Ugarit (Ras Shamra), Latakia is an ancient city in Syria. It lies in a large artificial mound called Ras Shamra which means headland of fennel in Arabic. This city is about 6 miles or 10 kilometers north of Al-Ladhiqiyah or Latakia on the Mediterranean coast of northern Syria. The ruins of Ugarit (Ras Shamra), Latakia were first uncovered by the plow of a peasant at Al-Bayda Bay.
The site is about half a mile from the shore of the Mediterranean coast. Excavations were begun in the year 1929 by a French archaeological mission to uncover more information about the place.
The kingdom of Ugarit has had a golden past in administration, education, diplomacy, law, religion and economics between 16th and 13th century BC. It is one of the few Bronze Age sites in the Middle East which presents ample identifiable remains to the casual visitor and just not to the specialist. In the annals of history it has been described as the first great international port in history.
In ancient times it is from this port that a great deal of the Eastern Mediterranean’s trade with Mesopotamia was carried out. The later Phoenician commercial and cultural development took its inspiration from here.
It is the kingdom of Ugarit that gave mankind the first alphabet in the world. After a detailed study experts have confirmed the striking similarity between these alphabets and other alphabets in vogue nowadays. The alphabet of the age old period of the city is still preserved on a clay tablet at the National Museum in Damascus.
The famous Ugaritic script was written from left to right. The language had 30 symbols. These included the 3 syllabic signs for vowels in contrast to the 22 consonantal letters in the North Semitic alphabet.
Ugaritic documents dating from the 15th–14th century BC and written on clay tablets with a wedge-shaped stylus are found primarily at Ugarit (Ras Shamra) on the Syrian coast in 1929. Documents, statues and jewels from the Ugarit kingdom are on display at the Lattakia, Aleppo and Tartus museums. A visit to the Ugarit (Ras Shamra), Latakia is essentially a walk down the corridors of history.
Detailed online information on Ugarit (Ras Shamra), Latakia can be obtained on travel.mapsofworld.
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