The
Amarna
![]() Amarna letters (sometimes referred to as the Amarna ![]() Amarna correspondence or Amarna ![]() Amarna tablets, and cited with the abbreviation EA) are an archive, written on clay tablets, primarily consisting of diplomatic correspondence between the Egyptian administration and its representatives in Canaan ![]() Canaan and Amurru during the New Kingdom. The letters were found in Upper Egypt ![]() Upper Egypt at Amarna, the modern name for the ancient Egyptian capital of Akhetaten (el-Amarna), founded by pharaoh Akhenaten Akhenaten (1350s – 1330s BC) during the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. The Amarna ![]() Amarna letters are unusual in Egyptological research, because they are mostly written in Akkadian cuneiform, the writing system of ancient Mesopotamia, rather than that of ancient Egypt. The known tablets total 382: 24 tablets had been recovered since the Norwegian Assyriologist Jørgen Alexander Knudtzon's landmark edition of the Amarna ![]() Amarna letters, Die El-Amarna-Tafel, published in two volumes (1907 and 1915).[1] The written correspondence spans a period of at most thirty years. The Amarna ![]() Amarna letters are of great significance for biblical studies as well as Semitic linguistics, since they shed light on the culture and language of the Canaanite peoples in pre-biblical times. The letters, though written in Akkadian, are heavily colored by the mother tongue of their writers, who spoke an early form of Canaanite, the language family which would later evolve into its daughter languages, Hebrew and Phoenician. These "Canaanisms" provide valuable insights into the proto-stage of those languages several centuries prior to their first actual manifestation.[2][3] Contents 1 The letters 1.1 Letter summary 2
Amarna
2.1 Chronology 3 Quotations and phrases 3.1 Bird in a Cage 3.2 "A brick may move.." 3.3 "For the lack of a cultivator.." 3.4 "Hale like the Sun..." 3.5 "I looked this way, and I looked..." 3.6 "May the Lady of Gubla.." 3.7 a pot held in pledge 3.8 7 times and 7 times again 3.9 I fall ... 7 times and 7..."on the back and on the stomach" 3.10 when an ant is struck.. 4 Example, single letter photo gallery, multiple sides 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links The letters[edit]
Amarna
These letters, comprising cuneiform tablets written primarily in
Akkadian – the regional language of diplomacy for this period –
were first discovered around 1887 by local Egyptians who secretly dug
most of them from the ruined city of Amarna, and sold them in the
antiquities market. They had originally been stored in an ancient
building that archaeologists have since called the Bureau of
Correspondence of Pharaoh. Once the location where they were found was
determined, the ruins were explored for more. The first archaeologist
who successfully recovered more tablets was Flinders Petrie, who in
1891 and 1892 uncovered 21 fragments. Émile Chassinat, then director
of the French Institute for Oriental Archaeology in Cairo, acquired
two more tablets in 1903. Since Knudtzon's edition, some 24 more
tablets, or fragments, have been found, either in Egypt, or identified
in the collections of various museums.[4]
The initial group of letters recovered by local Egyptians have been
scattered among museums in Germany, England, Egypt, France, Russia,
and the United States. Either 202 or 203 tablets are at the
Vorderasiatisches Museum
Letter summary[edit] Map of the ancient
Near East
Amarna
001–014 Babylonia 015–016 Assyria 017–030 Mitanni 031–032 Arzawa 033–040 Alashiya 041–044 Hatti 045–380+ Syria/Lebanon/Canaan
Amarna
045–067 Syria
068–227 Lebanon (where 68–140 are from Gubla aka Byblos)
227–380
Canaan
Amarna
EA# Letter author to recipient EA# 1
Amenhotep III
EA# 2
Babylon
EA# 3
Babylon
EA# 4
Babylon
EA# 5
Amenhotep 3 to
Babylon
EA# 6
Babylon
EA# 7
Babylon
EA# 8
Babylon
EA# 9
