Ancient site · City
Ugarit (Ras Shamra)
Also known as Ras Shamra
A port city on the Syrian coast north of Latakia, settled since the Neolithic. In its golden age, about 1500–1200 BCE, it ruled a small trading kingdom linked to Egypt, Cyprus, the Aegean and the Hittites.
Its archives include tablets in a cuneiform alphabet of 30 letters, one of the oldest alphabets known, and myths of the god Baal. The city was destroyed around 1185 BCE during the Late Bronze Age collapse.
- Dates
- c. 7000–1185 BCE; golden age c. 1500–1200 BCE
- Still standing
- Yes
- Location
- 35.60° N, 35.78° E
How we know
Thousands of clay tablets found in the city, in several languages, describe its kings, trade and religion.
Nearby sites
- Ebla (Tell Mardikh) c. 3500 BCE – 7th century CE; archives c. 2400–2300 BCE
- Tell Abu Hureyra c. 11,300–5800 BCE
- Palmyra early 2nd millennium BCE – 1932 CE; height 1st–3rd century CE
- ʿAin Mallaha (Eynan) c. 12,400–10,200 BCE
- Göbekli Tepe c. 9500–8000 BCE
- Raqefet Cave c. 12,000–9700 BCE (Natufian burials)