Biridašwa (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

: "Prītāśva," "whose horse is dear" (Mayrhofer II 182)) was a mayor of ''Aštartu'', ( Tell-Ashtara), south of

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, (named Dimasqu/Dimašqu), during the time of the Amarna letters correspondence, about

1350 Year 1350 ( MCCCL) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * January 9 – Giovanni II Valente becomes Doge of Genoa. * May 23 (possible date) – Hook and Cod wars in the Cou ...

–

1335 BC The 1330s BC is a decade which lasted from 1339 BC to 1330 BC. Events and trends * 1336 BC: Pharaoh Akhenaten of Egypt names Smenkhkare as a co-ruler. * 1336 BC: Tutankhaten becomes Pharaoh of Egypt and marries Ankhesenpaaten, his half sister ...

. A second mayor of Aštartu,

Ayyab Ayyab was a ruler of Aštartu (present day Tell Ashtara) south of Damascus. According to the Amarna letters, cities/city-states and their kings in the region — just like countries to the north, such as History of the Hittites, Hatti of the Hitti ...

, existed in this short 15–20 year time period.

History

Though Biridašwa did not communicate with 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 ( ...

directly in any of the Amarna letters, he, along with the mayors of Busruna and Halunnu were involved with 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 throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...

takeovers, in the region of

. The region around Dimašqu was named

Upu The Universal Postal Union (UPU, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations and facilitates a uniform worldwide postal system. It has 192 member states and is headquartered in Be ...

, or Apu, a name going back to at least pharaoh

Thutmose III Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, (1479–1425 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. He is regarded as one of the greatest warriors, military commanders, and milita ...

's time, ( 1479- 1425 BC).

Biridašwa of EA letters 196, and EA 197

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 Damascu ...

the king of Dimašqu wrote 4 letters addressed to pharaoh, and letters 3 and 4 are about Biridašwa.

Letter no. 197: title: ''"Biryawaza's plight"''

Biryawaza letter no. 4 of 4: :" .. ...hesaid t ''me when''your servant ''was'' in A 'dura, ...They gave''his horses and hi

chariot A chariot is a type of vehicle similar to a cart, driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid Propulsion, motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk O ...

s to the 'Apiru, and they did not 'give them''to the king, my lord. And who am I? My (only) ''purpose'' is to be a servant. Everything belongs to the king. ''Biridašwa'' saw this deed and moved Yanuamma to rebellion against me. Having barred the city gate against me, he took chariots from Aštartu but gave ''both of them'' to the 'Apiru and did not give ''both of them'' to the king, my lord. When the king of Busruna and the king of Halunnu saw (i.e. saw this), they waged war with ''Biridašwa'' against me, constantly saying, "Come, let's kill

-(i.e. 'of Damascus'), and we must not let him go to ......" But, I got away from them and stayed in ..ndash; Dimašqa, for 'by myself'' hw can I serv ''the king, my lord'' heykeep saying, "

Hatti Hatti may refer to *Hatti (; Assyrian ) in Bronze Age Anatolia: **the area of Hattusa, roughly delimited by the Halys bend **the Hattians of the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC **the Hittites of ''ca'' 1400–1200 BC **the areas to the west of the Euphra ...

," and I keep saying, "I am a servant of the king of Egyp[t]-(named Mizraim, Mizri)." Arsawuya went to Ki[ssa]-(''Qidšu''/Kadesh (Syria), Kadesh), took (some of) Aziru's troops, and captured Šaddu. He gave it to the 'Apiru and did not give it to the king, my lord. Now, since Itatkama (

Etakkama 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– 1335 BC Amarna letters correspondence. (Qidšu is also referenced as: Qinšu, also Kis ...

), has caused the loss of the land of Kissa, and since Arsawuya along with ''Biridašwa'' is causing the loss of Apu-(i.e. the "region" surrounding Damascus), may the king look carefully to his land lest the enemies take it. Since my brothers are at war with me, I am guarding Kumidu, the city of the king, my lord. May the king indeed ''be at one'' with his servant. y the king otabandon his servant, 'and may''the kings of .. (''and'') the kigs of Apu see ''whe her'' ... ... I have seen the

archers Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...

. -EA 197, lines 1-42 (~~complete, with lacunae) Letter EA 197-( 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 ...

'), is the only reference to the locality/capture of: Šaddu. Also the only reference to city Yanuamma.

Letter no. 196: title: ''"Unheard-of deeds"''

Biryawaza's letter 196, is a heavily reconstructed letter with "6 lines of 43", a lacuna. The ending is mostly complete and has the referencing to Biridašwa. Biryawaza letter no. 3 of 4: :"... :Moreover, may the king, ylord, send me 200–men to guard ((to guard))-(-emphasis?), the cities of the king, ylord, nil see the

f the king my lord. The king, my lord, must not negle tthis deed that ''Biridašwa'' ascommitted, for he has ''moved'' the land of

he king He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

my lord, and iscities ''to rebellion''." -EA 196 (''only'' lines 33-43(End))

References

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

History

Biridašwa of EA letters 196, and EA 197

Letter no. 197: title: ''"Biryawaza's plight"''

Letter no. 196: title: ''"Unheard-of deeds"''

See also

References