Kiaše , also spelled Kiaže or Kiyaši was a Hurrian deity representing the sea. Sometimes in modern scholarship, he is simply referred to as "the Sea" or "the Sea God."
95-419: Based on evidence from Ugarit , Alalakh and Hattusa , it is assumed that he was an actively worshiped deity, similar to his Ugaritic equivalent, Yam . In myths he typically appears as an ally of Kumarbi and thus opponent of Teshub and Shaushka . The name Kiaše is an ordinary Hurrian noun meaning " sea ." It was written as ki-a-še , sometimes with the divine determinative preceding it, or as kyḏ in
190-553: A city wall with one known fortified gate, though four gates are believed to have existed. Since the Late Bronze Age about 50 meters have been eroded from the north end of the site by the Nahr Chbayyeb river. The southern slope of the tell is covered by orange groves, preventing excavation. A brief investigation of a looted tomb at the necropolis of Minet el-Beida was conducted by Léon Albanèse in 1928, who then examined
285-463: A club aloft, portrayed in a typical Near Eastern and Egyptian artistic style as well as a stela bearing a dedication to Baal of Sapan. Numerous statues, stelai—some offered by Egyptians—and sixteen stone anchors were found as votive offerings in this vicinity. Both temples are composed of a pronaos (porch) and a naos (sanctuary proper), aligned from north-northeast to south-southwest. The Temple of Dagan has 4–5-meter-thick foundation walls. Remnants of
380-404: A dedicated hoe, hints at its potential role as the residence of the city's chief priest. Among a cache of seventy-four bronze items uncovered beneath a doorway threshold inside the house, was an elegant tripod adorned with pomegranate-shaped pendants. Two nearby areas, Ras Ibn Hani and Minet el Beida, parts of the city of Ugarit, have also been excavated. Ras Ibn Hani, on a promontory overlooking
475-457: A defensive fortress. A "royal palace", elite housing, and tombs were found. About 169 cuneiform tablets, most in the Ugaritic language, were also found. One of the two ports of ancient Ugarit (the other, Ra’šu, is unlocated but suggested to be Ras Ibn Hani) was located 1.5 kilometers west of the main city, at the natural harbor of Minet el Beida (Arabic for "White Harbor"). The 28 hectare site
570-514: A divine counterpart of the human officials. Due to more direct evidence present in myths compared to economic and administrative texts, their functions are better known than these of their human namesakes. A sukkal was the highest-ranked member of a deity's court, and in some cases in god lists could appear even before their children. At the same time, not every servant deity was a sukkal. Three distinct classes of divine servants can be found in various documents: advisers and representatives (including
665-519: A field. At that time the region was part of the Alawite State , not in Syria. The discovered area was the necropolis of Ugarit located in the nearby seaport of Minet el-Beida . Excavations have since revealed a city with a prehistory reaching back to c. 6000 BC. The site covers an area of about 28 hectares with a maximum height of 20 meters at the top of the acropolis. The site is surrounded by
760-399: A goddess, appears as the sukkal of Anu in a single lexical text . Sukkals could act as intercessory deities, leading to comparisons between them and another class of minor deities, lamma , in modern scholarship. Both of them could be depicted in similar scenes on cylinder seals , leading a human visitor to their divine master. The goddess Lammašaga was identified both as a sukkal and
855-682: A lamma. A third class of deities involved in intercession were wives of major gods, and on occasion comparisons are made between them and sukkals too, for example the role of a mediator between a major deity and worshipers played by Ninshubur in the cult of Inanna has been compared to that played by the spouses of other major gods, Aya in the cult of Shamash or Shala in Adad's. Sukkals have also been compared to angels in comparative scholarship, and some researchers, for example Jan van Dijk and Frans Wiggermann, tentatively label study of sukkals as "Sumerian angelology ." Similarly, it has been argued that
950-513: A missive sent by the ruler of Ugarit: So you had written to me: “Could I not have demanded my needs [from] the Great King, the king of Egypt, my lord? I demand this request: [In] the land of Ugarit there is a severe hunger (bi-ru-ú dan-niš): May my lord save [the land of Ugarit], and may the king give grain (ZÍZ.AN.MEŠ) to save my life … and to save the citizens of the land of Ugarit. The last king of Ugarit, Ammurapi (circa 1215 to 1180 BC),
1045-1917: A poetic narrative, letters, legal documents such as land transfers, a few international treaties, and a number of administrative lists. Fragments of several poetic works have been identified: the " Legend of Keret ", the "Legend of Danel ", the Ba'al tales that detail Baal - Hadad 's conflicts with Yam and Mot , among other fragments. ( Shamshi-Adad dynasty 1808–1736 BCE) (Amorites) Shamshi-Adad I Ishme-Dagan I Mut-Ashkur Rimush Asinum Ashur-dugul Ashur-apla-idi Nasir-Sin Sin-namir Ipqi-Ishtar Adad-salulu Adasi (Non-dynastic usurpers 1735–1701 BCE) Puzur-Sin Ashur-dugul Ashur-apla-idi Nasir-Sin Sin-namir Ipqi-Ishtar Adad-salulu Adasi ( Adaside dynasty 1700–722 BCE) Bel-bani Libaya Sharma-Adad I Iptar-Sin Bazaya Lullaya Shu-Ninua Sharma-Adad II Erishum III Shamshi-Adad II Ishme-Dagan II Shamshi-Adad III Ashur-nirari I Puzur-Ashur III Enlil-nasir I Nur-ili Ashur-shaduni Ashur-rabi I Ashur-nadin-ahhe I Enlil-Nasir II Ashur-nirari II Ashur-bel-nisheshu Ashur-rim-nisheshu Ashur-nadin-ahhe II Second Intermediate Period Sixteenth Dynasty Abydos Dynasty Seventeenth Dynasty (1500–1100 BCE) Kidinuid dynasty Igehalkid dynasty Untash-Napirisha Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt Smendes Amenemnisu Psusennes I Amenemope Osorkon
