The Demise of Ugarit in the light of its connections with Ḫatti

Abstract

Since the discovery of Ugarit in 1929, there has been much debate concerning how the city was destroyed. Many scholars have attempted to explain the reasons for its sudden destruction and have put forward a range of interesting proposals.1 In this paper there is no need to repeat what has already been offered. It is, however, worth pointing out that the total decline of Ugarit cannot be entirely ascribed to the Sea Peoples, as hitherto widely accepted; there were other external and internal factors that altogether contributed to the downfall of the city. This study investigates Ugarit’s external relationships principally with Ḫatti and Karkamiš. These relations, which were characterized by mistrust and tension, have rarely been considered in the literature available, but in this article they will be given more weight. By tracing the tangled relationships between Ugarit and the Hittite overlords, an intense conflict, which took place mainly during the city’s final days, becomes apparent. In order to illustrate this, a brief presentation of Ugarit’s political situation at the end of the Late Bronze Age is necessary