13. Amarna Letters

Diplomatic correspondence of the 14th century B.C. discovered in 1887 at El-Amarna, a plain on the east bank of the Nile about 190 miles south of Cairo. The place now called El-Amarna was the site of the capi• tal of Egypt, Akhet-Aton, during most of the reign of Akhnaton (Amen• hotep IV); and the letters came from the diplomatic correspondence with Mesopotamia, Syria, and Asia Minor in the last years of Amenhotep III (1413-1377 B.C.) and in the reign of Amenhotep IV (1377-1358 B.C.). Perhaps a few letters may be dated to the reign of Smenkhere (1358 B.C.). In 1907, J. A. Knudtzon collated virtually all the letters, which had been divided among various museums and private collections, and together with some scribal exercises and a few Akkadian literary texts from El-Amarna, published them in transliteration and translation (ab• breviated EA). Later about 20 more texts were found either in museums or through excavation, so that the number of the Amarna Letters now stands at 377. Linguistic Features. The language of the letters is Akkadian and written in syllabic cuneiform script on clay tablets; exceptions are two letters written in a Hittite dialect (EA 31-32) and one very long letter in Hurrian (EA 24). At this period Akkadian was the lingua franca of the Near East, as it had been for several centuries. From a linguistic view• point the letters written from Palestine and the Phoenician coast are es• pecially important. Written by scribes with little knowledge of Akkadian, they contain many Canaanitisms reflecting the scribes' native speech: glosses (e.g., Akkadian n'iru, "yoke," is glossed b,ullu representing Hebrew col-the b, because Akkadian had no sign for West Semitic cayin), hybrid forms partly Akkadian, partly Canaanite (e.g., yuwassira, "let him send," is Akkadian uwassir with Canaanite y• verbal preformative and -a suffix indicating a wish), and Canaanite syntax in sentence structure. For this reason, though written in Akkadian, the Amarna Letters are a valuable source for the Canaanite language, of which Biblical Hebrew was a dialect, in the 14th century B.C. Historical Background. From c. 1450 B.C. all of Palestine and Syria were under Egyptian hegemony, while to the east, across the 224 Amarna Studies

Euphrates, lay the kingdom of Mitanni. This balance of power was destroyed in the Amarna period. A new power appeared on the inter• national scene, the Hittites, who under Suppiluliuma (c. 1380-46) moved east against Mitanni and south into Syria, eventually forming a string of small vassal states. Another power also began to make itself felt; led by Assur-uballit I (c. 1363-28), Assyria shook off the Mitanni yoke and finally held what the Hittites failed to subject. The Amarna Letters bear witness to these events and to Egyptian inaction. Neither Amenhotep III nor his successor, who was absorbed in a religious revolution, seems to have understood the gravity of the situ• ation. Other interests, complacency born of almost a century of unques• tioned power, perhaps doubts arising from the conflicting reports of vassals and corrupt Egyptian officials-these resulted in Egypt's loss of power in Syria and along the Phoenician coast and in political chaos in Palestine. Correspondence with Major Powers. Only a small part of the letters is from or to major powers. In EA 17-29 Tuishrata of Mitanni writes to Amenhotep III, his widow Teye, and Amenhotep IV; relations are cordial, and the principal topic is Tuishrata's daughter as Amenhotep Ill's prospective wife. Behind the cordiality loom the Hittites, though they are mentioned only once to record an early Mitanni victory, of which a part of the booty is sent to Egypt (EA 17). Alliance through marriage is also the subject of the correspondence of Amenhotep III with Kadashman-Enlil of Babylon (EA 1-5), whose successor, Burnaburiash, is eager to continue the good relations (EA 6-11). Significantly, the latter complains of the presence of Assyrians at the Egyptian court and wants them sent away empty-handed. However, only two of the Amarna Letters come from Assyria (EA 15-16); they are written by Assur-uballit I and are to be dated to the end of the reign of Amenhotep IV. In EA 15 announcement is made of the sending of a treaty along with gifts. This desire to be leagued with Egypt undoubtedly reflects the Hittite menace in nearby Mitanni. Correspondence with Vassal States. The remaining Amarna Letters, more than 300, are mostly from, or to, vassals. The letters from Syria and the Phoenician coast concern chiefly the efforts of Amurru, a small state in central Syria south of Kadesh, to expand through exploita• tion of Egyptian weakness and Hittite support. Its rulers, cAbd-Ashirta (EA 60-64) and cAziru (EA 156-161, 164-168), protest their loyalty, but the letters from their neighbors, especially those from Rib-Adda of