Handbook of Ugaritic Studies (HANDBOOK OF ORIENTAL STUDIES/HANDBUCH DER ORIENTALISTIK)

All aspects of the ancient site of Ras Shamra (Ugarit) are treated in this compendium: discovery, decipherment of script, interpretation of literary, diplomatic and legal texts, as well as analysis of languages, history, religion and iconography. Cyrus Gordon called its archives 'the foremost literary discovery of the twentieth century' and they have undoubtedly revolutionized our knowledge of the background to Greek, Phoenician and Israelite culture. HANDBOOK OF UGARITIC STUDIES Contents List of Illustrations Preface Chapter One General Introduction Chapter Two Ras Shamra, Minet el-Beida and Ras Ibn Hani: The Material Sources Chapter Three The Written Sources 1 The Syllabic Akkadian Texts 2 The Alphabetic Ugaritic Tablets 3 The Hurrian and Hittite Texts Chapter Four The Ugaritic Language 1 The Decipherment of Ugaritic 2 The Ugaritic Script 3 Ugaritic Grammar 4 Ugaritic Lexicography 5 Ugaritic Words in Syllabic Texts Chapter Five Ugaritic Stylistics 1 Ugaritic Prose 2 Ugaritic Poetry Chapter Six The Ugaritic Literary Texts 1 The Mythological Texts 2 The Legend of Keret 3 The Story of Aqhat 4 The Rpum Texts 5 The Incantations Chapter Seven The Ugaritic Cultic Texts 1 The Rituals 2 The Offering Lists and the God Lists 3 The Omen Texts Chapter Eight The Correspondence of Ugarit 1 The Ugaritic Letters 2 The Akkadian Letters Chapter Nine The Legal Texts from Ugarit 1 Introduction 2 The Akkadian Legal Texts 3 The Ugaritic Legal Texts 4 The Hittite Legal Text Chapter Ten The Economy of Ugarit 1 The Administrative Texts 2 Commerce 3 Crafts and Industries Chapter Eleven The Society of Ugarit 1 Peoples, Cultures and Social Movements 2 The Royal Family, Administration and Commerce 3 The Family and the Collective 4 Crafts and Professions 5 The Army Chapter Twelve The Onomastics of Ugarit 1 Personal Names and Prosopography 2 Ugaritic Place Names Chapter Thirteen The Religion of Ugarit: An Overview Chapter Fourteen The Iconography of Ugarit Chapter Fifteen A Political History of Ugarit 1 Preliminary Remarks 2 Ugarit in the Early and Middle Bronze Ages 3 Ugarit under Egyptian Influence 4 Ugarit under Hittite Rule 5 Ugarit in the Age of ‘Pax Hethitica’ 6 The Weakening Grip of the Hittites 7 The Last Years of Ugarit Chapter Sixteen The Tablets and the Computer 1 The Current State of Ugaritic Sudies and Technology 2 Storage and Analysis of the Texts References Abbreviations Bibliography List of Contributors Indices Index of Topics Index of Personal Names Index of Divine Names Index of Toponyms Index of Ugaritic Words Index of Syllabic Akkadian Index of Various Languages Index of KTU Texts Index of RIH Texts Index of RS Texts Synchronisms HANDBUCH DER ORIENTALISTIK Over the past seven decades, the scores of publications on Ugarit in Northern Syria (15th to 11th centuries BCE) are so scattered that a good overall view of the subject is virtually impossible. Wilfred Watson and Nicolas Wyatt, the editors of the present Handbook in the series Handbook of Oriental Studies, have brought together and made accessible this accumulated knowledge on the archives from Ugarit, called 'the foremost literary discovery of the twentieth century' by Cyrus Gordon. In 16 chapters a careful selection of specialists in the field deal with all important aspects of Ugarit, such as the discovery and decipherment of a previously unknown script (alphabetic cuneiform) used to write both the local language (Ugaritic) and Hurrian and its grammar, vocabulary and style; documents in other languages (including Akkadian and Hittite), as well as the literature and letters, culture, economy, social life, religion, history and iconography of the ancient kingdom of Ugarit. A chapter on computer analysis of these documents concludes the work. This first such wide-ranging survey, which includes recent scholarship, an extensive up-to-date bibliography, illustrations and maps, will be of particular use to those studying the history, religion, cultures and languages of the ancient Near East, and also of the Bible and to all those interested in the background to Greek and Phoenician cultures. This work deals with all important aspects of Ugarit, such as the decipherment of a previously unknown script used to write both Ugarit and Hurrian, their grammar and vocabulary; documents in other languages together with the literature and letters of the ancient kingdom of Ugarit. [edited] By Wilfred G.e. Watson And Nicolas Wyatt. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [755]-823) And Indexes.