Yapahu was a mayor/ruler of the 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, ...

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 ...

) of 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. Two other mayors of Gazru during the Amarna letters period, were

Adda-danu Adda-danu was the 'mayor' of the city/city-state of Gazru-(modern Gezer, Israel) of the Amarna letters period, 1350-1335 BC. 'Adda' is the name of the Northwest Semitic god Hadad, and Adda-danu translates as: ''"Hadad (is the) Judge"''. Adda-danu ...

and

Milkilu Milki-ilu of Gezer (Milkilu, Milk-ilu, Ili-Milku), was the mayor/ruler of the Land of ''Gazru'' (Gezer) around 1350 BC. He is known as the son-in-law of Tagi of Ginti-Kirmil and cooperating with Labaya of Shechem, during a period of turmoil among ...

. Yapahu is the author of five Amarna letters to 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 ( ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, EA 297-300, and EA 378, ( 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 ...

').

2 examples of Yapahu's letters

EA 297, title: "The sweet breath of the king"

:"Say to the king-(i.e.

), my lord, my god, my Sun: Message of ''Yapahu'', 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. Whatsoever the king, my lord, has said to me, I have listened to with the greatest care. Moreover, I have become like a (

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

)–pot: ''sí-ri'' given in pledge, because of the

Sutean The Suteans ( Akkadian: ''Sutī’ū'', possibly from Amorite: ''Šetī’u'') were a nomadic Semitic people who lived throughout the Levant, Canaan, and Mesopotamia, specifically in the region of Suhum, during the Old Babylonian period. They w ...

s. I have, however, just heard the sweet breath of the king. It has come forth to me, and my heart is very content." -EA 297, lines 1-21 (complete) Adda-danu, another mayor of Gazru, had the same topic of a: ''Pot of a Debt''. See letter: EA 292:

, (title: ''Like a Pot held in Pledge'').

EA 299, title: "A plea for help"

:(1-11) "To the king, my lord, my god, the Sun, the Sun om the sky: Message of ''Yapahu'', the ruler of

Gazru 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 Israeli national park ...

(

), your servant, the dirt at your feet, the groom of your horses. Truly, I fall at the feet of the king, my lord, my god, my Sun, the Sun from the sky, 7 times and 7 times, on the stomach and on the back. :(12-14) I have listened to the words of the

messenger Messenger, Messengers, The Messenger or The Messengers may refer to: People * Courier, a person or company that delivers messages, packages, or mail * Messenger (surname) * Bicycle messenger, a bicyclist who transports packages through cities * M ...

of the king, my lord, very carefully,-(MA- GAL, MA- GAL). :(15-21) May the king, my lord, the

Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

from the sky, take thought for his land. Since the 'Apiru are stronger than we, may the king, my lord, (g)ive me his help, and may ''the king'', my lord, get ''me'' away from the 'Apiru lest the 'Apiru destroy us." -EA 299, lines 1-21 (complete)

List of Yapahu's letters

:Letter no. 1 of 5— EA 297, title: ''"The sweet breath of the king"'' :Letter no. 2 of 5— EA 298, title: ''"A perfidious younger brother"'' :Letter no. 3 of 5— EA 299, title: ''"A plea for help"'' :Letter no. 4 of 5— EA 300, title: ''"A servant like his father"'' :Letter no. 5 of 5— EA 378, title: ''"All orders obeyed"''

References

*{{cite book , authorlink=William L. Moran , last=Moran , first=William L. , title=The Amarna Letters , publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press , origyear=1987 , year=1992 , edition=Softcover , isbn=0-8018-6715-0

External links