The site of Ugarit lies some six miles north of the Syrian port of Latakia on the Mediterranean coast. Its ruins, in the form of a mound or tell, lie half a mile from the shore. Although the name of the city was known from Egyptian and Hittite sources, its location and history were a mystery until the accidental discovery in 1928 of an ancient tomb at the small Arab village of Ras Shamra. A French archaeological mission under the direction of Claude F.-A. Schaeffer (1898–1982) began excavations in 1929. This was followed by a series of digs through 1939. Limited work was undertaken in 1948, but full-scale work did not resume until 1950.
The city’s location ensured its importance through trade. To the west lay a good harbor (the bay of Minet el-Beida), while to the east a pass led to the heart of Syria and northern Mesopotamia through the mountain range that lies parallel with the coast. The city also sat astride an important north-south coastal trade route linking Anatolia and Egypt.
It is clear from excavations that Ugarit was first settled in the Neolithic period (about 6500 B.C.) and had grown into a substantial town by the early third millennium B.C. Ugarit is mentioned in cuneiform documents discovered at Mari on the Euphrates dating to the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 2000–1600 B.C.). However, it was in the fourteenth century B.C. that the city entered its golden age. At that time, the prince of Byblos, the wealthy trading coastal city (in modern Lebanon), wrote to the Egyptian king Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten, r. ca. 1353–1336 B.C.) to warn him about the power of the neighboring city Tyre and compared its magnificence with that of Ugarit:
See, there is no mayor’s residence that can compare with that of Tyre. It is like the residence at Ugarit. Extraordinary large are the riches there.
Ugarit was a flourishing city, its streets lined with two-story houses dominated on the northeastern side of the tell by an acropolis with two temples dedicated to the gods Baal and Dagan. A large palace, built from finely dressed stones and consisting of numerous courtyards, pillared halls, and a columned entrance gate, occupied the western edge of the city. In a special wing of the palace were a number of rooms apparently devoted to administration, since hundreds of cuneiform tablets were discovered there covering almost all aspects of the life of Ugarit from the fourteenth to the twelfth century B.C. It is clear that the city dominated the surrounding land (though the full extent of the kingdom is uncertain).
From around 1500 B.C., the Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni had dominated much of Syria, but by 1400 B.C., when the earliest tablets at Ugarit were written, Mitanni was in decline. This was mainly a result of repeated attacks by the Hittites of Central Anatolia. Eventually, around 1350 B.C., Ugarit, along with much of Syria as far south as Damascus, fell under Hittite domination. According to the texts, other states had tried to draw Ugarit into an anti-Hittite alliance, but the city refused and called on the Hittites for help. After the Hittites conquered the region, a treaty was drawn up that made Ugarit a Hittite subject-state. The Akkadian version of the treaty, covering several tablets, was recovered at Ugarit. The Ugarit state grew as a result, gaining territories from the defeated alliance. The Hittite king also recognized the ruling dynasty’s right to the throne. Texts, however, suggest that an enormous tribute was paid to the Hittites.
Merchants figure prominently in Ugarit’s archives. The citizens engaged in trade, and many foreign merchants were based in the state, for example from Cyprus exchanging copper ingots in the shape of ox hides. The presence of Minoan and Mycenaean pottery suggests Aegean contacts with the city. It was also the central storage place for grain supplies moving from the wheat plains of northern Syria to the Hittite court.
The population was mixed with Canaanites (inhabitants of the Levant) and Hurrians from Syria and northern Mesopotamia. Foreign languages written in cuneiform at Ugarit include Akkadian, Hittite, Hurrian, and Cypro-Minoan. But most important is the local alphabetic script that records the native Semitic language “Ugaritic.” From evidence at other sites, it is certain that most areas of the Levant used a variety of alphabetic scripts at this time. The Ugaritic examples survive because the writing was on clay using cuneiform signs, rather than drawn on hide, wood, or papyrus. While most of the texts are administrative, legal, and economic, there are also a large number of literary texts with close parallels to some of the poetry found in the Hebrew Bible.
