The

cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...

bi sign, also pí, and used for other syllabic forms, as well as a

sumerogram A Sumerogram is the use of a Sumerian cuneiform character or group of characters as an ideogram or logogram rather than a syllabogram in the graphic representation of a language other than Sumerian, such as Akkadian, Eblaite, or Hittite. Th ...

, is a common use syllabic and alphabetic

sign used in both the mid-14th century BC Amarna letters and the ''

Epic of Gilgamesh The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poetry, epic from ancient Mesopotamia. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian language, Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh (formerly read as Sumerian "Bilgames"), king of Uruk, some of ...

''. In the Amarna letters, it is sometimes used for the spelling of the

archers (Egyptian pitati) 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 modern t ...

, 'pí-t(x)-t(x)', an often requested need from the Pharaoh in the vassal state sub-corpus of the letters. As a

, (capital letter (

majuscule Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (more formally '' majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (more formally '' minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing syste ...

)), sign ''bi'' is used for KAŠ,

Akkadian language Akkadian ( ; )John Huehnergard & Christopher Woods, "Akkadian and Eblaite", ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages''. Ed. Roger D. Woodard (2004, Cambridge) Pages 218–280 was an East Semitic language that is attested ...

for "šikāru", ''beer''. The following linguistic elements for ''bi'' are used in the Epic: :bé :bi :gaš :kaš :pí :KAŠ, sumerogram: "beer" The ''bi'' sign's usage numbers in the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' are as follows: ''bé''-(25 times), ''bi''-(190), ''gaš''-(1), ''kaš''-(12), ''pí''-(2), KAŠ-(1).

Amarna letters usage

Use of ''pí'', Egyptian archers

The archers were part of the Egyptian army, and often requested by the Canaanite

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

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, when writing to the Pharaoh in the Amarna letters. They were named the '' pitati'',

"piṭātu", ''"troops of soldiers"'', and spelled in a variety of ways, often starting with the ''bi'' sign as ''pí''. A partial listing of spellings of ''" ERIM. MEŠ-pitati"'', by Amarna letter: * EA 86, 86:7--''pí- ṭa- ti'' * EA 282, 282:11--''pí- ṭa- ti'' * EA 290, 290:20--'' pí- ṭa- ti'' * EA 296, 296:34--''pí- ṭa- ti''

References

* Moran, William L. 1987, 1992. ''The Amarna Letters.'' Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987, 1992. 393 pages. (softcover, ) * Parpola, 1971. ''The Standard Babylonian

'', Parpola, Simo,

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 ...

, c 1997, Tablet I thru Tablet XII, Index of Names, Sign List, and Glossary (pp. 119–145), 165 pages. * Rainey, 1970. ''El Amarna Tablets, 359–379,'' Anson F. Rainey, (AOAT 8, ''Alter Orient, Altes Testament 8'', Kevelaer and Neukirchen -Vluyen), 1970, 107 pages. ---- File:BE XVII 88.jpg, Line drawing using ''bi'' sign, line 2. File:Flickr - Nic's events - British Museum with Cory and Mary, 6 Sep 2007 - 163.jpg, Photo taken at British Museum. (''bi'', 2nd line from bottom)
Note: the 2nd from last character, 1st line is based on the "bi" cuneiform sign (wedge-stroke added at beginning, but often between the two horizontals), the sign for ''ṣur'' (

AMAR (cuneiform) Amar may refer to: People Given name * Amar (British singer) (born 1982), British Indian singer born Amar Dhanjal * Amar (Lebanese-Egyptian singer & actress) (born 1986), born Amar Mahmoud Al Tahech * Amar Bose (1929–2013), Founder of Bose Co ...

), etc. (also

AMAR, for: "See!", or "Look!..." (

''amāru''). Cuneiform signs