Ugarit
| Ugarit Ras Shamra, (ar) | ||
|---|---|---|
 Entrance to the site of Ugarit (Ras Shamra) in northern Latakia (Syrian coast) | ||
| Location | ||
| Country |  Syria | |
| Governorate | Lattakia | |
| Contact | 35 36 '07 "North 35 46 '57 "East / 35.601858, 35.782551 | |
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Ugarit (in Ugaritic : Excavations The site of Ugarit was not found directly, but following an incident at the nearby site of Minet el-Beida , the former Mahadu, the port of Ugarit. In 1928, a peasant discovered there an ancient tomb, which attracted the attention of French archaeologists C. Schaeffer and R. Dussaud, who searched the site, prior to other surveys in the area. They then began to light the ruins of Ugarit, on the mound the largest in the region of Latakia, Ras Shamra. The excavations have been ongoing, led by a team of French archaeologists until the 1970s, and a Franco-Syrian who has extended the research in the entire hinterland of Ugarit. If the site of Minet el-Beida is currently impossible to search because of the proximity of a naval base, another important site of the ancient kingdom of Ugarit is the Ras Ibn Hani , located along the sea 5 km southwest of Ras Shamra, where there are two palaces built for the royal family. The site of Ras Shamra has been ransacked on 1 / 6 th of its area. We have cleared the major monuments, but also residential areas. The architecture of the city was mostly made of stone, which ensured good preservation of the entire frame, and give the site an attractive tourist significant. Another reason for the success of the excavations of this site is the extensive documentation in tablets cuneiform , in several languages, that has been exhumed. An archaeological survey traces the habitat at Ugarit Neolithic. But excavations have been confined to the Late Bronze period between the fourteenth and twelfth century BC. AD. Before this period, the city is mentioned in the archives of Mari (c. 1810-1760). This city was a vassal of the powerful kingdom of Yamkhad ( Aleppo ), and the king of Mari, Zimri-Lim , an ally of the king of Aleppo, including a voyage. Our knowledge of the history of Ugarit is good from the mid-fourteenth centuryBC. AD. This kingdom is then directed by Ammistamrou I. , and was a vassal of Egypt. The next king, Niqmaddou II , fell under the domination Hittite when the king of this state Suppiluliuma I submit the Syria 's North. He concluded a treaty of vassalage with his new overlord. His son, Ar-Halba part in a revolt against Syrian vassals of the Hittite king next Mursili II , who succeeded in defeating the rebels. Ar-Halba is then deposed by his brother Niqmepa (1332-1260), who undergoes Mursili II, and concluded a new treaty with him. After this episode, the kings of Ugarit remain loyal vassals to the Hittites, they support in the various conflicts they run, especially against Egypt. On the death of Niqmepa his son Ammistamrou II (1260-1230) ascended the throne of Ugarit. His reign was marked by the episode of her divorce from the king's daughter Benteshina of Amurru , another vassal of the Hittites. After the death of Ammistamrou II Ibiranou (1230-1210) succeeded him, then Niqmaddou III (1210-1200). At this time, they are the kings of Carchemish , the royal line from Hittite, which generally provide control of Syria from the Hittites. They are therefore involved occasionally in the affairs of the kingdom of Ugarit. It's also that time that most sources date the inscriptions found at Ras-Shamra. A Ammourapi is king of the city in the early twelfth century BC. AD. This is when the invasions of those known as the Sea Peoples. It was during this chaotic period, which saw the destruction of the Hittite kingdom and many Syrian cities, qu'Ougarit is taken, and plundered destroyed. It will be inhabited later by farmers goat farmers who used the habitats present, as evidenced by the troughs found in the rebuilding summarily. The first character of the Ugaritic kingdom is the king (mlk Ugaritic). According to the common ideology States of the ancient Orient, he is at his post because he was chosen by the gods (the gods who look as sovereign El and Baal ). It directs the administration, justice, and in theory the army, but they rarely exercise sovereign Ugaritic military activity. The king has in any way that few self-respecting its international policy, which is dictated by his Hittite overlord. The king's immediate circle is formed by his family and senior dignitaries of the kingdom. Queen (mlk.t) is the principal wife of the king, and she keeps the title until his death, even if her husband goes out before her. It is the mother of the heir to the throne, appointed by his father during his lifetime. At the administrative level, the main character is the prime minister (skn). The kingdom is divided into several districts. The local administration is in the hands of "mayors" agents of royal power, serving as a relay with local community authorities, who appear to be boards of elders, or notables. The company is based on the Ugaritic texts divided into two groups: the "king's men" and "son of Ugarit." The first are the members of the administration palace, depending therefore on the sovereign. They exercise a profession in relation to the palate. So these are administrators, artisans, merchants, who are paid in rations or subsistence fields. In the latter case, the land is tied to the service, although it appears that these lands tend to be appropriated by the tenants who try to pass them to their