Naziba, was a small 'city', 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, ...

' south of Dimašqu-(

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 ...

), in the

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 ...

Amarna letters correspondence. The town of Naziba was located near Amarna letters ''Qanu'', now named

Qanawat Qanawat () is a village in Syria, located 7 km north-east of al-Suwayda. It stands at an elevation of about 1,200 m, near a river and surrounded by woods. Its inhabitants are entirely from the Druze community. According to the Central ...

, and biblical '' Kenath''. Naziba, is part of a 6-letter series of letters, written by the same

scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of Printing press, automatic printing. The work of scribes can involve copying manuscripts and other texts as well as ...

, all entitled: "Ready for marching orders (1-6)". The letters are ''mostly'' identical, with only the city's ''Ruler'' and the ''location'' changing; they are letters EA 201-EA 206, ( 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 ...

').

EA 206, for the "ruler of Naziba"

: Say to the king, my lord: Message of the ruler of Naziba, your servant. I fall at the feet of the king, my lord, 7 times plus 7 times. You hav wrt ento make preparations before the arrival of 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 ...

, and I am herewith, along with my troops and my

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, at the disposition of the archers. —EA 206, lines 1-17 (complete)

List of the 6-letter series

:#EA 201-marching orders (1)—for Artamanya of Siribašani :#EA 202-marching orders (2)—for Amawaše of Bašan(?) :#EA 203-marching orders (3)—for 'Abdi-Milki of Šashimi :#EA 204-marching orders (4)—for the ruler of Qanu, called

:#EA 205-marching orders (5)—for the ruler of

Tubu (town) Tubu is the town east of the Sea of Galilee referred to in the (body) of the Amarna letters. Tubu is the probable biblical town of Tob. In the entire group of El Amarna letters, EA 205 is the only usage of the name Tubu, and only the "Man" (or M ...

:#EA 206-marching orders (6)—for the ruler of Naziba :#''Additional by scribe'': EA 195—title: "Waiting for the

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 ( ...

's words" – by

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 ...

of ''Dimašqu'' (

)

References

* Moran, William L. ''The Amarna Letters.'' Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987, 1992. (softcover, ) Amarna letters locations Amarna letters writers {{AncientEgypt-stub

EA 206, for the "ruler of Naziba"

List of the 6-letter series

See also

References