Babylon
EA# 10
Babylon
EA# 11
Babylon
EA# 12 princess to her lord EA# 13 Babylon EA# 14
Amenhotep 4 to
Babylon
EA# 15
Assyria
EA# 16
Assyria
EA# 17
Mitanni
EA# 18
Mitanni
EA# 19
Mitanni
EA# 20
Mitanni
EA# 21
Mitanni
EA# 22
Mitanni
EA# 23
Mitanni
EA# 24
Mitanni
EA# 25
Mitanni
EA# 26
Mitanni
EA# 27
Mitanni
EA# 28
Mitanni
EA# 29
Mitanni
EA# 30
Mitanni
EA# 31
Amenhotep 3 to
Arzawa
EA# 32
Arzawa
EA# 33
Alashiya
EA# 34
Alashiya
EA# 35
Alashiya
EA# 36
Alashiya
EA# 37
Alashiya
EA# 38
Alashiya
EA# 39
Alashiya
EA# 40
Alashiya
EA# 41
Hittite king
Suppiluliuma
EA# 42 Hittite king to pharaoh EA# 43 Hittite king to pharaoh EA# 44 Hittite prince Zi[k]ar to pharaoh EA# 45
Ugarit
EA# 46
Ugarit
EA# 47
Ugarit
EA# 48
Ugarit
EA# 49
Ugarit
EA# 50 woman to her mistress B[i]... EA#051
Nuhasse
EA#052
Qatna
EA#053
Qatna
EA#054
Qatna
EA#055
Qatna
EA#056 ... to king EA#057 ... EA#058 EA#058 [Qat]ihutisupa to king(?) obverse EA#059
Tunip
EA#060
Amurru king
Abdi-Asirta
EA#061
Amurru king
Abdi-Asirta
EA#062
Amurru king
Abdi-Asirta
EA#063
Amurru king
Abdi-Asirta
EA#064
Amurru king
Abdi-Asirta
EA#065
Amurru king
Abdi-Asirta
EA#066 --- to king EA#067 --- to king EA#068
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#069
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#070
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#071
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#072
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#073
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#074
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#075
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#076
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#077
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#078
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#079
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#080
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#081
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#082
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#083
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#084
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#085
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#086
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#087
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#088
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#089
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#090
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#091
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#092
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#093
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#094 Gubla man to pharaoh EA#095
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#096 chief to Rib-Addi EA#097 Iapah-Addi to Sumu-Hadi EA#098 Iapah-Addi to Ianhamu EA#099 pharaoh to Ammia prince(?) EA#100
Irqata
EA#1001 Tagi to Lab-Aya EA#101
Gubla man to
Egypt
EA#102
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#103
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#104
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#105
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#106
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#107
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#108
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#109
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#110
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#111
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#112
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#113
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#114
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#115
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#116
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#117
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#118
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#119