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#17327811224281140-411: A ritual text (KUB 44.7). Both feminine and masculine Hurrian personal names containing the word kiaše are known, with some examples from Alalakh being Agap-kiaše (f), Ewri-kiaše (m) and Wandi-kiaše (m). Similar names are also known from Ugarit and from other areas which were inhabited by Hurrian communities. As noted by Aaron Tugendhaft, the position of the deified sea was similar in the pantheons of
1235-568: A sea wave delivers information about Ullikummi to Shaushka, which might indicate that more than one tradition regarding the sea was combined by the compiler of this text. Another Hurrian myth involving the sea was the Song of the Sea . Two texts, a ritual instruction prescribing the singing of Song of the Sea and an ancient literary catalog, attest its existence. A number of fragments of Hurrian texts are assumed to belong to it, but nothing can be said about
1330-460: A staff is present on the seal of Lugal-ushumgal , governor of Lagash during the reigns of Naram-Sin of Akkad and his son Shar-Kali-Sharri . A sukkal was expected to walk in front of their master, leading the way with their staff. Sukkals could be associated with doors as well. In literary texts, they could be tasked with screening visitors who wanted to see their master. The title of sukkalmaḫ could be applied to divine sukkals, though there
1425-507: A sukkal served as an intermediary between the royal administration and foreign envoys. There is evidence that they often knew more than one language and acted as translators , and some were likely foreigners or children of foreigners who settled in Mesopotamia. In some cases, a specific foreign dignitary was always mentioned alongside the same local sukkal accompanying him. A related office, known from Early Dynastic Girsu and from
1520-432: A terracotta depiction of Hathor , bronze tools and weaponry, cylinder seals, stone weights, remnants of banded dye-murex shells used in the production of purple dye , and inscribed tablets. The site is thought to have been largely evacuated before it was burned (resulting in a thick ash layer) and destroyed as few valuables were found in the residences or in the southern palace. About 130 cuneiform tablets were found in
1615-729: A trade-based coastal kingdom, trading with Egypt, Cyprus, the Aegean (primarily Crete), Syria, the Hittites, cities of the Levant (including Ashkelon ), and much of the eastern Mediterranean. Five of the Amarna letters found in Akhenaten's capital of Egypt from the mid-14th century BCE were written in Ugarit. Most of the letters were broken and their reading proved difficult, but some information
1710-701: A vassal of the Hittite Empire , mainly through the Hittite ruler's viceroy in Karkemiš and then, with the Hititte collapse, directly under Karkemiš. Diplomatic relations with Egypt continued, as evidenced by two letters send by Niqmaddu II (EA49) and his wife Ḫeba (EA48), probably sent to Akhenaten (1351–1334 BC). The former includes a request from the Egyptian king to send a physician to Ugarit. From
1805-432: A year, allowing a tight synchronism. The latest datable text was from the reign of Kassite ruler Meli-Shipak II (c. 1186–1172 BC) about the time of the destruction of Ugarit. An example of the archive involving one ton of copper: Thus Kušmešuša, king of Alašiya, say to Niqmaddu, king of Ugarit, my son. All is well with me, my households, my countries, my wives, my sons, my troops, my horses and my chariots.… In exchange of
1900-413: Is verb–subject–object , subject-object-verb (VSO)&(SOV); possessed–possessor (NG) (first element dependent on the function and second always in genitive case); and noun – adjective (NA) (both in the same case (i.e. congruent)). Apart from royal correspondence with neighboring Bronze Age monarchs, Ugaritic literature from tablets found in the city's libraries include mythological texts written in
1995-597: Is also the conventional term for the head of the Eblaite administration , most likely referred to as lugal sa-za . The word sukkal is attested in Eblaite documents, but seemingly designates a type of clergyman instead. This office of sukkal is also known from outside southern Mesopotamia, for example from Mari from Alalakh in western Syria, from the Hurrian kingdom of Arrapha in northeastern Mesopotamia, and from Elam . At least in southern Mesopotamia and Mari,
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#17327811224282090-490: Is assumed that it referred to a sukkal particularly emotionally close to their master. Deities referred to this way include Ninshubur (both male and female), Bunene , Ninpirig, Nabu and Muduggasa'a (in a bilingual text where he occurs as the equivalent of the former), and Innimanizi. The number of references to each of them is not equal, and only Ninshubur is referred to as SAL.ḪÚB 2 more than once or twice, with seven recorded instances currently known. In one case, she