successors. The second group is composed mainly of rural village communities living in and working for their own account on fields belonging to them. These two sets are not strictly opposites: some characters can have a significant level service on behalf of the sovereign, and thus back into the first category, while having next to the properties they operate freely. Beside the group of free men, there was also a slave class, probably quite limited in number. The principal activity of Ugarit was agriculture. The territory of the kingdom was a very good agricultural land, suitable for the cultivation of the "Mediterranean trilogy": cereals , vines and olive trees. The fields could either belong to the palace, or be the possession of individuals. In the first case, they were either assigned as a field of subsistence to an individual in exchange for a function (administrative, military, commercial, craft) exerted on behalf of the palace is granted to farmers. The land outside the possessions of the palace, on which we do very little information, were probably operated independently. The soil was organized by the association of a house with land, as the system of "household". There was also an economic unit agricultural largest, called gt (literally "round", perhaps organized around a fortified farm). Ugarit has a privileged geographical position to maritime commerce, because it is the only port in the northern coast of Syria , between Byblos and Cilicia. Thus, it is the only maritime outlet possible for the entire region of the Middle Euphrates. Next to that a land trade was also active along the Mediterranean coast, but also towards the interior. Ugarit in the Late Bronze drew a very great prosperity, which explains the wealth of this city at the time sources that we document the best on her. The trade involved other products: wine , olive oil , textiles and dyes for the export products of Ugarit, while other products such as copper Cypriot or other metals coming from Anatolia passed through this port. Many objects from various parts of the Mediterranean world ( Egypt , Cyprus , Mycenaean Greece ) were discovered during excavations at Ras Shamra and Minet el Beida. Merchants (mkr) were included in the category of "king's men", who performed a service on behalf of the palace in exchange for compensation in operation or field of livelihood. But nothing prevented them from doing business on their own side. The merchants also had a financial activity and make loans. They were organized into family firms, with multiple intermediaries in other commercial centers. Conversely, foreign merchants settled in Ugarit, a city very attractive to the exercise of long-distance trade. The city of Ugarit is by far the largest in the kingdom. Its ruins are now a mound of over 25 hectares. From either side of it, two rivers, the Nahr ed-Delbe and Nahr Chbayyeb, flowing towards the sea Two other notable sites of the ancient kingdom of Ugarit were also searched: Minet el-Beida , ancient Mahadou, the port of Ugarit and Ras Ibn Hani , a palatial residence situated on a peninsula overlooking the Mediterranean Sea to the west of the capital. Smaller settlements have been excavated in the plain rim, further south. Ugarit was divided into various neighborhoods, some of which was searched. The houses were grouped into blocks separated by streets often thin and tortuous. Their size varies from 50 to over 500 m 2 for those of the richest. There was no separation of space by the wealth of the richest houses alongside those of more modest. The residence has generally a floor, ground floor being devoted to storage and work, as well as for hydraulic water supply (wells, pipelines). Some houses have provided lots of private archives. Residential areas also included the buildings where we indulged in a craft, and small temples. The area was the Royal Palace is located northwest of the mound, separated from the rest of the city. It is organized around a central courtyard. Separately from the palace itself, there was a reception room, a room for the garrison of the palace, the apartments of the queen mother and a chapel. The residences of some senior officials had been built further south. The palace itself covers 7000 m 2. We know he had a stage, where were the royal apartments and an administrative space, which collapsed after the destruction of the site. There is a cemetery in the basement, according to Syrian tradition. The palace has a protected entry, a throne room and a garden in its eastern part. The area known as the Acropolis was north-east of the city and overlooking the rest of the neighborhoods. This is probably the sacred area of the city, since there was the temple of two great deities: Baal and Dagan. They both had the shape of a tower, allowing them to be visible from afar. Nearby, the home of "High Priest" was the place of discovery of various religious texts, rituals and mythology. The religion of Ugarit is best known textual sources, even if the searches of various temples located in the capital of the kingdom us information on religious practices, including the offerings. The texts are partly exhumed rituals, texts of offerings, but also myths, including a significant portion is capable of Ugarit, and reflects a religious funds often called "Canaanite," which presents several interesting parallels with passages from the Old Testament. The chief god of Ugarit is Baal , the god of the storm, which has a large temple on the Acropolis of the city. Its name, meaning "lord", is actually an epithet, his