Around 1200 B.C., the Hittite empire suddenly collapsed. Many letters of this late period are preserved at Ugarit and reveal a city suffering from raids by pirates. One of the groups, the Shikala, can be connected with “sea peoples” who appear in contemporary Egyptian inscriptions as a vast hoard of looting vandals. Whether the fall of the Hittites and Ugarit should be attributed to these people is not certain, and they may have been more a result than a cause. However, the magnificent palace, harbor, and much of the city were destroyed and Ugarit was never resettled.
Ugarit iko karibu kilomita kumi na tano kaskazini mwa bandari ya Latakia, katika eneo la Mediterania. Magofu yake, yenye umbo la kilima, yako umbali wa nusu maili kutoka pwani. Jina la mji huo lilijulikana kutoka kwa vyanzo vya Wamisri na Wahiti, lakini eneo lake na historia yake ilikuwa siri hadi kugundua kwa bahati mbaya katika 1928 kaburi la kale katika kijiji kidogo cha Kiarabu cha Ras Shamra. Ujumbe wa kiakiolojia wa Ufaransa chini ya uongozi wa Claude F.-A. Schaeffer (1898-1982) alianza kuchimba katika 1929. Hii ilifuatwa na mfululizo wa uchimbaji hadi 1939. Kazi hiyo ilifanywa kwa kiasi kidogo mwaka wa 1948, lakini kazi hiyo ilifanywa kwa kiasi kikubwa mwaka wa 1950. Eneo la jiji hilo lilihakikisha umuhimu wake kupitia biashara. Upande wa magharibi kulikuwa na bandari nzuri (bonde la Minet el-Bida), na upande wa mashariki kulikuwa na njia ya kuingia katikati ya Siria na kaskazini mwa Mesopotamia kupitia safu ya milima iliyo sambamba na pwani. Jiji hilo pia lilikuwa kwenye njia muhimu ya kibiashara ya pwani ya kaskazini-kusini iliyounganisha Anatolia na Misri. Ugarit ilijengwa katika kipindi cha Neolithic (karibu 6500 KK). Mji huo ulikuwa umekua na kuwa mji mkubwa katika miaka ya 2000 KK. Ugarit inatajwa katika hati za maandishi ya chembe zilizogunduliwa huko Mari kwenye Mto Eufrati ambazo zinatokana na Enzi ya Kati ya Shaba (mwaka wa 1580 hivi). (Mwanzo 2:1, 2 - 16; 1 Petro 2:1, 2) Je, Yesu alitoa ahadi hiyo? Hata hivyo, ilikuwa katika karne ya kumi na nne K.K. Jiji hilo liliingia katika enzi yake ya dhahabu. Wakati huo, mkuu wa Byblos, mji tajiri wa kando ya pwani (katika Lebanoni ya kisasa), alimwandikia mfalme wa Misri Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten, r. ca. (Mwanzo 13:35, 36 - 36 B.C.) "Akamwambia kuhusu nguvu za Tiro, mji uliokuwa karibu, na kulinganisha utukufu wake na ule wa Ugariti: ""Tazama, hakuna jumba la meya linaloweza kulinganishwa na lile la Tiro." Ni kama makao ya Ugariti. Utajiri huko ni mkubwa sana. Ugarit ilikuwa mji wenye kusitawi, barabara zake zilikuwa zimefunikwa na nyumba zenye orofa mbili, na upande wa kaskazini-mashariki wa mji huo ulikuwa na akropoli yenye mahekalu mawili yaliyowekwa wakfu kwa miungu Baal na Dagoni. Jumba kubwa la kifalme, lililojengwa kwa mawe yaliyopambwa vizuri na lenye nyua nyingi, majumba yenye nguzo, na lango la kuingia lenye nguzo, lilikuwa kwenye ukingo wa magharibi wa jiji hilo. Katika sehemu ya kipekee ya jumba hilo la kifalme kulikuwa na vyumba kadhaa ambavyo kwa wazi vilitumiwa kwa ajili ya usimamizi, kwa kuwa mamia ya mabamba ya maandishi ya kinu yaligunduliwa huko yakifunua karibu mambo yote ya maisha