Ugarit

Ugarit was a major Bronze Age city located near today’s Ras Shamra on the Syrian coast. It flourished as a trading center and cultural hub and was destroyed around the end of the second millennium BCE. Archaeological discoveries at Ugarit uncovered thousands of clay tablets written in a local alphabetic script. These texts include myths, prayers, ritual instructions, and administrative records. The religious writings are especially important because they describe gods, divine councils, and storm-god imagery that closely resemble themes found in biblical literature. Ugarit provides direct evidence of the cultural and religious environment shared by many peoples of the ancient Near East.