Ugaritic

14-12th century BC

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The so-called "Ugaritic" writing is the local writing of the ancient city of Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra). It consists of a cuneiform alphabet (better: abjad) made up of 30 consonantal signs (the "long" alphabet). We have evidence of this writing nearly exclusively in the city of Ugarit or in the nearby Ras Ibn Hani, summer residence of the kings of Ugarit. The documentation can be roughly dated from 14th century BC until the beginning of 12th century BC. Ugaritic writing was most probably invented locally, adapting an already existing alphabetic writing system to the cuneiform one characteristic for the Akkadian language which was at that time used as a lingua franca through the Ancient Near East.

Various cuneiform tablets unearthed at Ugarit allow us to define exactly the order of the alphabetic signs (cf. Sign list); the Ugaritic alphabetic signs are more or less arranged in the same order of the later Phoenician alphabet.

To this widely attested alphabet are to be added two other writing systems which are only rarely documented in the city of Ugarit. A "short" cuneiform alphabet, made up of only 22 signs, and another cuneiform "long" alphabet with a different arrangement of the letter order (namely with characteristic South Arabian letter sequence h, l ḥ, m) found in only one abecedary (RS 88.2215, cfr. P. Bordreuil, D. Pardee, RSO 14, 2001, 341-348).

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