Niqmaddu II was the second ruler and king of Ugarit, an ancient Syrian city-state in northwestern Syria (c. 1350–1315 BC) and succeeding his father, Ammittamru I. He was a vassal ruler of Suppiluliuma I of Hatti.

Early Life

Niqmaddu II ( Níqmâdâd, "vengeance of Hadad" ) took his name from the earlier Amorite ruler Niqmaddu, meaning "Addu has vindicated" to strengthen the supposed Amorite origins of his Ugaritic dynasty.

Reign

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

In the Hittite Archives there are four letters from the time of Suppiluliuma regarding Ugarit. In EA 49 (EA = El Amarna), Niqmaddu II apparently requested an Egyptian 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.