Šuwardata (''Shuwardata''), also Šuardatu, 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?, or Qi'iltu), during the 1350- 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 year ...

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

Sample of Šuwardata's letters

Besides letters EA 283, and EA 366, ( EA for 'el

Amarna Amarna (; ) is an extensive ancient Egyptian archaeological site containing the ruins of Akhetaten, the capital city during the late Eighteenth Dynasty. The city was established in 1346 BC, built at the direction of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, and a ...

'), only letter 280 tells of intrigues: See

Labaya Labaya (Labayu or Lib'ayu) was the ruler of Shechem and warlord in the central hill country of southern Canaan during the Amarna Period (c. 1350 BC). He lived contemporaneously with Pharaoh Akhenaten. Labaya is mentioned in several of the Amarna L ...

, 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, Keilah:);

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. ...

(as

mercenary A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather t ...

pay); the Sun, (as Rê); the archer-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 throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...

s have been warring with his city.

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

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 ''Dingir'' ⟨⟩, usually transliterated DIĜIR, () is a Sumerian word for 'god' or 'goddess'. Its cuneiform sign is most commonly employed as the determinative for religious names and related concepts, in which case it is not pronounced and ...

References