Tunip (probably modern Tell 'Acharneh) was a

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...

along the

Orontes River The Orontes (; from Ancient Greek , ) or Nahr al-ʿĀṣī, or simply Asi (, ; ) is a long river in Western Asia that begins in Lebanon, flowing northwards through Syria before entering the Mediterranean Sea near Samandağ in Hatay Province, Turk ...

in western Syria in the Late Bronze Age. It was large enough to be an urban center, but too small to be a dominant regional power. It was under the influence of various factions like the

Mitanni Mitanni (–1260 BC), earlier called Ḫabigalbat in old Babylonian texts, ; Hanigalbat or Hani-Rabbat in Assyrian records, or in Ancient Egypt, Egyptian texts, was a Hurrian language, Hurrian-speaking state in northern Syria (region), Syria an ...

Egyptians Egyptians (, ; , ; ) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian identity is closely tied to Geography of Egypt, geography. The population is concentrated in the Nile Valley, a small strip of cultivable land stretchi ...

, and

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian peoples, Anatolian Proto-Indo-Europeans, Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of the Bronze Age in West Asia. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in mo ...

Location

The exact location of Tunip remains uncertain. There is increasing evidence for identifying the ancient city with the archaeological site of Tell 'Acharneh.

This important city was sought either in northern
Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...
(Helck 1973) or in the Middle Orontes. Two prominent sites have been suggested in the latter region: Tell Hama in the modern city of Hama (Astour 1977) and Tell Asharneh in the southern Ghab Valley northwest of Hama (Klengel 1995).

Tell Asharneh (or Tell 'Acharneh) on the banks of the

in Syria has been widely seen as the likely location of Tunip. The site covers an area of and is near Tell Salhab. The authors of the above study support the identification of Tunip as Tell Asharneh based on petrographic analysis. A team of Canadian archaeologists have been conducting excavations at the site of Tell 'Acharneh, under the direction of Michel Fortin of Laval University in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

Early Bronze

The only mentions of Tunip in the Early Bronze Age come from the

Ebla Ebla (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''eb₂-la'', , modern: , Tell Mardikh) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria. Its remains constitute a Tell (archaeology), tell located about southwest of Aleppo near the village of Mardikh. Ebla was ...

Palace G archives (c.2400 BC - c.2300 BC) when the city fell under the hegemony of Ebla. During this period, a colony of at least 530 men from Mari resided here. Their group was led by Puzur-Aštar and consisted of 30 merchants and their workers. They were likely involved in the timber trade, harvesting timber from the nearby mountainous regions to export back to Mari. It has also been suggested by Bonechi that attestations in the Ebla texts of men from

Byblos Byblos ( ; ), also known as Jebeil, Jbeil or Jubayl (, Lebanese Arabic, locally ), is an ancient city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. The area is believed to have been first settled between 8800 and 7000BC and continuously inhabited ...

at Tunip may connect it to trade routes going to

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 ...

Late Bronze

The

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated, most often used for the origin of wine grapes. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, s ...

'' 'Tunip' '' is mainly from Egyptian records, from the time of Thutmose III to

Ramesses II Ramesses II (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses) (; , , ; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Pharaoh, Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of th ...

. The name Tunip also appears in names like that of a king named Tunip-Tessup. It is especially mentioned in the Amarna letters (c. 1350 BC), the time of

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. Matters concern turmoil and local rulers like Aziru, residing in Amurru (Simur/Tell Kezel, Akkar Plain) and in conflict with the king of Hatti. He is often claiming to reside in Tunip, until it is safe to leave, or to try to defend other cities/city-states of his region. The local region in Syria, Nuhašše is also in conflict, and is mentioned in 7 of Aziru's 13 EA letters, ( EA for 'el Amarna').

Amarna Archive

The Amarna Archive refers to cuneiform tablets found at Amarna, Egypt, dating to the late reign of

and early reign of Tutankhamun. There is a high and low chronology for these kings, which may affect the synchronization of events in the northern Levant. In general, the region was under control of Tushratta of Mitanni who around 1350 BC was attacked by Suppiluliuma I of Hatti, causing major turmoil in the entire Levant. Egypt was formally an ally of Mitanni at the time. A faction of the citizens of Tunip belonged to the Pro-Egyptian faction, writing to the Pharaoh for support. Five letters reference 'Tunip' in the Amarna letters corpus, 3 from Aziru's sub-corpus. :#EA 57–Title: ''"Of kings and Tunip"''-damaged letter :#EA 59–Title: ''"From the citizens of Tunip"''- :# EA 161—''"An absence explained"''- Aziru letter no. 6 of 13 :#EA 165–''"Tunip threatened"''-Aziru letter no. 9 of 13 :#EA 167–''"The constant Hittite menace"''-Aziru letter no. 11 of 13

Amarna Letter EA 59 - From the citizens of Tunip

Amarna Letter EA 59 (lines 1-46, complete) show the citizens of Tunip appeal for help from the Pharaoh.

