Niqmaddu II was the second ruler and king of

Ugarit Ugarit (; , ''ủgrt'' /ʾUgarītu/) was an ancient port city in northern Syria about 10 kilometers north of modern Latakia. At its height it ruled an area roughly equivalent to the modern Latakia Governorate. It was discovered by accident in 19 ...

, an

ancient Syria The history of Syria covers events which occurred on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic and events which occurred in the region of Syria. Throughout ancient times the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic was occupied and ruled by severa ...

n city-state in northwestern Syria (c. 1350–1315 BC) and succeeding his father,

Ammittamru I Ammittamru I (known in some sources as Amishtammru I or Amistammru I, ''Ammîstamri'') was a king of the ancient Syrian city of Ugarit who ruled c. 1350 BC. Reign Relations with Mitanni Prior to the Great Syrian Wars by Suppiluliuma I of Hatt ...

. He was a vassal ruler of Suppiluliuma I of Hatti.

Early life

Niqmaddu II ( ''Níqmâdâd'', "vengeance of

Hadad Hadad (), Haddad, Adad ( Akkadian: 𒀭𒅎 '' DIM'', pronounced as ''Adād''), or Iškur ( Sumerian) was the storm- and rain-god in the Canaanite and ancient Mesopotamian religions. He was attested in Ebla as "Hadda" in c. 2500 BCE. From ...

") took his name from the earlier

Amorite The Amorites () were an ancient Northwest Semitic-speaking Bronze Age people from the Levant. Initially appearing in Sumerian records c. 2500 BC, they expanded and ruled most of the Levant, Mesopotamia and parts of Egypt from the 21st century BC ...

ruler Niqmaddu, meaning " Addu has vindicated" to strengthen the supposed Amorite origins of his Ugaritic dynasty. His wife may have been Pisidqi known from a legal text. He had a brother Nuriyãnu.

Reign

Though the exact date of his accession to the throne of Ugarit is unknown, he might be a contemporary of both

Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Akhenaton or Echnaton ( ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning 'Effective for the Aten'), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eig ...

and

Tutankhamun Tutankhamun or Tutankhamen, (; ), was an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled during the late Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Born Tutankhaten, he instituted the restoration of the traditional polytheistic form of an ...

the Hittite ruler Shuppiluliuma I, and was a vassal of the latter. He had good relations with Egypt, and conceded to the Amorites in a dispute over the Shiyannu region early in his reign. He commissioned the Baal cycle about the god Haddu/Ba'al, and had a son, Niqmepa.

Hittite vassalage

Tablet-legal text-AO 27987-P5280340-gradient

In the Hittite Archives there are four letters from the time of Suppiluliuma regarding Ugarit. * CTH 45 Letter of Šuppiluliuma I to Niqmaddu II of Ugarit * CTH 46 Treaty of Šuppiluliuma I with Niqmaddu II of Ugarit * CTH 47 Decree of Šuppiluliuma I setting the tribute of Ugarit (.I Akkadian, .II Hittite) * CTH 48 Inventory of the tribute of Ugarit to Šuppiluliuma I In EA 49 (EA = El Amarna), Niqmaddu II apparently requested an

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian physician and two palace attendants from "Cush", the Egyptian envoy to Ugarit. He is identified in Syrian on an alabaster vase along with a woman in Egyptian court dress, however, the name of the woman in the vase, if ever indicated, is not preserved and is mentioned in the Baal cycle as King ''nqmd''. He was succeeded briefly by Ar-Halba.

Treaty

At Ugarit, the treaty is known from RS 17.0339,a + RS 17.0340 + RS 17.0366.https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/aemw/ugarit/qpn-x-people?xis=qpn.r0003f9&ref=P503628.4 The introduction reveals a rebellion against the great king, where Niqmaddu II remained faithful.

Thus (says) the Sun, Šuppiluliuma, Great King, king of Hatti, warrior. When Itur-Addu, king of Mukiš, and Addu-nirari, king of Nuhašši, and Agi-Tešub, king of Niya, turned hostile towards the Sun, the Great King, their lord, and they mustered their troops and captured cities from Ugarit, and they oppressed Ugarit and carried off as captives the subjects of Niqmaddu, king of Ugarit, and devastated Ugarit.

Niqmaddu II asked Suppiluliuma I for aid.

Niqmaddu, king of Ugarit, came to Šuppiluliuma, the great king, saying: "May the Sun, the Great King, my Lord, save me from the hand of the enemy," saying "I myself am the servant of the Sun, the Great King, my lord," saying "I am hostile towards the enemy of my lord, and I am peaceful towards the friend of my lord," saying "The kings are oppressing me!"

Received captives.

The Great King heard the speech of Niqmaddu, and so the Great King Šuppiluliuma sent the sons of the king and the noblemen with troops and chariots to Ugarit, and they attacked the troops of the enemy nthe midst of Ugarit. ndthey gave oNiqmaddu ll oftheir captives whom they took (from the enemy).

Showed great hospitality.

Niqmaddu, king of Ugarit, greatly honored the sons of the king and the noblemen of Hatti. He gave them much silver, gold, and copper. Niqmaddu arrived in Alalah before the Sun, the Great King, his lord and a gift ..to the Sun, the Great King, his lord.

This section emphasizes loyalty.

He took ..Niqmaddu did otinvolve himself with words of hostility against the king is lord, andthe Great King �uppiluliuma recognized(?)the loyalty f Niqmaddu, king(?)of Ugarit ..he did not .. any ... scouringsand shavings ../blockquote> In the final portion is several toponyms.
..ancient time ..Ugarit ..Ugarit ..all his land ..Ugarit .. the sons(?)of his sons, ..together with the mountains of Šimeru ..Bīt-hilu ..Zimmeru, ..together with Mount Hešmaraši, .., Ṣuharu Yarqanu, ..Kanzata, Magdala, ogether with (its)mountains, the Crossroads f Pithanatogether with Mount Kiburu, ogether withMount šamtu, together with MountMatraniya, ʾUlullu, uluru, Halda Murar, aša, Ulmuwa, Yathaba Yakunaʿamu, �En-Zuriya, Nidabu Kamkatiya, arbuǵuli, Šanizula Baqʿatu, together with ts mountain, Halanu, Napṯatu Ṯamra, Pugulʾu, ..�a, Šeta, Yaʿaniya, Mount ʾAyalu, together with Mount Hadamgu, Kidkidiya, Paništayu, Naghatu, Halbu-Nana, Šalma, Gulbata, Zamirtu, Śuladu, Maraʾil, Himullu.

References
Ugaritic kings Amarna letters writers 14th-century BC monarchs {{AncientNearEast-bio-stub