2185-457: Is attested in Hurrian texts from Hattusa and from Ugarit. A hymn to Teshub from Halab (modern Aleppo ) also mentions Kiaše among the invoked deities. Yet another ritual text (KUB 27.38) mentions him alongside deified kings and the mountain gods Ḫazzi and Namni . Song of the Sea , a text dealing with the eponymous god, was performed during a celebration connected to Mount Hazzi according to
2280-526: Is likely based on a composition originally transmitted in a Western Semitic language (though it is not necessarily the Ugaritic Baal Cycle), rather than in Hurrian, as the personified sea is referred to as Ym rather than Kiaše. Fragmentary Hittite version of the Epic of Gilgamesh mentions the personified sea, seemingly accompanied by his Hurrian sukkal Impaluri. While Gilgamesh bows down to
2375-442: Is no evidence that a divine sukkalmaḫ was in charge of regular sukkals, and in some cases a deity had multiple sukkals but none of them was referred as a sukkalmaḫ, while in other a sukkalmaḫ was the only sukkal of their master. Most likely addressing a deity as a sukkalmaḫ was only meant to highlight the high position of their master in the pantheon. Deities addressed as sukkalmaḫs include Nuska (the sukkal of Enlil ), Ara (one of
2470-544: Is not present in any Mesopotamian god lists. However, a god named Lugala'abba ( Sumerian : "lord of the sea") does appear in the god list An = Anum , and it is assumed that he was an underworld deity. He was worshiped in Nippur during the reign of Samsu-iluna . Further Mesopotamian deities associated with the sea were Laguda , a god associated with the Persian Gulf , and Sirsir , associated with sailors. The sea
2565-487: Is regarded by Assyriologists as "the earliest and most important" sukkal, the "archetypal vizier of the gods." The attribute associated with all sukkals was a staff. Papsukkal could be called bēl ḫaṭṭi , "lord of the staff." Similarly, Nuska bore the Sumerian epithet en-ĝidri , "lord of the scepter." Alla , Isimud and Ninshubur were depicted holding staffs too. One possible depiction of Ninshubur carrying
2660-410: Is suitable for the sukkals of particularly well established deities: Ninshubur, Nuska, Bunene, Isimud and Alammuš, whose character was independent from that of their masters. It is sometimes argued that a sukkal had to match the gender for their master. However, Namtar , Ereshkigal 's sukkal, was male. The sukkal of the medicine goddess Gula , Urmašum, was a male deity too. Amasagnudi, regarded as
2755-479: Is the Kumarbi cycle, consisting out of Song of Kumarbi , Song of LAMMA , Song of Silver , Song of Hedammu and Song of Ullikummi . In the Song of Hedammu , Kiaše makes an appearance as an ally of Kumarbi and meets with him in his dwelling to propose the marriage with his daughter to him. This alliance is part of a pattern present in all parts of the cycle - the allies of Teshub are gods associated chiefly in
2850-519: Is written without the divine determinative, and she is otherwise mostly attested in explanatory texts depending on this myth. Deified sea, A.BA.BA, also occurs in the Theogony of Dunnu , and is identified as a female figure. According to Wilfred G. Lambert , this text is likely late, with the only known copy written in the neo-Babylonian or Persian period, and at least one of the figures appearing in it, Ḫamurnu ("Heaven") has Hurrian origin. A.BA.BA
2945-650: The Mari Archive . In the Middle Bronze, evidence indicate that Ugarit had contacts with the Egyptian Middle Kingdom. A carnelian bead can be inscribed with the name of Senusret I . A stela and a statuette from the Egyptian pharaohs Senusret III and Amenemhet III have also been found. However, it is unclear at what time these monuments were brought to Ugarit. The city reached its golden age between 1500 BC and 1200 BC, when it ruled
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3040-503: The Mediterranean Sea , but the " tarmana sea" remains unidentified. According to the myth Song of Hedammu , Kiaše's daughter was Šertapšuruḫi. Gernot Wilhelm proposes that her names should be interpreted as "belonging to Šertapšuri," Šertapšuri being an otherwise unknown term or divine name. In an early scholarly article, Michael C. Astour characterized her as "a young person of impressive dimensions." In addition to highlight
3135-459: The alphabetic Ugaritic script . As attested by the existence of two separate writings of the theophoric name of a Hurrian woman from Alalakh, Agap-kiaše, it could be represented not only syllabically, but also logographically (A.BA.BA.). The same logogram was sometimes used to represent the Ugaritic word ym , which likewise corresponds to the name of a sea deity, Yam . The worship of the sea
3230-769: The Elder Siamun Psusennes II Twenty-third Dynasty of Egypt Harsiese A Takelot II Pedubast I Shoshenq VI Osorkon III Takelot III Rudamun Menkheperre Ini Twenty-fourth Dynasty of Egypt Tefnakht Bakenranef ( Sargonid dynasty ) Tiglath-Pileser Shalmaneser Marduk-apla-iddina II Sargon Sennacherib Marduk-zakir-shumi II Marduk-apla-iddina II Bel-ibni Ashur-nadin-shumi Nergal-ushezib Mushezib-Marduk Esarhaddon Ashurbanipal Ashur-etil-ilani Sinsharishkun Sin-shumu-lishir Ashur-uballit II Sukkal Sukkal (conventionally translated from Sumerian as " vizier ")
