Adda-danu was the '

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

' of the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

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, ...

of Gazru-(modern

Gezer Gezer, or Tel Gezer (), in – Tell Jezar or Tell el-Jezari is an archaeological site in the foothills of the Judaean Mountains at the border of the Shfela region roughly midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. It is now an List of national parks ...

, Israel) of the Amarna letters period, 1350-1335 BC. 'Adda' is the name of the

Northwest Semitic Northwest Semitic is a division of the Semitic languages comprising the indigenous languages of the Levant. It emerged from Proto-Semitic language, Proto-Semitic in the Early Bronze Age. It is first attested in proper names identified as Amorite l ...

god

Hadad Hadad (), Haddad, Adad ( Akkadian: 𒀭𒅎 '' DIM'', pronounced as ''Adād''), or Iškur ( Sumerian) was the storm- and rain-god in the Canaanite and ancient Mesopotamian religions. He was attested in Ebla as "Hadda" in c. 2500 BCE. From ...

, and Adda-danu translates as: ''"Hadad (is the) Judge"''. Adda-danu is one of the three mayors who ruled Gazru in the 20–year Amarna letters correspondence, the others being Milkilu, and

Yapahu Yapahu was a mayor/ruler of the city/city-state of ''Gazru'' (modern Gezer) of the 1350 BC, 1350-1335 BC Amarna letters Text corpus, correspondence. Two other mayors of Gazru during the Amarna letters period, were Adda-danu and Milkilu. Yapahu is ...

. Adda-danu is the author of one letter, EA 292, ( 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 ...

'). The letter is entitled: ''"Like a pot held in pledge"''. It is of note that some of the 382 Amarna letters contain phrases, quotes, or parables and the title refers to, ''The Pot of a Debt''.

Amarna letter--no. 292

Adda-danu's letter to pharaoh Akhenaten

Title: ''"Like a pot held in pledge"'' :Say to the king-(pharaoh), my lord, ygo my Sun: Message of ''Adda-danu'', your servant, the dirt at your feet. I fall at the feet of the king, my lord, my god, my Sun, 7 times and 7 times. I looked this way, and looked that way, and there was no light. Then I looked towards the king, my lord and there was light. A

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

may move from under its "partner-(brick)", still I will not move from under the feet of the king, my lord. I have heard the orders that the king, my lord, wrote to his servant, "Guard your

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

, and guard the cities of the king, your lord." I do indeed guard, and I do indeed obey the orders of the king, my lord, day and night. May the king, my lord, be informed about his servant. There being war against me from the mountains, I built: ''b n t ' –(banû:'' Parpola, Simo'', with Mikko Luuko, and Kalle Fabritius, The Standard Babylonian, Epic of Gilgamesh. to create, build, generate) a house—its (the village's) name is Manhatu—to make preparations before the arrival of the archers of the king, my lord, and

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

has just taken it away from me and placed his commissioner in it. Enjoin Reanap, my commissioner, to restore my village to me, as I am making preparations before the arrival of the archers of the king, my lord. Moreover, consider the deed of ''Peya, the son of Gulatu'', against Gazru, the maidservant of the king, my lord. How long has he gone on plundering it so that it has become, thanks to him, like ''a pot held in pledge.'' People are ransomed from the mountains for 30–

shekel A shekel or sheqel (; , , plural , ) is an ancient Mesopotamian coin, usually of silver. A shekel was first a unit of weight—very roughly 11 grams (0.35 ozt)—and became currency in ancient Tyre, Carthage and Hasmonean Judea. Name The wo ...

s of

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. ...

, but from Peya for 100–shekels. Be informed of these affairs of your servant. -EA 292, lines 1-52 (complete) Letter no. 1 of 5 from

-(of ''Gazru''), also has the subject of: ''The pot of a debt.'' It is a short, 21-line, undamaged letter, entitled: ''"The sweet breath of the king"''. See:

Three quotes in letter no. 292

A list of quotes from the letter: :#''7 times and 7 times'' :#''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. :#''a pot held in pledge'' :#'' Day and night'', or ''"Night and Day"'' is used repeatedly. It is also used to refer to having to escape detection, and only enter into the cities ''at night''.

References

Resources

*'' Parpola, Simo'', with Mikko Luuko, and Kalle Fabritius, The Standard Babylonian, Epic of Gilgamesh, The

Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project is an international scholarly project aimed at collecting and publishing ancient Assyrian texts of the Neo-Assyrian Empire and studies based on them. Its headquarters are in Helsinki in Finland. State Archives ...

,1997, (softcover, ); (Volume 1) in the original Akkadian cuneiform and transliteration; commentary and glossary are in English.

Bibliography