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Amarna tablets: Letters from Akizzi of Qatna
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Canaanite cities during the Amarna period
Canaanite cities 		-

Letters from Akizzi of Qatna

First letter
    To Annumuria, Son of the Sun, my Lord, thus (says) this servant of yours, Akizzi:   -Annumuria: Nebmaatre, Amenhotep III
-Akizzi: Conder [1]: As the Amorite "z" or "s" seems sometimes to represent the Hebrew "sh", this name might be compared with the Philistine "Achish".
    Seven times at the feet of my Lord I bow. My Lord, in these lands I am afraid. May you protect one who is your servant under the yoke of my Lord. From the yoke of my lord I do not rebel.
Lo! there is fear of my foes. The people of this servant of yours are under your yoke; this country is among your lands; the city of Qatna is your city; I am on the side of my Lord's rule (yoke). Lo! the soldiers and the chariots of my Lord's government have received corn and drink, oxen and beasts (oil and honey ?), meeting the soldiers and the chariots of my Lord's dominion (coming ?) to me. And now, let my Lord ask the great men of his dominion. My Lord, all lands tremble before your soldiers and your chariots. 		-Seven times at the feet of my Lord I bow: The standard number of prostrations was seven times and seven times both on the back and the belly.
prostrated envoys
-Qatna: Conder: "Katna" is the present Katanah, on the south of the Hermon, west of Damascus.
If these lands are under the dominion of my Lord's land, and they are seizing them, let him order his soldiers and his chariots this year, and let him take the land of Marhasse, the whole of it, to the yoke of my Lord, when - my Lord - the soldiers of the slaves are //////// For six days ago he went out into the land of Hu(ba), and, truly, Aziru is sending them; and if in this year my Lord does not send out the soldiers and the chariots of his government ////// to meet Aziru and make him flee ////// all will rebel //////// My Lord, know him. My Lord, (know) the men who are his foes. /////// -Marhasse: Conder: Others read "Nuhasse". It was a Hittite country and appears to be that of Mer'ash, under the Taurus, where a number of important Hittite remains are found. Sayce read Nuhasse and identified it with Anugas mentioned by Thutmose III, a region in Syria. Bryce [2] defines it as a region stretching west of the Euphrates to the Orontes river, between Hamath and Aleppo and bordering on the kingdoms of Mukis and Kadesh.
-slaves: i.e. the enemy kings. Enemies were generally referred to with little respect: craven, wretched, dogs, etc. were commonly used descriptions.
-Aziru: king of Amurru, who, after promising loyalty to Egypt, joined the Hittites.
And lo! now the king of the land of the Hittites /////// with pride rebels against his gods. And men who are destroyers serve the king of the land of the Hittites; he sends them forth. My Lord, Aziru expels my servants, the men of the city of Qatna, and all that is theirs, from the land of the dominion of my Lord; and behold (he takes ?) the northern lands of the dominion of my Lord. Let (my Lord) save the //////// of the men of the city of Qatna. My Lord, truly they made ///////////// he steals their gold, my Lord; as has been said, there is fear, and truly they give gold. My Lord - Sun God, my fathers' god - the men have made themselves your foes, and they have wasted from over against the abode of their camp (or fortress); and now, behold! - O Sun God of my fathers - the king of the Hittites makes them march. And know of them, my Lord - may the gods make slack their hand! -gods: i.e. the kings of Egypt
-the king of the Hittites makes them march: many of the confrontations between Egypt and the Hittites were wars by proxy.
As has been said, there is fear. And lo! perchance the Sun God of my fathers will turn his heart toward me. My Lord's word is sure, and let the (increase or tithe of gold ?) be given him, as we have purposed for the Sun God of my fathers. As has been said they have done to me; and they have destroyed the /////// of my Lord. For this corner - the dwelling of their fortress (or camp) - is out of the sight of the Sun God.
The Hittite Invasion of Damascus, B.M. #36
Claude Reignier Conder, The Tell Amarna Tablets, pp.1f., with slight alterations