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#120
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#121
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#122
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#123
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#124
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#125
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#126
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#127
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#128
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#129
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#129
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#130
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#131
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#132
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#133
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#134
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#135
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#136
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#137
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#138
Gubal king
Rib-Addi
EA#139 Ilirabih & Gubla to pharaoh #1 EA#140 Ilirabih & Gubla to pharaoh #2 EA#141
Beruta king
Ammunira
EA#142
Beruta king
Ammunira
EA#143
Beruta king
Ammunira
EA#144
Zidon
EA#145 [Z]imrid[a] to an official EA#146 Tyre king Abi-Milki to pharaoh #1 EA#147 Tyre king AbiMilki to pharaoh #2 EA#148 Tyre king AbiMilki to pharaoh #3 EA#149 Tyre king AbiMilki to pharaoh #4 EA#150 Tyre king AbiMilki to pharaoh #5 EA#151 Tyre king AbiMilki to pharaoh #6 EA#152 Tyre king AbiMilki to pharaoh #7 EA#153 Tyre king AbiMilki to pharaoh #8 EA#154 Tyre king AbiMilki to pharaoh #9 EA#155 Tyre king AbiMilki to pharaoh #10 EA#156 Amurru king Aziri to pharaoh #1 EA#157 Amurru king Aziri to pharaoh #2 EA#158 Amurru king Aziri to Dudu #1 EA#159 Amurru king Aziri to pharaoh #3 EA#160 Amurru king Aziri to pharaoh #4 EA#161 Amurru king Aziri to pharaoh #5 EA#162 pharaoh to Amurra prince EA#163 pharaoh to ... EA#164 Amurru king Aziri to Dudu #2 EA#165 Amurru king Aziri to pharaoh #6 EA#166 Amurru king Aziri to Hai EA#167 Amurru king Aziri to (Hai #2?) EA#168 Amurru king Aziri to pharaoh #7 EA#169
Amurru son of Aziri to an
Egypt
EA#170 Ba-Aluia & Battiilu EA#171 Amurru son of Aziri to pharaoh EA#172 --- EA#173 ... to king EA#174 Bieri of Hasabu EA#175
Ildaja of
Hazi
EA#176 Abdi-Risa EA#177 Guddasuna king Jamiuta EA#178 Hibija to a chief EA#179 ... to king EA#180 ... to king EA#181 ... to king EA#182
Mittani
EA#183
Mittani
EA#184
Mittani
EA#185
Hazi
EA#186
Majarzana of
Hazi
EA#187 Satija of ... to king EA#188 ... to king EA#189 Qadesh mayor Etakkama EA#190 pharaoh to Qadesh mayor Etakkama(?) EA#191 Ruhiza king Arzawaija to king EA#192 Ruhiza king Arzawaija to king #2 EA#193 Dijate to king EA#194
Damascus
EA#195
Damascus
EA#196
Damascus
EA#197
Damascus
EA#198
Ara[ha]ttu of
Kumidi
EA#199 ... the king EA#200 servant to king EA#2001 Sealants EA#2002 Sealants EA#201 Artemanja of Ziribasani to king EA#202 Amajase to king EA#203 Abdi-Milki of Sashimi EA#204
prince of
Qanu
EA#205 Gubbu prince to king EA#206
prince of
Naziba
EA#207 Ipteh ... to king EA#208
... to
Egypt
EA#209 Zisamimi to king EA#210 Zisami[mi] to Amenhotep IV EA#2100
Carchemish
