A Primer on Ugaritic: Language, Culture, and Literature - enenuru

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Ugaritic <strong>Primer</strong>
Tyre to Pharaoh Akhenaton (Amenophis IV) saying, “Fire
destroyed the palace at Ugarit; (rather), it destroyed half of it and
so half of it has disappeared” (EA 151:55–58). A list of kings of
the golden age of Ugarit (ca. 1360–1185 BCE) has been
reconstructed from the texts (Figure 1.5). They reflect a real
dynastic tradition, as well as a political myth of deified kings, that
claims its origins in the early second millennium BCE.
King Date
Ammistamru I ca. –1350 BCE
Niqmaddu II ca. 1350–1315 BCE
Arh˙albu ca. 1315–1313 BCE
Niqmepa ca. 1313–1260 BCE
Ammistamru II ca. 1260–1235 BCE
Ibiranu ca. 1235–1225/20 BCE
Niqmaddu III ca. 1225/20–1215 BCE
Ammurapi ca. 1215–1185 BCE
Figure 1.5 The Last Kings of Ugarit 8
In 1350 BCE, the king of Hatti, Suppiluliuma, conquered the
kingdom of Mitanni. At this time, Ugarit also became a vassal of
the Hittite kingdom (PRU 4, 37–52). Ugarit paid heavy tribute to
the Hittites and, in return, Ugarit was allowed freedom to develop
as a commercial center. In addition, Suppiluliuma gave Ugarit many
cities that extended the kingdom of Ugarit’s borders, perhaps even
east of the Orontes River (RS 17.340; see Figure 1.2). The Hittite
ruler at Carchemish served as the intermediary between the Hittite
overlords and the rulers in Ugarit. Hittite merchants were given
special status at Ugarit, including exemptions from customs duties.
Ugaritian soldiers also fought with the Hittites against Ramesses II
8 See K. Kitchen, “The King List of Ugarit,” UF 9 (1977), 131–42; Yon,
“Ugarit,” in ABD 6:695–706; I. Singer, “A Political History of Ugarit,” in
HUS, 603–733; D. Arnaud, “Prolégomènes àlaredaction d’une histoire
d’Ougarit II: les bordereaux des rois divinizes,” SMEA 51, 2 (1999), 153–73;
J. Vidal, “King Lists and Oral Transmission: From History to Memory,” UF
32 (2000), 555–66.