3325-614: The Hurrians and in Ugarit, but not in Mesopotamia . Daniel Schwemer considers the Hurrian sea god and the Ugaritic Yam to be equivalents. Both Kiaše and Yam appear in god lists and as actively worshiped deities in ritual texts. In contrast, in Mesopotamia the evidence for worship of the sea and for personification of this part of nature is relatively scarce. In Enuma Elish , the name of the monstrous sea personification Tiamat
3420-538: The Mediterranean 5 kilometers south of the city, was discovered during commercial construction in 1977. Salvage excavation occurred in 1977 followed by regular excavation which has continued to the present by a Syrian-French team led by A. Bounni and J. Lagarce. Occupation began in the mid-13th century BC. Abandoned along with Ugarit, it was re-occupied in the Hellenistic period, including the construction of
3515-537: The Mesopotamian pantheon, such as Enlil or Inanna . The best known sukkal is the goddess Ninshubur . In art, they were depicted carrying staves , most likely understood as their attribute. They could function as intercessory deities, believed to mediate between worshipers and the major gods. The office sukkal is also known from various areas to the west and east of Mesopotamia, including the Hurrian kingdom Arrapha , Syrian Alalakh and Mari and Elam under
3610-905: The Phoenician and Ugaritic systems were not wholly independent inventions. A Unicode block for Ugaritic has been defined. The existence of the Ugaritic language is attested to in texts from the 14th through the 12th century BC. Ugaritic is usually classified as a Northwest Semitic language and therefore related to Hebrew , Aramaic , and Phoenician , among others. Its grammatical features are highly similar to those found in Classical Arabic and Akkadian . It possesses two genders (masculine and feminine), three cases for nouns and adjectives ( nominative , accusative , and genitive ); three numbers: ( singular , dual , and plural ); and verb aspects similar to those found in other Northwest Semitic languages. The word order in Ugaritic
3705-409: The Sea was a part of the Kumarbi cycle, but this remains uncertain. It is possible that it can be placed either right before Song of Hedammu , with defeat at the hands of Teshub motivating Kiaše to offer Kumarbi his daughter in marriage, or between the Song of Kumarbi and Song of LAMMA , in which case it would document Teshub's gradual rise to power. Further allusions to conflict between Teshub and
3800-528: The Syrian border. Ammurapi's response to an appeal for assistance from the king of Alashiya highlights the desperate situation that Ugarit and other cities faced: My father, behold, the enemy's ships came (here); my cities(?) were burned, and they did evil things in my country. Does not my father know that all my troops and chariots(?) are in the Land of Hatti, and all my ships are in the Land of Lukka ? ... Thus,
3895-516: The Temple of Baal encompass sections of an enclosing wall, a likely courtyard altar, monumental steps leading to the elevated pronaos and naos, and another presumed altar within the naos. The temple was destroyed, possibly by an earthquake, in the mid 13th century and not rebuilt. The Temple of Dagan was also destroyed at that time but was rebuilt. Another significant structure within the Acropolis
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3990-609: The administrative texts of the Third Dynasty of Ur , was that of the sukkalmah (GAL.SUKKAL, sukkalmaḫḫu ). Tonia Sharlach proposes this term should be understood as the equivalent of a modern secretary of state . A sukkalmah was in charge of a number of sukkals. In Elam, this term was adopted as a royal title, possibly because the sukkalmahs of the Ur III state, who resides in Lagash , close to Elamite territory, were in charge of
4085-485: The archives recovered from the site and corroborated by Mycenaean and Cypriot pottery found there. The polity was at its height from c. 1450 BC until its destruction in c. 1185 BC; this destruction was possibly caused by the purported Sea Peoples , or an internal struggle. The kingdom would be one of the many that fell during the Bronze Age Collapse . Gibala ( Tell Tweini ), the coastal city at
4180-522: The city's primary temples dedicated to Baal and his father, Dagan. Though the existing remnants date to the Late Bronze Age, these temples might have their origins in the Middle Bronze Age. Stelai discovered in this area portray or name these gods, affirming their identification for the respective cults. Within the Temple of Baal, discoveries include the Baal with Thunderbolt depicting Baal holding
4275-448: The city's ruins, archaeologists have studied various attributes of Ugaritic civilization just before their destruction and compared artifacts with those of nearby cultures to help establish dates. Ugarit contained many caches of cuneiform tablets inside of libraries that contained a wealth of valuable information. The destruction levels of the ruin contained Late Helladic IIIB pottery ware, but no LH IIIC (see Mycenaean period ). Therefore,
4370-416: The commands of the king. Translations found in literature include " vizier ," "secretary," and "chancellor." Tonia Sharlach notes that "vizier" is considered to be the standard translation today. The same word is also conventionally employed as a translation of the name of another, unrelated, office, badalum , used in northern Syrian cities, such as Harran and Abarsal , in the third millennium BCE. It