EA#211 Zitrijara to king #1 EA#2110 Ewiri-Shar to Plsy EA#212 Zitrijara to king #2 EA#213 Zitrijara to king #3 EA#214 ... to king EA#215 Baiawa to king #1 EA#216 Baiawa to king #2 EA#217 A[h]... to king EA#218 ... to king EA#219 ... to king EA#220 Nukurtuwa of (?) [Z]unu to king EA#221 Wiktazu to king #1 EA#222 pharaoh to Intaruda EA#222 Wik[tazu] to king #2 EA#223 En[g]u[t]a to king EA#224 Sum-Add[a] to king EA#225 Sum-Adda of Samhuna to king EA#226 Sipturi_ to king EA#227 Hazor king EA#228 Hazor king Abdi-Tirsi EA#229 Abdi-na-... to king EA#230 Iama to king EA#231 ... to king EA#232 Acco king Zurata to pharaoh EA#233 Acco king Zatatna to pharaoh #1 EA#234 Acco king Zatatna to pharaoh #2 EA#235 Zitatna/(Zatatna) to king EA#236 ... to king EA#237 Bajadi to king EA#238 Bajadi EA#239 Baduzana EA#240 ... to king EA#241 Rusmania to king EA#242 Megiddo king Biridija to pharaoh #1 EA#243 Megiddo king Biridija to pharaoh #2 EA#244 Megiddo king Biridija to pharaoh #3 EA#245 Megiddo king Biridija to pharaoh #4 EA#246 Megiddo king Biridija to pharaoh #5 EA#247 Megiddo king Biridija or Jasdata EA#248 Ja[sd]ata to king EA#248 Megiddo king Biridija to pharaoh EA#249 EA#249 Addu-Ur-sag to king EA#250 Addu-Ur-sag to king EA#2500 Shechem EA#251
... to
Egypt
EA#252 Labaja to king EA#253 Labaja to king EA#254 Labaja to king EA#255 Mut-Balu or Mut-Bahlum to king EA#256 Mut-Balu to Ianhamu EA#257 Balu-Mihir to king #1 EA#258 Balu-Mihir to king #2 EA#259 Balu-Mihir to king #3 EA#260 Balu-Mihir to king #4 EA#261 Dasru to king #1 EA#262 Dasru to king #2 EA#263 ... to lord EA#264
Gezer
EA#265
Gezer
EA#266
Gezer
EA#267
Gezer
EA#268
Gezer
EA#269
Gezer
EA#270
Gezer
EA#271
Gezer
EA#272 Sum. .. to king EA#273 Ba-Lat-Nese to king EA#274 Ba-Lat-Nese to king #2 EA#275 Iahazibada to king #1 EA#276 Iahazibada to king #2 EA#277 Qiltu king Suwardata to pharaoh #1 EA#278 Qiltu king Suwardata to pharaoh #2 EA#279 Qiltu king Suwardata to pharaoh #3 EA#280 Qiltu king Suwardata to pharaoh #3 EA#281 Qiltu king Suwardata to pharaoh #4 EA#282 Qiltu king Suwardata to pharaoh #5 EA#283 Qiltu king Suwardata to pharaoh #6 EA#284 Qiltu king Suwardata to pharaoh #7 EA#285
Jerusalem
EA#286
Jerusalem
EA#287
Jerusalem
EA#288
Jerusalem
EA#289
Jerusalem
EA#290
Jerusalem
EA#290 Qiltu king Suwardata to king EA#291 ... to ... EA#292
Gezer
EA#293
Gezer
EA#294
Gezer
EA#295
Gezer
EA#296 Gaza king Iahtiri EA#297
Gezer
EA#298
Gezer
EA#299
Gezer
EA#300
Gezer
EA#301 Subandu to king #1 EA#302 Subandu to king #2 EA#303 Subandu to king #3 EA#304 Subandu to king #4 EA#305 Subandu to king #5 EA#306 Subandu to king #6 EA#307 ... to king EA#308 ... to king EA#309 ... to king EA#310 ... to king EA#311 ... to king EA#312 ... to king EA#313 ... to king EA#314 Jursa king Pu-Ba-Lu to pharaoh #1 EA#315 Jursa king PuBaLu to pharaoh #2 EA#316 Jursa king PuBaLu to pharaoh EA#317 Dagantakala to king #1 EA#318 Dagantakala to king #2 EA#319 A[h]tirumna king Zurasar to king EA#320 Asqalon king Yidia to pharaoh #1 EA#321 Asqalon king Widia to pharaoh #2 EA#322 Asqalon king Widia to pharaoh #3 EA#323 Asqalon king Widia to pharaoh #4 EA#324 Asqalon king Widia to pharaoh #5 EA#325 Asqalon king Widia to pharaoh #6 EA#326 Asqalon king Widia to pharaoh #7 EA#327 ... the king EA#328 Lakis mayor Iabniilu to pharaoh EA#329 Lakis king Zimridi to pharaoh EA#330 Lakis mayor Sipti-Ba-Lu to pharaoh #1 EA#331 Lakis mayor SiptiBaLu to pharaoh #2 EA#332 Lakis mayor SiptiBaLu to pharaoh #3 EA#333 Ebi to a prince EA#334 ---dih of Zuhra [-?] to king EA#335 --- [of Z]uhr[u] to king EA#336 Hiziri to king #1 EA#337 Hiziri to king #2 EA#338 Zi. .. to king EA#339 ... to king EA#340 ... EA#341 ... EA#342 ... EA#356 myth of Adapa and the South Wind EA#357 myth the Ereskigal and Nergal EA#358 myth fragments EA#359 myth Epic of King of Battle EA#360 ... EA#361 ... EA#362 ... EA#364 Aiab to king EA#365 Megiddo king Biridiya to pharaoh EA#366 ... EA#367 pharaoh to Endaruta of Akshapa EA#xxx
Amenhotep III
H#3100 Tell el-Hesi P#3200 Pella prince Mut-Balu to Yanhamu P#3210 Lion Woman to king T#3002
Amenhotep to
Taanach
T#3005
Amenhotep to
Taanach
T#3006
Amenhotep to
Taanach
U#4001
Ugarit
Chronology[edit] William L. Moran summarizes the state of the chronology of these tablets as follows: Despite a long history of inquiry, the chronology of the Amarna
letters, both relative and absolute, presents many problems, some of
bewildering complexity, that still elude definitive solution.