original name being haddu / Hadad. Baal is the hero of the greatest mythological text ougariten, the Baal Cycle. El is the other major deity of the Ugaritic mythology, the former king of the gods, supplanted by Baal. The most important goddesses of the pantheon is Anat , the sister of Baal, Athtart , the goddess of love and war (local version of Ishtar or Astarte ), Shapash , the sun goddess, and Asherat , the consort of 'El The architects of Ugarit were competent in many areas: pottery , metallurgy , jewelry , work of ivory , textiles , and also the work of glasses. The kingdom ougariten producing a significant amount of luxury items puvant be exported. The ceramics produced at Ugarit is often quite rude without sets, or painted. The forms are attested in many jars, mugs, vases biconical craters. The painted pottery is generally a single color selected from a shade of red or black. The patterns can be either geometric or figurative, incorporating themes of animal, or mythological. If the directory is based on a Syro-Levantine funds, there is nevertheless a certain originality in the work of potters from Ugarit. Artists from Ugarit have a predilection for stone stelae, some of which have been found, the most famous is the Stele of the " Baal at first sight, "today at the Louvre Museum. Quite a few statues in the round were received, the most notable example being the statue of the god El seated on a throne, executed in a style typical of Syria, since it recalls works of the same type of Qatna. All of these finely crafted objects testify to the existence of a good school of stone carvers in the kingdom ougariten. The craft of the metal is fairly well attested in Ugarit. Have been found metal workshops and goldsmiths, who delivered molds for making tools (axes, chisels, blades), or jewelry. Were used mostly bronze , and also iron and precious metals like gold for luxury items. Among the production of Metalworkers of Ugarit, we note the presence of many small bronze statuettes, finely executed, representing deities seated or standing. Some items of luxury tableware are among the most beautiful objects of art found in the city. There was thus found two finely decorated golden bowls near the temple of Baal, whose "hook hunting," so named because one of its two registers represents a royal hunt. The artisans worked ivory from Ugarit the ivory from hippopotamus and that of elephant. One of the most remarkable works of this type is a carved panel bed found in the royal palace with scenes extolling the royal figure (hunting, war), and devotion to the sovereign gods. Most ivory objects from a funerary context. They are generally small, and rather finely executed. We found many boxes for cosmetics, which are found in other Levantine sites. One of the masterpieces of ivory ougaritens is the "lady with the goats," carved in relief on what appears to be the lid of a pyxis. She is a goddess of fertility feeding goats with two branches. Vases and other objects made in "china" (actually a silicious glazed dough) are found in Ugarit, as throughout the Levant from the Bronze Age Middle and Late. Often these ceramics of a type quite luxurious, sometimes with decorations reflecting influences Egyptian and Aegean. Commercial city par excellence, Ugarit is therefore a very cosmopolitan. This is reflected in the fact that documents are found in eight languages and four different scripts. We are thus in the presence of the Ugaritic , noted Ugaritic alphabet , cuneiform of Akkadian , from Sumerian , the Hittite and Hurrian , written in cuneiform traditional, the Egyptian , with hieroglyphics , the Minoan-chypro writes in its own syllabary, and Luwian in Hittite hieroglyphs. The scribes ougaritens following the path the classic should at least know Akkadian, Sumerian with the basics necessary for understanding of the cuneiform writing, in addition to their native language, Ugaritic. Learning these languages was done by the conventional method developed in Mesopotamia vocabulary lists with words from one language with their equivalent in another, and exercises copy. This learning could be from the Ugaritic and its alphabetic writing. So we mixed the traditional Mesopotamian funds to the local environment. Some scribes could then specialize in a certain area, or learn other languages and scripts. The conflict between local tradition and is found in Mesopotamian literary attested in Ugarit. It has uncovered the classic texts of the Sumerian-Akkadian literature, written in Akkadian. Own compositions at Ugarit were they written in the local language and writing: they are great mythological texts, the most famous is the cycle of Baal , or religious rituals. It obviously does not translate texts from one language to another. From the perspective of practice, administrative acts concerning the internal affairs of the kingdom, and the local match were mostly written in Ugaritic, Akkadian, and a little. The texts dealing with international affairs were written exclusively in Akkadian, the diplomatic language of the time, also used in the judicial field. The kingdom
History
Political organization
Society
Economy
Agriculture
Trade
The town
Planning
Sector palatial
The Acropolis
Religion
Craft
Ceramics
Sculpture
Metallurgy and silverware
Ivory
Vitreous Materials
The scribes of Ugarit
References
Notes
Related articles
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Bibliography
General
Series of publications and journals
Textbook
Political History
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