4465-458: The country is abandoned to itself. May my father know it: the seven ships of the enemy that came here inflicted much damage upon us. Eshuwara, the senior governor of Cyprus, responded: As for the matter concerning those enemies: (it was) the people from your country (and) your own ships (who) did this! And (it was) the people from your country (who) committed these transgression(s) ... I am writing to inform you and protect you. Be aware! At
4560-505: The date of the destruction of Ugarit is crucial for the dating of the LH IIIC phase in mainland Greece . Since an Egyptian sword bearing the name of pharaoh Merneptah was found in the destruction levels, 1190 BC was taken as the date for the beginning of the LH IIIC. A cuneiform tablet found in 1986 shows that Ugarit was destroyed sometime after the death of Merneptah (1203 BC). It is generally agreed that Ugarit had already been destroyed by
4655-619: The destruction date of Ugarit. It is important to remember that the chronology of the ancient Near East and that of the ancient Egypt are not yet perfectly synchronized. A large number of arrowheads were recovered from the destruction level in 2021. Their typology has not been published as yet. Early in the excavations a partial text of the Ugarit King List, in Ugaritic, was found. Later, complete renditions in Akkadian were discovered. They list twenty six rulers, all deified. Only
4750-415: The early 12th century BC. A tablet from the 14th century BC found in the Amarna archives , EA 89, Rib-Hadda of Byblos likening the palace at Tyre to the grandeur found in the palace within Ugarit's walls. The palace was well constructed, predominantly crafted from stone, with preserved ashlar blocks reaching heights of up to 4 meters. Wooden crossbeams were also incorporated, inserted into slots within
4845-440: The eighth year of Ramesses III (1178 BC). Recent radiocarbon work, combined with other historical dates and the eclipse of January 21, 1192, indicates a destruction date between 1192 and 1190 BC. Bay , an official of the Egyptian queen Twosret , in a tablet (RS 86.2230) found at Ras Shamra, was in communication with Ammurapi , the last ruler of Ugarit. Bay was in office from approximately 1194–1190 BC. This sets an upper limit on
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#17327811224284940-465: The end Ammurapi begs for forces from the Hittite viceroy at Carchemish, the enemy having captured Ugarit's other port, Ra’šu , and was advancing on the city. To the king, my lord say, thus Ammurapi, your servant.… I wrote you twice, thrice, [new]s regarding the enemy! … May my lord know that now the enemy forces are stationed at Ra’šu, and their avant-guard forces were sent to Ugarit. Now may my lord send me forces and chariots, and may my lord save me from
5035-419: The forces of this enemy! The ruler of Carchemish sent troops to assist Ugarit, but Ugarit had been sacked. A letter sent after Ugarit had been destroyed said: When your messenger arrived, the army was humiliated and the city was sacked. Our food in the threshing floors was burnt and the vineyards were also destroyed. Our city is sacked. May you know it! May you know it! By excavating the highest levels of
5130-459: The gift which you had sent me, I sent to you thirty-three (ingots of) copper; their weight is thirty talents and six-thousand and five-hundred shekels. One small tablet written in Cypro-Minoan was found on the surface of the tell. While it traditionally has been assumed that syllabic texts are in the Akkadian language and alphabetic texts are in Ugaritic it has been suggested that much of
5225-527: The god and blesses him and his minions, he is cursed in response. Gary Beckman assumes that this episode reflected the sea's more pronounced role in the mythology of inhabitants of ancient Anatolia . He notes that multiple Hurrian and Hittite additions differentiating from the standard Babylonian version are known, indicating that the epic was sometimes adapted to suit sensibilities of non-Mesopotamian audiences. Ugarit Ugarit ( / j uː ˈ ɡ ɑː r ɪ t , uː -/ ; Ugaritic : 𐎜𐎂𐎗𐎚 , ʾUgarītu )
5320-424: The largest being that of the household of Urtēnu, a merchant with trading ties as far afield as Emar . This area of the tell was under military control at the time and about 100 tablets were found in the rubble from military construction. Later excavation found several hundred tablets in the actual home. One tablet mentions the enthronement of Kassite ruler Kadashman-Harbe II (c. 1223 BC) whose rule lasted less than
5415-482: The late 13th century into the early 12th century BC, the entire region, based on contemporary texts, including Hititte areas, the Levant, and the eastern Mediterranean, faced severe and widespread food shortages, potentially from plant diseases . Ugarit received a number of desperate pleas for food from other realms. The food shortage eventually reached Ugarit, previously a major supplier and transporter of food supplies. A letter from Egyptian pharaoh Merenptah referred to
5510-407: The late 15th century. This port town, featuring an urban layout akin to the city of Ugarit, displays irregular street formations. Dwellings were structured around courtyards with adjacent rooms, including provisions like wells, ovens, and occasionally subterranean tombs. Besides residential spaces and shrines, warehouses were present for storing diverse goods earmarked for import or export. One of them
