I
Front Matter
Ugaritic
Cuneiform alphabet of the city-state of Ugarit, Syria (~1400–1200 BC).
Cuneiform alphabet of the city-state of Ugarit, Syria (~1400–1200 BC). Deciphered in just 3 months after its 1929 excavation — the fastest ancient script decipherment in history. One of the world's oldest alphabets with 30 consonantal signs. The discovery of the Baal Cycle epic revealed direct connections to the Hebrew Bible. The oldest known alphabet order list (the prototype of ABC sequence) was found on Ugaritic clay tablets.
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The Letters
Signs · Unicode · TypesSample GlyphsClick to copy
Glyph evolution
Form change over time
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The Decipherment
Just 3 months (1929–1930)Key scholars
Clay tablets from Ras Shamra, Syria (~1,500 tablets)
Hans Bauer1878–1937
German orientalist who used cryptanalysis to decipher the script in just 3 months.
Édouard Dhorme1881–1966
French cleric-linguist who independently succeeded in decipherment.
Before
In 1929 a chance discovery of an ancient tomb at Ras Shamra, Syria triggered a major excavation. Clay tablets poured out, but nobody knew this script. The wedge shapes resembled cuneiform but were distinctly different.
Breakthrough
When French scholars published photographs, Bauer applied cryptanalysis. In just 3 months he confirmed nearly all 30 consonantal values — the fastest ancient script decipherment in history.
After
The tablets revealed the Baal Cycle epic, the oldest known alphabet order list (abgdhwzḥṭy...), and religious texts directly related to the Hebrew Bible. The relationship between Canaanite culture and the Hebrew scriptures was fundamentally reassessed.
Decoded signs
Glyph → phonetic → meaning
𐎀
𐎁
𐎂
𐎃
𐎄
𐎅
𐎆
𐎇
𐎈
𐎉
𐎊
𐎋
𐎌
𐎍
𐎎
𐎏
𐎐
𐎑
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Reading Mechanics
Direction · Method↔
Direction
Left to Right (LTR)
좌→우 (LTR)
α
System
Abjad
⌨
Input method
Direct Unicode input
Keyboard layout
Standard IME · input chart
Keyboard layout data not yet available.
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The Lineage
Family · DescendantsPhylogeny
Descendants of hieroglyphs
Phylogeny
Related scripts
Ancestors · Descendants · Family
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