Etakkama, as a common name, but also, Aitukama, Atak(k)ama, Etak(k)ama, and Itak(k)ama is the name for the 'mayor' (king) of Qidšu, ( Kadesh) of 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. (Qidšu is also referenced as: Qinšu, also Kissa). Etakkama is referenced in 11 of the 382 EA letters, ( EA for 'el Amarna'), and especially, a ''series of 4'' identical letters concerning:

Amqu The Amqu (also Amka, Amki, Amq) is a region (now in eastern Lebanon), equivalent to the Beqaa Valley region, named in the 1350–1335 BC Amarna letters corpus. In the Amarna letters, two other associated regions appear to be east(?) and north(?), ...

, the region of the Beqaa in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

. Those 4 letters concern the intrigues of city/

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 ...

takeovers, along with troops from Hatti, and the claim of: ''Etakkama's troops from 'Kinsa' ''-(Qidšu-''Kissa'')- Kadesh) and are titled: ''"A joint report on

(1-4)"''. Etakkama was the author of one letter, EA 189.

Letter no. 189, title: ''"Etakkama of Qadesh"''

:To the king, my lord: Message of ''Etakkama'', your servant. I fall at the feet of my lord, my Sun, 7 times plus 7. My lord, I am your servant, but the wicked

Biryawaza Biryawaza was a powerful ruler in the area of Egyptian controlled Syria in the middle fourteenth century BC. He is often mentioned in the Amarna letters, although his title is never given clearly. Some scholars describe him as the king of Damascus ...

has gone on defaming me in your sight, my lord, and when he was defaming me in your sight, ''then'' he took my entire paternal estate along with the land of Qidšu, and sent my cities up in flames. But, I assure you, the commissioners of the king, my lord, and his magnates know my loyalty, since I said to the magnate Puhuru, "May the magnate Puhuru know that .. ... ''Reverse'' : ..:...Biryawaza. Thus do I serve you along w t all my brothers, and wherever there is war against the king, I go, together with my troops, together with my chariots, and together with all my brothers. Since Biryawaza had allowed all of the cities of the king, my lord, to go over to the

'Apiru Habiru (sometimes written as Hapiru, and more accurately as ʿApiru, meaning "dusty, dirty"; Sumerian: 𒊓𒄤, ''sagaz''; Akkadian: 𒄩𒁉𒊒, ''ḫabiru'' or ''ʿaperu'') is a term used in 2nd-millennium BCE texts throughout the Fertile ...

in Tahši and

Upu Upu or Apu, also rendered as Aba/Apa/Apina/Ubi/Upi, was the region surrounding Damascus of the 1350 BC Amarna letters. Damascus was named ''Dimašqu'' / ''Dimasqu'' / etc. (for example, "Dimaški"-(see: Niya (kingdom)), in the letter correspon ...

, I went, and with your gods and your

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

leading me, I restored from the 'Apiru the cities to the king, my lord, for his service, and I disbanded the 'Apiru. May the king, my lord, rejoice at Etakkama, his servant, for I serve the king, my lord, together with all my brothers. I serve the king, my lord, but Biryawaza caused the loss of all

our Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of " we" * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a government utility regulato ...

lan s. ''His intention''is solely injustice, but I am our servantforever. —EA 189, lines 1-20, Rev: lines 1-27 (bottom of tablet-letter damaged,

lacuna Lacuna (plural lacunas or lacunae) may refer to: Related to the meaning "gap" * Lacuna (manuscripts), a gap in a manuscript, inscription, text, painting, or musical work ** Great Lacuna, a lacuna of eight leaves where there was heroic Old Norse p ...

of 2-5 sentences(?)) Besides claiming his loyalty to Pharaoh, Etakkama is revealing how

, the King of Dimašqu, ( Damascus) is really the problem in

, the region surrounding Damascus. The 'Amqu region' is the Beqaa Valley area to the northeast (of Damascus), in Lebanon.

References

* Moran, William L. ''The Amarna Letters.'' Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987, 1992. (softcover, {{ISBN, 0-8018-6715-0) Amarna letters writers Canaanite people 14th-century BC rulers 14th-century BC people

Letter no. 189, title: ''"Etakkama of Qadesh"''

See also

References