5605-452: The later rulers are supported by texts or known synchronisms. Given that Ugarit was abandoned between the Middle and Late Bronze Ages it is thought that the earliest names on the list were more on the order of tribal chiefs than kings. After its destruction in the early 12th century BC, Ugarit's location was forgotten until 1928 when a peasant accidentally opened an old tomb while plowing
5700-514: The latter is angry. Meindert Dijkstra proposes that Šertapšuruḫi also reappears, possibly as one of the midwives mentioned during the birth of Ullikummi , the eponymous antagonist, presumably acting alongside Hutena and Hutellura . The role Kiaše plays in Song of Ullikummi is one of its features used to argue that the connection between it and the Song of Hedammu was particularly close. Noga Ayali-Darshan notes that despite Kiaše's alliance with Kumarbi,
5795-528: The letters bear no relation to Mesopotamian cuneiform signs; instead, they appear to be somehow related to the Egyptian -derived Phoenician alphabet . While the letters show little or no formal similarity to the Phoenician, the standard letter order (seen in the Phoenician alphabet as ʔ, B, G, D, H, W, Z, Ḥ, Ṭ, Y, K, L, M, N, S, ʕ, P, Ṣ, Q, R, Š, T) shows strong similarities between the two, suggesting that
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#17327811224285890-810: The main mound of Ras Shamra. Beginning in 1929 excavations of Ugarit were conducted by a French team called the Mission de Ras Shamra led by archaeologist Claude Schaeffer from the Musée archéologique in Strasbourg . Work continued until 1939 when it was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. The French excavation, now the Mission Archeologique Française de Ras Shamra-Ougarit, resumed in 1950, led again by Claude Schaeffer until 1970. At that point, directorship passed to Jean Margueron. After 44 excavation seasons all of
5985-508: The myth, the presence of vocabulary associated with the act of vanquishing enemies of the gods, and the presence of Kumarbi and his allies, the "primordial deities." Mount Hazzi, in connection with which the Song of the Sea was ritually performed, was another name for mount Saphon known from Ugaritic texts, where the conflict between the weather god Baal and the sea god Yam took place in the Baal Cycle . It has been proposed that Song of
6080-453: The nature of Lamma deities can be compared to modern idea of guardian angels . In addition to the sukkals listed above, according to the god list An = Anum the following deities had sukkals whose names are either not preserved or only partially preserved in known copies: Dingirmah, a goddess from Adab conflated with Ninhursag , Gishhuranki, the wife of Ashgi , Šulpae , Panigingarra , and Ninsun . An offering list from Umma from
6175-400: The northern palace. After the destruction the site was occupied by simple residences, termed a village by the excavators. Aegean style pottery and loom weights were found in this Iron Age I level. Scribes in Ugarit appear to have originated the " Ugaritic alphabet " around 1400 BC: 30 letters, corresponding to sounds, were inscribed on clay tablets. Although they are cuneiform in appearance,
6270-483: The numerous finds and their findspots were collated. In 2005 the excavation became a joint French and Syrian effort led by Valérie Matoïan and Khozama Al-Bahloul. These continued until being ended due to the Syrian Civil War. Archaeologists have defined a number of occupation strata at the site based on the excavations: A number of areas lay within the fortifications of Ugarit. In the northwest section
6365-415: The plot with certainty, other than that the sea, Kumarbi and the so-called "primordial deities" played some role in it. According to Ian Rutherford, this myth was either a description of the origin of the eponymous god, an account of a primordial flood , or perhaps of a conflict between the weather god Teshub and the sea god. He considers the third option to be the most likely, due to the location connected to
6460-473: The rule of the Sukkalmah Dynasty , while the concept of divine sukkals was incorporated into Hurrian religion , in which major gods such as Kumarbi or Hebat commonly appear in company of their sukkals, similar to their Mesopotamian counterparts. The word sukkal ( Akkadian : sukkallu ) has Sumerian origin and at first denoted a class of human officials, responsible for the implementation of
6555-480: The sea are present elsewhere in Hurro-Hittite literature: in the myth of Shaushka and Pišaišapḫi , the latter god in return for sparing him in spite of his misdeeds promises to tell her the story of Teshub's victory over the sea and the subsequent rebellion of the mountain gods against him. Ian Rutherford notes that the myth seemingly alludes to the mountain gods using the same weapon which Teshub used to defeat
6650-405: The sea god with to fight him, possibly indicating they stole it. These motifs have no parallel in the myths about Baal's combat with Yam. Another fragmentary text of Hurrian origin relays that at one point the sea caused a flood which reached the heavens, and demanded tribute of gold, silver and lapis lazuli from the gods, with Kumarbi possibly urging the other deities to pay. The deity who brings
