The Ugaritic cuneiform alphabet: An example among the alphabetic writing systems of the II mill. B.C.

Paolo Merlo

After a brief presentation of the alphabetic writing systems used in the 2nd millennium B.C. in the Levant regions, I will present the cuneiform writing system of Ugarit and its main features. Then I will offer a concise survey of the Ugaritic language in the context of the other Northwest Semitic languages, as well as a short excursus on the various genres of Ugaritic texts and their spatial distribution. The material presented can be downloaded here.