite control.
c.1182
BC :
Ammurapi
is the last ruler of Ugarit. Much of Ugarit's army is in Hittite
Anatolia (and probably lost by this time), and the fleet is near
the Lukka lands, despite advice from the kings of Alashiya and Carchemish
that Ugarit should look to its own defence. Consequently, the city
is attacked by seven ships of Sea Peoples (believed to be the Shekelesh)
and is destroyed. The state disappears from the historical record
and its location is forgotten until 1928, although the former 'summer
palace' at Ras Ibn Hani is soon reoccupied and rebuilt.
Source
:
https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/
KingListsMiddEast/SyriaUgarit.htm