6745-434: The sea's arrival two of them participate in a feast together, but the rest of the scene is not preserved, and the next fragment describes a meeting between Teshub and Shaushka instead. The sea god also appears in the Song of Ullikummi , in which he advises Kumarbi, much like in the Song of Hedammu . In this myth, however, it is his sukkal Impaluri who asks Kumarbi to meet with his master, who seemingly does not understand why
6840-497: The size, the myth also compares her to sweet cream. Kiaše's sukkal (attendant deity) was Impaluri. Volkert Haas notes that the suffix - luri appears in the names of the mountain goddess Lelluri , the primordial giant Upelluri , and also in some Hurrian mountain and stone names. According to Gernot Wilhelm, many myths about the personified sea known from Hittite translations have Hurrian or Syrian origin. One example of Hurrian texts known largely from their Hittite translations
6935-453: The sky, like Shaushka or Shimige , while Kumarbi cooperates with gods of the underworld and the sea. The eponymous Hedammu is a monster born from her union of Kiaše's daughter with Kumarbi. The sea god makes another appearance after Teshub's sister Shaushka discovers the monster - Kumarbi's sukkal Mukišanu summons him for another meeting with his master, and warns him to travel underground to avoid being spotted by Teshub and his allies. After
7030-429: The south-central archives of the palace—and examples of practice writing by young scribes. Below ground, beneath two northern rooms, lay family tombs—three large chambers constructed with corbelled vaults—found devoid of any contents. The vanished upper floor likely accommodated the private quarters of the royal family, accessed via twelve staircases. The Acropolis, positioned in the Ugarit's northeastern section, housed
7125-592: The southern edge of the Ugarit kingdom was also destroyed at this time. Based on archaeological soundings, the site was occupied beginning in the eighth millennium BC. Essentially all archaeology has focused on the Late Bronze levels, so little is known about earlier occupation. Ugarit was associated with the Great Kingdom of Yamhad (Halab, Aleppo) in Northern Syria. Ugarit is also mentioned in
7220-455: The stone masonry. A thick layer of plain plaster covered the walls. To the west of the palace was a set aside 10,000 square meter Royal Zone. Archaeological findings within the ruins have included a variety of artifacts including ivory carvings, stone stele, figurines, and numerous tablets. These tablets were discovered in archives located across the palace; their contents encompass reports on outlying regions, judicial records—particularly from
7315-409: The sukkal), deities dealing with the personal needs of a god, and finally those tasked with upkeep of their household, such as divine cooks or gardeners . In myths, sukkals act both as traveling envoys of their masters, and as their advisors at home. Wisdom was frequently regarded as a trait of this class of deities. While most deities had courtiers, usually only these whose position in the pantheon
7410-405: The syllabic writing, especially in administrative documents, is actually in "a jargon where an Akkadian dialect is hard to detect given the great amount of Ugaritic elements it contained". The Royal Palace was constructed over several major phases between the 15th and 13th centuries BC. It comprised rooms arranged around courtyards, encompassing 6,500 square meters before the city's destruction in
7505-555: The tell. Numerous cuneiform tablets have been found. By the Late Bronze age Ugarit had a thriving dual-scribal system. Primarily it used the East Semitic Akkadian language which acted as the lingua franca throughout the region for diplomacy, business, and administrative purposes. In parallel, there was scribal activity in the local Northwest Semitic Ugaritic language. A few scribes are known to have worked in both writing systems. A number of archives were found,
7600-402: The territories surrounding Susa when the state they served reached its maximal extent. The so-called Sukkalmah Dynasty ruled over Elam in the early second millennium BCE. Some lexical texts explain sukkal as pašišu , "salve priest," though the reason behind the equation of these two terms is not known. In Mesopotamian religion , some deities were designated as sukkals and functioned as
7695-492: The tribute to the sea is the "Queen of Nineveh ," Shaushka ( IŠTAR ). It is possible that this is simply a fragment of the Song of the Sea , rather than an independent composition. It has been pointed out that it resembles an Egyptian composition about the goddess Astarte and the sea, known from the so-called "Astarte papyrus," though the latter bears similarities to the Baal Cycle as well. Noga Ayali-Darshan notes that it
7790-409: The two sukkals of Enki ), Ninpirig (one of the sukkals of Utu ), Ninshubur (the sukkal of Inanna ) and Alammuš (the sukkal of Nanna). A further title used to describe some of the divine sukkals was SAL.ḪÚB 2 . In most of the texts where this word is attested, it occurs in parallel with "sukkal." It only ever designates gods, not human officials, and only a handful of attestations are known. It
7885-439: Was a contemporary of the last known Hittite king, Suppiluliuma II . The exact dates of his reign are unknown. However, a letter by the king is preserved, in which Ammurapi stresses the seriousness of the crisis faced by many Near Eastern states due to attacks. At this time Ugarit possessed a large army and navy and both joined with Hittite forces to try and stem the oncoming enemy, eventually having to fall back from Anatolia to