''To the king of Egypt, our lord: Message of ''the citizens of Tunip'', your servant. For you may all go well. And we fall at the feet of my lord.'' :''My lord, thus says ''Tunip'', your servant: ''Tunip''—who ''ruled'' it in the past? Did not Manakhpirya-(i.e. "Men- Kheper- Rê-iya"): ''am-ma-ti-wu-uš (your'' ancestor) ''rule'' it?'' :''The gods and the ...: ''na-ab-ri-il-la-an'' (=?) of the king of Egypt, our lord, dwell in ''Tunip'', and he should inquire of his ancients: ''am-ma-ti'' (ancient) when we did not belong to our lord, the king of Egypt-(named "Mizri"-see: Mizraim).'' :''And now, for 20–years, we have gone on writing to the king, our lord, but our messengers have stayed on with the king, our lord. And now, our lord, we ask for the son of 'Aki- Teššup' from the king, our lord. May our lord give him.'' :''My lord, ''if'' the king of Egypt has given the son of Aki-Teššup, why does the king, our lord, call him back from the journey?'' :''And now Aziru is going to hear that in Hittite territory a hostile fate has overtaken your servant, ''a ruler'' (and) your gardener.'' :''Should his (the king's) troops and his chariots be delayed, Aziru will do to us just as he did to Nii.'' :''If we ourselves are negligent and the king of Egypt does nothing about these things that Aziru is doing, then he will ''surely'' direct his hand against our lord.'' :''When Aziru entered Sumur-( Zemar), he did to them as he pleased, in the house of the king, our lord. But our lord did nothing about the(s)e things.'' :''And now ''Tunip'', your city, weeps, and its tears flow,–and there is no grasping of our hand.'' :''We have gone on writing to the king, our lord, the king of Egypt, for 20–years, and not a single word of our lord has reached us.''"

Amarna Letter EA 161 - An absence explained, Aziru no. 6 of 13

Amarna Letter EA 161 (lines 1-56, complete) shows how Aziru claims he was made a 'mayor' of his region (or city), in Amurru.

To the Great King, my lord, my god, y Sun Message of '' Aziru'', your servant. I fall at the feet of my lord, god, my Sun, 7 times and 7 times. :My lord, I am your servant, and on my arrival in the presence of the king, my lord, I spoke of all my affairs in the presence of the king, my lord. My lord, do not listen to the treacherous men that denounce me in the presence of the king, my lord. I am your servant ''forever''. :The king, my lord, has spoken about Han'i. My lord, I was residing in ''Tunip'', and so I did not know that he had arrived. As soon as I heard, I went up after him, but I did not overtake him. May Han'i arrive safe and sound so that the king, my lord, can ask him how I provided for him. My brothers and Bet-ili were at his service; they gave oxen, sheep, and
goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...
s, and
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
s, his food and strong drink. :I gave
horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...
s and asses, r his journey. May the king, my lord, hear my words. en I come to the king, my lord, Han'i will go before me; like a mother and like a father he will provide for me. And no(w) my lord says, "You hid yourself from Han'i." –May your gods and the Sun be witness: (I swear):–"I was residing in ''Tunip''." :The king, my lord, has spoken about the building of Sumur-( Zemar). The kings of Nuhašše have been at war with me and have taken my cities at the instruction of Hatip. So I have not built it. Now, in all haste, I am going to build it. :And may my lord know that Hatip has taken half of the things that the king, my lord, gave (gave me). All the
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
and
silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
that the king, my lord, gave me, Hatip has taken. May my lord know (this). :Moreover, the king, my lord, also said, "Why did you provide for the
messenger Messenger, Messengers, The Messenger or The Messengers may refer to: People * Courier, a person or company that delivers messages, packages, or mail * Messenger (surname) * Bicycle messenger, a bicyclist who transports packages through cities * M ...
of the king of Hatti, but did not provide for my messenger?" But this is the land of my lord, and the king, my lord, made ''me'' –one of the mayors! :Let my lord's messenger come to me so I can give all that I promised in the presence of the king, my lord. I will give food supplies,
ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...
s, oil, logs, of '' boxwood'', and (other) woods.

References

* Moran, William L. ''The Amarna Letters.'' Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987, 1992. (softcover, {{ISBN, 0-8018-6715-0)

Links

https://www.crane.utoronto.ca/tell-acharneh.html Amarna letters locations Ancient Assyrian cities Former populated places in Syria