ya Ugarit kuanzia karne ya kumi na nne hadi ya kumi na mbili KK. Ni wazi kwamba jiji hilo lilitawala nchi iliyolizunguka (ingawa eneo lote la ufalme huo halijulikani kwa hakika). Tangu 1500 KK, ufalme wa Hurri wa Mitanni ulikuwa umetawala sehemu kubwa ya Syria, lakini kufikia 1400 KK, wakati mabamba ya kwanza ya Ugarit yalipoandikwa, Mitanni ilikuwa ikishuka. Hilo lilitokana hasa na mashambulizi ya mara kwa mara ya Wahiti wa Anatolia ya Kati. Mwishowe, karibu mwaka 1350 K.K., Ugariti, pamoja na sehemu kubwa ya Siria kusini hadi Damasko, zikaanguka chini ya utawala wa Wahiti. Kulingana na maandishi hayo, majimbo mengine yalikuwa yamejaribu kuunganisha Ugarit katika muungano wa kupinga Wahiti, lakini jiji hilo lilikataa na kuwaomba Wahiti wasaidie. Baada ya Wahiti kushinda eneo hilo, mkataba ulifanywa ambao ulifanya Ugariti kuwa jimbo la Wahiti. Toleo la Kiakadi la mkataba huo, linalotia ndani mabamba kadhaa, lilipatikana huko Ugarit. Kwa sababu hiyo, serikali ya Ugarit ilikua, ikipata maeneo kutoka kwa muungano ulioshindwa. Mfalme wa Wahiti pia alitambua haki ya nasaba ya kutawala ya kutawala. Hata hivyo, maandishi yanaonyesha kwamba Wahiti walipewa ushuru mkubwa sana. Wafanyabiashara wanaonekana sana katika hifadhi za Ugarit. Wananchi walifanya biashara, na wafanyabiashara wengi wa kigeni walikuwa na makao yao katika jimbo hilo, kwa mfano kutoka Cyprus wakibadilishana vipande vya shaba katika umbo la ngozi za ng'ombe. Uwepo wa vyombo vya udongo vya Wamino na Wamikene unaonyesha kwamba watu wa Egea waliwasiliana na jiji hilo. Pia, jiji hilo lilikuwa mahali pa kuhifadhi nafaka iliyokuwa ikisafirishwa kutoka nyanda za ngano za kaskazini mwa Siria hadi kwenye makao ya mfalme wa Wahiti. Watu hao walikuwa wamechanganywa na Wakanaani (wakazi wa Levanti) na Wahuri kutoka Siria na kaskazini mwa Mesopotamia. Lugha za kigeni zilizoandikwa kwa maandishi ya kinu huko Ugarit zinatia ndani Kiakadi, Kihiti, Kihuri, na Kipro-Minoan. Lakini muhimu zaidi ni maandishi ya alfabeti ya mahali hapo ambayo yanaorodhesha lugha ya asili ya Semiti <unk>Ugaritic.<unk> Kutokana na ushahidi katika maeneo mengine, ni hakika kwamba maeneo mengi ya Levant yalitumia maandishi mbalimbali ya alfabeti wakati huu. Mifano ya Ugariti imehifadhiwa kwa sababu maandishi hayo yaliandikwa kwenye udongo kwa kutumia alama za maandishi ya koni, badala ya kuchorwa kwenye ngozi, mbao, au karatasi ya mawe. Ingawa maandishi mengi ni ya kiutawala, ya kisheria, na ya kiuchumi, kuna pia idadi kubwa ya maandishi ya fasihi yenye kufanana sana na baadhi ya mashairi yanayopatikana katika Biblia ya Kiebrania. Karibu na mwaka 1200 KK, milki ya Wahiti ilivunjika. Barua nyingi za kipindi hicho cha mwisho zimehifadhiwa huko Ugarit na zinafunua kwamba jiji hilo lilishambuliwa na maharamia. Mojawapo ya vikundi hivyo, Shikala, yaweza kuunganishwa na "watu wa baharini" ambao huonekana katika maandishi ya Misri ya wakati huo wakiwa kundi kubwa la wahalifu wa kuharibu. Kama kuanguka kwa Wahiti na Ugariti kunapaswa kuhusishwa na watu hawa haijulikani, na huenda ikawa matokeo zaidi kuliko sababu. Hata hivyo, jumba hilo la kifalme lenye fahari, bandari, na sehemu kubwa ya jiji hilo ziliharibiwa na Ugarit haikukaliwa tena kamwe.