event · evt_ugarit_destruction
Destruction and Abandonment of Ugarit
Most of Ugarit burned and the city was abandoned; weapon finds strongly support violent assault, but the attackers’ identity is not securely established.
What is the evidence?
observed evidence
- Extensive burning
- Arrowheads and other weapons in streets and houses
- No substantial immediate reoccupation
proposed causes
- attack by maritime or regional forces
- warfare
- political-military crisis
consequences
Violent destruction and abandonment are strong; exact year and attacker identity are less secure.
Inspect the sources →Review and provenance
Specialist reviewer: not recorded. Review date: not recorded.
Dataset workflow: reviewed for v0.1. This is separate from specialist review.
Recorded dataset maintenance date: 2026-08-11.
Confidence describes the stated assessment; it does not certify expert approval. How review works.
Chronology
Dating intervals may describe uncertainty or phases; their width alone does not establish event duration.
1195 BCE–1185 BCE
Precision: historical-archaeological range
moderatestratigraphy, texts and Egyptian synchronisms
- informs · establishes
‘Our City Is Sacked. May You Know It!’ The Destruction of Ugarit and Its Environs by the Sea Peoples — Jesse Michael Millek (2020)
Locator: pp. 102–132 - informs · supports
Destruction at the End of the Late Bronze Age in Syria: A Reassessment — Jesse Michael Millek (2019)
Locator: Ugarit section - informs · provides date
Severe Multi-Year Drought Coincident with Hittite Collapse around 1198–1196 BC — Sturt W. Manning, Cindy Kocik, Brita Lorentzen, Jed P. Sparks (2023)
Locator: Methods discussion of synchronisms
Event context
People and places
Locations: Ugarit / Ras Shamra
Affected entities: Ugarit / Ras Shamra, Kingdom of Ugarit
Properties and assignments
A label’s definition and the evidence for assigning it here are separate.
Cause Unknown
The observed event is established more securely than its cause.
Why does this record have this property?
The event is better established than a single definitive cause or attacker identity.
- ‘Our City Is Sacked. May You Know It!’ The Destruction of Ugarit and Its Environs by the Sea Peoples
supports assignment - Destruction at the End of the Late Bronze Age in Syria: A Reassessment
supports assignment - Severe Multi-Year Drought Coincident with Hittite Collapse around 1198–1196 BC
supports assignment
Destruction Horizon
A stratigraphic horizon showing burning, collapse, damage, or other destruction-related evidence; it does not by itself identify an attacker or cause.
Why does this record have this property?
Destruction and Abandonment of Ugarit is represented as a destruction-related archaeological event; cause and synchronism are modeled separately.
- ‘Our City Is Sacked. May You Know It!’ The Destruction of Ugarit and Its Environs by the Sea Peoples
supports assignment - Destruction at the End of the Late Bronze Age in Syria: A Reassessment
supports assignment - Severe Multi-Year Drought Coincident with Hittite Collapse around 1198–1196 BC
supports assignment
Violent Destruction
A destruction episode for which assault, warfare, or deliberate human violence is judged more likely than accidental burning or gradual abandonment.
Why does this record have this property?
The archaeological and contextual evidence makes deliberate human violence a serious interpretation, while specific attackers remain uncertain.
- ‘Our City Is Sacked. May You Know It!’ The Destruction of Ugarit and Its Environs by the Sea Peoples
supports assignment - Destruction at the End of the Late Bronze Age in Syria: A Reassessment
supports assignment - Severe Multi-Year Drought Coincident with Hittite Collapse around 1198–1196 BC
supports assignment
Chronology Disputed
Two or more serious chronological models remain in use or materially affect interpretation.
Why does this record have this property?
The date materially depends on competing chronological, ceramic, textual, or archaeological models.
Evidence and sources
- informs · establishes
‘Our City Is Sacked. May You Know It!’ The Destruction of Ugarit and Its Environs by the Sea Peoples — Jesse Michael Millek (2020)Source relationship recorded for Destruction and Abandonment of Ugarit.
Locator: pp. 102–132 - informs · provides date
Severe Multi-Year Drought Coincident with Hittite Collapse around 1198–1196 BC — Sturt W. Manning, Cindy Kocik, Brita Lorentzen, Jed P. Sparks (2023)Source relationship recorded for Destruction and Abandonment of Ugarit.
Locator: Methods discussion of synchronisms - supports · supports
Destruction at the End of the Late Bronze Age in Syria: A Reassessment — Jesse Michael Millek (2019)Source relationship recorded for Destruction and Abandonment of Ugarit.
Locator: Ugarit section
Referenced records
- Kingdom of Ugarit · entity
- Broad early-12th-century Ugarit destruction range · chronology model
- Ugarit date from the Chancellor Bay synchronism · chronology model
- Ugarit / Ras Shamra · entity