Šuwardata, also Šuardatu, (''Shuwardata'') is understood by most scholars to be the king of the Canaanite city of Gath (Tell es-Safi), although some have suggested that he was the 'mayor' of ''Qiltu'', (

Keilah Keilah (), meaning Citadel, was a city in the lowlands of Judah (). It is now a ruin, known as ''Kh. Qeila'', near the modern village of Qila, east of Beit Gubrin, and about west of Kharas.Amit (n.d.), p. 308 History The earliest historical ...

?, or Qi'iltu) during the

1350 Year 1350 ( MCCCL) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * January 9 – Giovanni II Valente becomes Doge of Genoa. * May 23 (possible date) ...

- 1335 BC Amarna letters correspondence. Šuwardata was the author of 8 letters to the

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the ...

Sample of Šuwardata's letters

Besides letters EA 283, and EA 366, ( EA for 'el Amarna'), only letter 280 tells of intrigues: See

Labaya Labaya (also transliterated as Labayu or Lib'ayu) was a 14th-century BCE ruler or warlord in the central hill country of southern Canaan. He lived contemporaneously with Pharaoh Akhenaten. Labaya is mentioned in several of the Amarna Letters (abbr ...

, or Abdi-Heba, as EA 280 claims: ''"Moreover, Lab'ayu who used to take our town, is dead, but now nther Lab'ayu is 'Abdi-Heba, and he seizes our town."'' The other 5 letters do refer to the following: Qeltu-(Qiltu,

:);

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

(as

mercenary A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any ...

pay); the Sun, (as

Rê Ra (; egy, wikt:rꜥ, rꜥ; also transliterated ; cuneiform: ''ri-a'' or ''ri-ia''; Phoenician language, Phoenician: 𐤓𐤏,Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum, CIS I 3778 romanized: rʿ) or Re (; cop, ⲣⲏ, translit=Rē) was the ancient ...

); the

archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

-forces; and the only reference to Rahmanu, an Egyptian official, (letter EA 284, ''"The powerful hand of the king"'').

EA 283: "Oh to see the king"--(no. 6 of 8)

All Šuwardata's letters are addressed to the

. Šuwardata must have been an important regional individual, since he claims 30 cities, sub-cities, or

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 since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...

s have been warring with his city.

EA 366: "A rescue operation"--(no. 8 of 8)

:"Say to the king, my lord, my Sun, my god: Message of ''Šuwardata'', your servant, the servant of the king and the dirt at your feet, the ground you tread on. I prostrate myself at the feet of the king, my lord, the Sun from the sky (i.e. '' 'heaven:' ša-me ''), 7 times and 7 times, both on the stomach and on the back. :May the king, my lord, be informed that the 'Apiru that rose up: ''na-aš-ša-a'' �שאagainst the lands, the god of the king, my lord, gave to me–and I smote him. And may the king, my lord, be informed that all my brothers have abandoned me. Only Abdi-Heba and I have been at war with (that) 'Apiru. Surata, the ruler of Akka, and Endaruta, the ruler of Akšapa, (these) two also have come to my aid: ''na-az-a-qú'' �זעקו(have been summoned to help) with 50– chariots, and now they are on my side in the war. So may it seem right in the sight of the king, my lord, and may he send Yanhamu so that we may all wage war and you restore the land of the king, my lord, to its borders: ''up-sí-hi.'' �פסי''((i.e. up-si-hi='borders' ''referring to article: Upu, also of the "Amarna letters"-?, putting Shuwardata's location on the perimeter?))'' -EA 366, lines 1-34 (complete)

List of letters

:#EA 278—title: ''"As ordered (4)"'' :#EA 279—title: ''"A wasteland"'' :#EA 280—title: ''" Lab'ayu redevivus"'' :#EA 281—title: ''"Rebellion"'' :# EA 282—title: ''"Alone"'' :#EA 283—title: ''"Oh! to see the king.'' :#EA 284—title: ''"The powerful hand of the king"'' and from the later corpus: :#EA 366—title: ''"A rescue operation"''

External links

A minor discussion of "Šamê"-(Sky/Heaven): "''dingir'' A-num AN-e, ''dingir'' Anum, Šamê"--(the Cuneiform)
See: Dingir

References