Second letter

    To Annumuria, Son of the Sun, my Lord, thus (says) this servant of yours, Akizzi:
    Seven times ////// at the feet of my Lord I bow.
My Lord, now there is flight and no breathing of the ///// of the King, my Lord. And behold, now the ///// of this dominion of my Lord, in these lands ///// and behold now ////// the king of the land of Hittites ////// sends forth ////// and the heart of /////// smites him. And now behold the King, my Lord, sends to me, and is complaining ///// with me as to the rule of the king of the land of the Hittites. And as for me ////// the king of the land of Hittites. As for me, I am with the King, my Lord, and with the land of Egypt. I sent and ///// as to the rule of the king of the land of the Hittites.
/////////////////////// This text is much damaged; it goes on to speak of Aidugama, the Hittite King, in the country of the king of Egypt, who has taken various things - enumerated, but not intelligible - including, perhaps, ships or boats, and dwellings; and it mentions Neboyapiza. //////////////////////// -the Hittite King: the king of Hatti at the time was Arnuwanda I
-Neboyapiza: chief of Cumidi (Kamid), in the southern Lebanon, at the south end of the Baalbek plain, west of Baal Gad. [6]
My Lord: Teuiatti of the city of Lapana, and Arzuia of the city of Ruhizzi, minister before Aidugama; but this land is the land of the dominion of my Lord. He is burning it with fire. My Lord, as said, I am on the side of the King, my Lord. I am afraid also because of the king of the land of Marhasse, and the king of the land of Ni, and the king of the land of Zinzaar, and the king of the land of Canaan. And all of these are kings under the dominion (or, the rule) of my Lord - chiefs who are servants. -Lapana: possibly the Lamena of Shalmaneser III [3]. Conder suggested Lybo (now Lebweh) north of Baalbek
-Ruhizzi: Conder proposed R'aith on the east side of the Beqaah plain, east of Zahleh. Kitchen [4]: Ruhizzi lay somewhere in the orbit of Qadesh, certainly south of Qatna.
-Zinzaar: also Zinzar, Roman Sizara-Larissa [5], the swDAr on the Orontes of Thutmose III
As said, let the King, my Lord, live and become mighty, and so, O King, my Lord, will you not go forth? and let the King, my Lord, despatch the bitati soldiers, let them expel (them - i.e. the vassals of the Hittites) from this land. As said, my Lord, these kings have ////// the chief of my Lord's government, and let him say what they are to do, and let them be confirmed. Because, my Lord, this land ministers heartily to the King, my Lord. And let him speed soldiers, and let them march; and let the messengers of the dominion of the King, my Lord, arrive. For, my Lord, Arzuia of the city of Rubizzi, and Teuiatti of the city of Lapana, dwelt in the land of Huba, and Dasru dwelt in the land Amma, and truly my Lord has known them. Behold, the land of Hobah was at peace, my Lord, in the days of this government. They will be subject to Aidugama. Because we ask, march here and may you ////// all the land of Hobah. My Lord, as said, the city Timasgi in the land of Hobah is without sin at your feet; and aid the city Qatna which is without sin at your feet. It has been feeble. And, my Lord, in presence of my messenger the the master shall ordain (our) fate. As has been said, have I not served in the presence of the bitati soldiers of my Lord? Behold, as said, my Lord has promised soldiers to this land of mine, and they shall ///// in the city of Qatna.
The Hittite Invasion of Damascus, B.M. #27
Claude Reignier Conder, The Tell Amarna Tablets, pp.2-4., with slight alterations
 -bitati: archers [7]. Conder: This word always applies (and it is often used) to Egyptian soldiers. It seems to be an Egyptian word. Compare "pet" (foot) and "petet" (to invade or march) in Egyptian.
-Huba: Conder: Huba is identified by Dr Bezold with the land of Hobah (Gen.xiv, 15), which was at the "entering in" north of Damascus. The "entering in" here and at Hamath means a pass between hills leading to the city. It has been objected that Hobah would be "Ubatu" in Assyrian; but this fails in view of the detailed topography, which shows that Dr Bezold was right. The Hebrew (letter) "heh" is often replaced by "aleph" or "vau" in Aramaic.
-Amma: Conder: The land Am or Amma, several times mentioned, appears to be the Old Testament land of Ham in northern Bashan, near Damascus (Gen. xiv, 5). The Hebrew is spelled with the soft aspirate, not the hard guttural. It may perhaps be connected with the name of the "Amu" of Egyptian records.
 
[1] Claude Reignier Conder, 1893, The Tell Amarna Tablets, The Minerva Group, Inc. 2004
[2] Trevor Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, Oxford University Press 1999, p.179f.
[3] Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland , 1990, Cambridge University Press for the Royal Asiatic Society 1990, p.52
[4] K. A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions, Blackwell Publishing 2000, p.67
[5] G. Maspero, 1904, History of Egypt, Part Four, Kessinger Publishing 2003, p.278
[6] Epiphanius Wilson, 1901, Egyptian Literature, Kessinger Publishing 2003, p.195
[7] William L. Moran, The Amarna Letters, John Hopkins University Press, 1987
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