Ugarit tablet written in Babylonian cuneiform syllabic with imprint of the seal stamp of the Hittite King Muršili II, c. 1345-1320 BCE, reflecting the intense economic and diplomatic relations with the Hittites to the north. Recovered from the south archives of the palace at Ugarit, Ras Shamra, Syria, 14.2 x 8.8 cm.
National Museum Damascus
The city of Ugarit experienced its zenith between 1500 and 1200 BCE, when it dominated a prosperous coastal trading kingdom. From its ports, it conducted commerce with Egypt, Cyprus, the Aegean world—especially Minoan Crete—various Syrian polities, the Hittite Empire, key centres of the Levant such as Ascalon in Canaan, and much of the eastern Mediterranean basin. Five of the Egyptian Amarna letters, dating to the mid-fourteenth century BCE, were composed in Ugarit. During this flourishing period, the city’s population is estimated at roughly 7,000–8,000 inhabitants, while the kingdom itself encompassed an average territory of about 2,000 square kilometres.
In the mid-fourteenth century BCE, Ugarit was ruled by King Ammittamru I. One of his letters (EA 45), likely addressed to Pharaoh Amenhotep III (1388–1351 BCE), reflects warm diplomatic ties between the two courts. Under his son Niqmaddu II (c. 1350–1315 BCE), Ugarit became a vassal of the Hittite Empire—initially subject to a viceroy at Karkemiš and, following the collapse of Hittite central authority, directly subordinate to Karkemiš itself. Diplomatic exchanges with Egypt nevertheless persisted, as demonstrated by two letters sent by Niqmaddu II (EA 49) and his wife Ḫeba (EA 48), probably addressed to Akhenaten (1351–1334 BCE). In one of these, the Egyptian king is asked to dispatch a physician to Ugarit.
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