Consensus obtains only about what is obvious, certain established
facts, and these provide only a broad framework within which many and
often quite different reconstructions of the course of events
reflected in the
Amarna
From the internal evidence, the earliest possible date for this
correspondence is the final decade of the reign of
Amenhotep III, who
ruled from 1388 to 1351 BC (or 1391 to 1353 BC), possibly as
early as this king's 30th regnal year; the latest date any of these
letters were written is the desertion of the city of Amarna, commonly
believed to have happened in the second year of the reign of
Tutankhamun
A bird in a cage (Trap)—
Rib-Hadda
"A brick may move.."[edit] A brick may move from under its partner, still I will not move from under the feet of the king, my lord.—Used in letters EA 266, 292, and 296. EA 292 by Adda-danu of Gazru. "For the lack of a cultivator.."[edit] "For the lack of a cultivator, my field is like a woman without a
husband."—
Rib-Hadda
"Hale like the Sun..."[edit] "And know that the King-(pharaoh) is Hale like the Sun in the Sky. For
his troops and his chariots in multitude all goes very
well...."—See: Endaruta, for the Short Form; See: Milkilu, for a
Long Form. Also found in EA 99: entitled: "From the
Pharaoh
"I looked this way, and I looked..."[edit] "I looked this way, and I looked that way, and there was no light. Then I looked towards the king, my lord, and there was light."—EA 266 by Tagi (Ginti mayor); EA 296 by Yahtiru. "May the Lady of Gubla.."[edit] "May the Lady of Gubla grant power to the king, my lord."—varieties
of the phrase in the
Rib-Hadda
a pot held in pledge[edit] a pot held in pledge—The Pot of a Debt. EA 292 by Adda-danu of Gazru. 7 times and 7 times again[edit] 7 times and 7 times—Over and over again 7 times plus 7—EA 189, See: " Etakkama of Kadesh"(title)-(Qidšu) I fall ... 7 times and 7..."on the back and on the stomach"[edit] I fall, at the feet, ... 7 times and 7 times, "on the back and on the stomach"—EA 316, by Pu-Ba'lu, and used in numerous letters to pharaoh. See: Commissioner: Tahmašši. when an ant is struck..[edit] "...when an ant is pinched (struck), does it not fight back and bite the hand of the man that struck it?"—A phrase used by Labayu defending his actions of overtaking cities, EA 252. Title: "Sparing one's enemies". Example, single letter photo gallery, multiple sides[edit]
Amarna
Obverse line drawing, Obverse Reverse View from bottom See also[edit]
Ancient Egypt
Abdi-Heba
Labaya
Ashur-uballit I
Mutbaal
Suwardata
See the town of "Lakiša", Lachish, for "find" of one tablet, EA 333
Amarna
Notes[edit] ^ Moran, William L. (1992). The
Amarna
References[edit] Smith, Janet (2011). Dust or dew: Immortality in the Ancient Near East
and in Psalm 49. Eugene, OR, USA: Wipf and Stock. p. 286.
ISBN 978-1-60899-661-2.
Goren, Y., Finkelstein, I. & Na'aman, N., Inscribed in Clay -
Provenance Study of the
Amarna
Library resources about
Amarna
Online books Resources in your library Resources in other libraries Further reading[edit] Aruz, Joan, Kim Benzel, and Jean M. Evans, eds. Beyond Babylon: Art,
Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C. New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press, 2008.
Cohen, Raymond, and Raymond Westbrook, eds.
Amarna
External links[edit] Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Amarna
High-resolution images, from the
Vorderasiatisches Museum
v t e
Amarna
Pharaohs Akhenaten Smenkhkare Neferneferuaten Tutankhamun Ay Royal family Tiye Nefertiti Kiya "The Younger Lady" Tey Children Meritaten
Meketaten
Ankhesenamun
Neferneferuaten
Nobles Officials Mutbenret Aperel Bek Huya Meryre II Nakhtpaaten Panehesy Parennefer Penthu Thutmose Locations Akhetaten
Karnak
KV55
KV62
Amarna
Other
Amarna
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