720
the scribe) are mentioned; the presence of the king presumably made
it unnecessary. Legal documents are not dated and no envelopes
were used. As for their contents, the great majority deals with the
law of property.
The non-royal legal texts are mainly found at private houses. Each
of these archives contains no more than ten documents. The phys-
ical characteristics and schema of the text are almost the same as
the royal deeds. The basic difference is the absence of the king and
the presence of a list of witnesses, the latter usually closing the doc-
ument. Private documents deal with the law of property but more
especially with the law of persons.
The international documents are of relevance because they con-
tain provisions concerning the rights of the citizens of Ugarit. They
include, for example, cases of debt, theft, and murder.
Apart from legal documents, administrative records and letters also
provide much information of legal interest.- C AL
2.1 Organs of Government
2.1.1 The King
In this period, Ugarit was a vassal kingdom of the Hittite emperor.
Nevertheless, the hereditary kings of Ugarit were rulers and supreme
judges of their country. Theirs was the responsibility, for example,
for taking the necessary steps against delicts and crimes committed
by their subjects, such as the forgery of internal documents (RS
16.249) or the murder and robbery of foreign travelers.2.1.2 The Legislature
It has been suggested that the law of land grants in Ugarit is an
application of the Hittite law code.^2 This vertical relationship can
also be seen in another legislative act. It is, in fact, the king of
Ugarit, Niqmepa, who, as lord of his land and people, “makes” his
overlord, Hattusili III, issue an order to forbid the men of Ura to
acquire real estate in Ugarit (RS 17.130 and dupl.).(^2) See Márquez Rowe, “Royal Land Grants...”
WESTBROOK_f18–718-735 8/27/03 12:30 PM Page 720