7980-410: Was a term which could denote both a type of official and a class of deities in ancient Mesopotamia . The historical sukkals were responsible for overseeing the execution of various commands of the kings and acted as diplomatic envoys and translators for foreign dignitaries. The deities referred to as sukkals fulfilled a similar role in mythology, acting as servants, advisors and envoys of the main gods of
8075-578: Was also worshiped by the Hittites , who likewise represented it as a male deity, Aruna , in myths. As this word has no plausible Indo-European etymology, Gernot Wilhelm proposes that it was borrowed from Hattic . Aruna is also the name applied to the sea in the Hittite translation of the Kumarbi cycle. It seems more than one sea was venerated in Hittite religion - the "Great Sea" can be identified with
8170-520: Was an acropolis with the temples of Dagon and Baal . In the west was the Royal Zone, including the Royal Palace . A fortress protecting the latter area was excavated, with the earliest elements dating back to the Middle Bronze Age. To the west of that lies the modern village of Ras Shamra. There were densely populated residential areas to the east of the Royal Zone and on the southern slope of
8265-456: Was an ancient port city in northern Syria about 10 kilometers north of modern Latakia . At its height it ruled an area roughly equivalent to the modern Latakia Governorate . It was discovered by accident in 1928 with the Ugaritic texts . Its ruins are often called Ras Shamra (also Ras Shamrah) after the headland where they lie. Ugarit saw its beginnings in the Neolithic period, the site
8360-481: Was discovered still housing eighty shipping jars that remain remarkably intact. Artifacts discovered in the port indicate the predominance of native Ugaritians within the local populace, accompanied by a significant presence of various foreign communities such as Egyptians , Cypriots , Hittites , Hurrians , and Aegean peoples. Among the discoveries were Cypriot pottery (both imported and locally crafted), Mycenaean pottery , ivory cosmetic containers from Egypt,
8455-403: Was excavated between 1929 and 1935 by Claude Schaeffer. The site is currently a military port and unavailable for excavation. Its name in the Late Bronze Age is believed to have been Maʾḫadu. Archaeological excavations carried out on the southern side of the bay, now reduced in size due to alluvial fill, unveiled remnants of a settlement established in the 14th century BC, and perhaps earlier, in
8550-452: Was female. It has been argued that many sukkals simply represented the effect of their masters' actions: the fire god Gibil was served by a deified flame , Nablum, while the weather god Ishkur by a deified lightning , Nimgir. Other seem to be personifications of specific commands, for example Eturammi ("do not slacken"), Nēr-ē-tagmil ("kill, spare not") or Ugur ("destroy"). However, Frans Wiggermann points out that neither explanation
8645-401: Was labeled as the "beloved SAL.ḪÚB 2 of Inanna," and appears right after Dumuzi in an enumeration of deities associated with her mistress, before some of her family members, for example her sister in law Geshtinanna . In some cases, terms such as MUNUS.SUKKAL (for example in the case of Sililitum) or nin -sukkal (in the case of Ninshubur and Amasagnudi ) was used to indicate a sukkal
8740-606: Was occupied from the end of the 8th millennium BC and continued as a settlement through the Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages . It was during the late bronze age that Ugarit experienced significant growth, culminating in the establishment of the Kingdom of Ugarit . The city had close connections to the Hittite Empire , in later times as a vassal, sent tribute to Egypt at times, and maintained trade and diplomatic connections with Cyprus (then called Alashiya ), documented in
8835-444: Was recovered. The population of Ugarit in this period is estimated to be between 7,000 and 8,000 individuals. The kingdom of Ugarit controlled about 2,000 km on average. In the mid-14th century BC, Ugarit was ruled by king Ammittamru I . A letter (EA45) sent by him, probably to Amenhotep III (1388–1351 BC) expresses warm diplomatic relations between the two. During the reign of his son Niqmaddu II (c. 1350–1315 BC) Ugarit became
8930-549: Was the House of the High Priest, situated west of the Temple of Dagan. This large, two-story residence, largely well-constructed, contained tablets containing mythological poems. Some tablets demonstrated writing exercises and included syllabic and bilingual lexicons, implying the building's use as a center for scribe training. Its proximity to the primary temples and the discovery of bronze tools, particularly four small adzes and
9025-403: Was well established had sukkals, and sukkals of the major city gods were likely the oldest deities of this type. Instances of a sukkal having a sukkal of their own, while known, should be regarded as an anomaly according to Richard L. Litke. For example, Niĝgina , a sukkal of the sun god Utu , had her own sukkal, as did Alammuš , the sukkal of the moon god Nanna . The goddess Ninshubur
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