Part 30 (1/2)

60 B. M.-”To the King my Lord my Sun my G.o.d thus _Mayaya_.” The important part of this short letter is broken, but it appears to say: ”Have not they devoured _Yankhamu_ ... this conquest of all the lands from men of blood, and the devouring of thy land.”

65 B. M.-(_Sibtiaddu?_) writes as a servant of the King with the usual salutation, and has heard the message. ”Behold what _Yankhamu_ (says). I am a faithful servant at the foot of the King. Let the King my Lord know it. I guard much the King's city which is with me.”

147 B.-From (_Khiziri?_), the King's servant. He will meet the soldiers, and has received a message from _Maya_ about a tax.

148 B.-_Ruzbanya_, of _Taruna_, is a servant of the King. The letter is broken. He was of old a servant of the King.

150 B.-From _Nurtu_.... He listens to the _Paka_, and will fortify until the King comes to his tribe. He fills a good-sized tablet, without giving any information of interest.

76 B. M.-_Zidriyara_ writes, with the usual compliments, to acknowledge a message.

141 B.-_Zidriyara_ is faithful, as of old, and a friend of the rulers, and listens to all the King's messages.

140 B.-_Zidriyara_ hears the message of the King, whose servant he is-”the Sun from among the Heavenly G.o.ds who has spoken”-and he will not neglect the messages of the King his lord, or of the _Paka_ who is established with him.

135 B.-Apparently without a name. He is only a dog, but will march with chariots and horses to meet the Egyptian soldiers (_bitati_).

130 B.-_Sutarnamu_, of his city _Zicaruenu_,(364) bows to the King. He asks for soldiers of garrison, as they are obstructing the district of the King's land near him. Probably the site is the present village _Dhikerin_, near Gath on the south, which was the Caphar Dikerin of the Talmud (Tal.

Jer. ”_Taanith_,” iv. 8), in the region of Daroma (now _Deiran_), near Ekron (see Ekha ii. 2). He asks for soldiers.

131 B.-_Samuaddu_, of the town of _Sama'una_, listens to all the King's messages. Perhaps _Sammunieh_, an ancient and important ruin immediately east of Kirjath Jearim (_'Erma_), on the way to Jerusalem, by the Valley of Sorek, is the place intended.

Nos. 79, 80, 81 B. M. are short and broken letters, which appear only to acknowledge messages received. No. 80 is from a certain _Nebo_...; in No.

79 there appears to be no personal name, and in No. 81 it is destroyed.

The names of these villages establish a regular chain of posts from Gaza, by Lachish, to the valleys of Sorek and Elah, which seem to have been the most eastern parts of the country in which chariots were to be found.

There is no mention of chariots at Jerusalem, or at any village which was not accessible by a flat valley-road. By these posts communication was kept up, it would seem, with Jerusalem; and the messengers probably travelled by this route, avoiding Ajalon. It was by this route that Adonizedek proposed that Amenophis should come up to help him. Whether any such expedition was attempted, none of the letters seem to indicate. The troops had been withdrawn, and the Egyptian policy seems to have been to call out the native levies of the Amorite charioteers. Perhaps, when the five kings had been killed at Makkedah, no further steps were taken, but the lowlands remained unconquered till the time of Samuel and David. Even in Solomon's time Gezer was only received as the dower of the daughter of the Pharaoh (1 Kings ix. 16) who had burned the place and killed its Canaanite population. In Judges we read that Judah ”could not drive out the inhabitants of the Shephelah (or lowlands) because they had chariots of iron” (i. 19). The coast road was still open when Dusratta was writing to his son-in-law Amenophis IV twenty years later; and all lower Galilee was, for some few years, with Philistia and Syria, reconquered by Rameses II, who, however, never entered the Judaean mountains.

This concludes the sum of 176 letters from Palestine, the translation of which has occupied me for nearly two years. I have no doubt that it may be improved upon in detail; but the general results seem to be too well corroborated, by comparison of the numerous epistles, which throw light on one another, to admit of any very important changes.

Royal Letters

DUSRATTA'S LETTERS

No. 9 B. M.-”To _Neb-mat-ra_ (Amenophis III) King of _Egypt_ my brother, by letter, thus _Tuseratta_(365) King of _Mitani_(366) thy brother. I am at peace. Peace be to thee; to _Gilukhipa_ my sister be peace. To thy house, thy wives, thy sons, thy lords, thy terrible army, thy horses, thy chariots, and in thy land, be much peace. Since I have sat on my father's throne, and have conquered. But (_Pirkhi?_) made a lawless command in my land, and smote his Lord; and because of these things, they have striven to right me, with who so loved us well; and because my land submitted to this lawless order I was not afraid, but the chiefs who supported _Artasu-mara_ my brother, with all that were theirs, I slew. As thou wast well with my father, and because of these things, I send this. I say to you, as my brother hears, and will rejoice; my father loved thee, and thou therefore didst love my father; and my father, as he saw this, gave thee my sister; and now ... as thou wast with my father. When my brother saw these things, he brought all those in the land of the _Hitt.i.tes_ as foes to my land; and _Rimmon_ my Lord gave them to my hand; and I slew him among them, so that not one returned to his land.(367) Now I have sent thee a chariot with two horses, a young man and a young woman, of the spoil of the land of the _Hitt.i.tes_. I have sent thee, as a present to my brother, five chariots, and five yoke of horses; and as a present to _Gilukhipa_(368) my sister, I have sent her (trinkets?) of gold, a pair of gold earrings, and ... of gold, and goodly stones, each(?). Now _Gilia_, a prudent man, and _Tunipripi_(369) I send to my brother; speedily let him reply to me; so I shall hear my brother's salutation, and shall rejoice.

Let my brother wish me well; and let my brother send envoys: so my brother's salutation shall come to me, and I shall hear.”(370)

22 B.-The salutation calls Amenophis III his ”kinsman,” but does not name his sister.

”_Mani_ my brother's envoy has come to honor me: to take my brother's wife the Queen of _Egypt_;(371) and I received the letter that came: I learned the declaration of his (order?). My heart has been much gladdened by my brother's message, as my brother will see; and it rejoiced that day exceeding much: that day and night they made (rejoicings?).

”And, my brother, all the message that _Mani_ came to bring has been performed. This same year behold, my brother, I will ... his wife, the Queen of _Egypt_, and I will send ... hence forth the land of _Khanirabbe_ and the land of _Egypt_. And because of these things that _Mani_ has spoken, I send back, my brother, _Gilia_ and _Mani_ with speed, to ...

these things; and let not my brother blame them ... as to delay in being despatched; for there was no delay to ... for my brother's wife; and lo!

delay is.... In the sixth month I have sent _Gilia_ my envoy, and _Mani_ my brother's envoy: I will send my brother's wife to my brother. So may _Istar_ the Lady of Ladies my G.o.ddess, and _Amanu_(372) my brother's G.o.d, give peace ... I have sent to my brother; and my brother as ... increased his (love?) very much, and ... as the heart of my brother was satisfied; and ... (for our children?) my brother ... more than before ... I have despatched _Khai_, my brother, trusting his ... and I give the letter to his hands ... and let him bear his message ... I have sent ... going to my brother ... my brother, are not his soldiers...”

The next five lines referring to the wife are too broken to read. The back of the tablet continues: