Arqa
Encyclopedia
Arqa is a village near Miniara
in Akkar District
of the North Governorate
in Lebanon
, 22 km northeast of Tripoli
, near the coast. It is significant for the Tell
Arqa, an archaeological site that goes back to Neolithic
times, and during the Crusades
there was a strategically significant castle
.
It is mentioned in antiquity in the Amarna letters
of Egypt
-(as Irqata), as well as in Assyria
n documents.
The Roman
town was named Caesarea of Lebanon or Arca Caesarea. The Emperor Alexander Severus
was born there.
to the pharaoh
of Ancient Egypt.
The city-state
Irqata was the 3rd city of the Rib-Hadda
letters, (68 letters), that were the last hold-outs against the Hapiru. Sumur(u)-(Zemar
) was the 2nd hold-out city besides Rib-Hadda's Byblos, (named Gubla). Eventually, the 'king of Irqata' , Aduna was killed along with other city kings, and also the 'mayor' of Gubla, Rib-Hadda. Rib-Hadda's brother, Ili-Rapih
, became the successor mayor of Gubla, and Gubla never fell to the Hapiru.
During Rib-Hadda's lengthy opposition to the Habiru, even the city-state of "Irqata and its elders", wrote to the Egyptian
pharaoh Akhenaten
for assistance. (EA 100, EA for 'el Amarna
').
The letter is entitled: "The city
of Irqata to the king
".
Miniara
MINIARA is a village in the Mouhafazah of Akkar, North Lebanon, 9 kilometers east of the Mediterranean Sea, and 3 kilometers south of Halba. The population is between 7,000 and 10,000...
in Akkar District
Akkar District
Akkar is a district in the North Governorate, Lebanon. It covers an area of and has a population of 198,174. The capital lies at Halba....
of the North Governorate
North Governorate
North Governorate is one of the governorates of Lebanon. Its capital is Tripoli.-Districts:The North Governorate is divided into districts, or aqdya...
in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, 22 km northeast of Tripoli
Tripoli, Lebanon
Tripoli is the largest city in northern Lebanon and the second-largest city in Lebanon. Situated 85 km north of the capital Beirut, Tripoli is the capital of the North Governorate and the Tripoli District. Geographically located on the east of the Mediterranean, the city's history dates back...
, near the coast. It is significant for the Tell
Tell
A tell or tel, is a type of archaeological mound created by human occupation and abandonment of a geographical site over many centuries. A classic tell looks like a low, truncated cone with a flat top and sloping sides.-Archaeology:A tell is a hill created by different civilizations living and...
Arqa, an archaeological site that goes back to Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
times, and during the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
there was a strategically significant castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
.
It is mentioned in antiquity in the Amarna letters
Amarna letters
The Amarna letters are an archive of correspondence on clay tablets, mostly diplomatic, between the Egyptian administration and its representatives in Canaan and Amurru during the New Kingdom...
of Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
-(as Irqata), as well as in Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
n documents.
The Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
town was named Caesarea of Lebanon or Arca Caesarea. The Emperor Alexander Severus
Alexander Severus
Severus Alexander was Roman Emperor from 222 to 235. Alexander was the last emperor of the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his cousin Elagabalus upon the latter's assassination in 222, and was ultimately assassinated himself, marking the epoch event for the Crisis of the Third Century — nearly fifty...
was born there.
1350 BC Amarna letters Irqata
Arqa has the distinction of being a city-state that wrote one of the 382 Amarna lettersAmarna letters
The Amarna letters are an archive of correspondence on clay tablets, mostly diplomatic, between the Egyptian administration and its representatives in Canaan and Amurru during the New Kingdom...
to the pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
of Ancient Egypt.
The city-state
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
Irqata was the 3rd city of the Rib-Hadda
Rib-Hadda
Rib-Hadda was king of Byblos during the mid fourteenth century BCE. He is the author of some sixty of the Amarna letters all to Akhenaten...
letters, (68 letters), that were the last hold-outs against the Hapiru. Sumur(u)-(Zemar
Zemar
Zemar was a Phoenician city in what is now Syria. Zemar was a major trade center....
) was the 2nd hold-out city besides Rib-Hadda's Byblos, (named Gubla). Eventually, the 'king of Irqata' , Aduna was killed along with other city kings, and also the 'mayor' of Gubla, Rib-Hadda. Rib-Hadda's brother, Ili-Rapih
Ili-Rapih
Ili-Rapih was the follow-on mayor in Gubla-, and the brother of Rib-Hadda, the former mayor of Gubla, ; Ili-Rapih is in the 1350-1335 BC Amarna letters correspondence, and wrote 2 follow-on letters to the Pharaoh after the death of Rib-Haddi.Of note, Ili-Rapih's name is referenced in only one...
, became the successor mayor of Gubla, and Gubla never fell to the Hapiru.
During Rib-Hadda's lengthy opposition to the Habiru, even the city-state of "Irqata and its elders", wrote to the Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
pharaoh Akhenaten
Akhenaten
Akhenaten also spelled Echnaton,Ikhnaton,and Khuenaten;meaning "living spirit of Aten") known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV , was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC...
for assistance. (EA 100, EA for 'el Amarna
Amarna
Amarna is an extensive Egyptian archaeological site that represents the remains of the capital city newly–established and built by the Pharaoh Akhenaten of the late Eighteenth Dynasty , and abandoned shortly afterwards...
').
The letter is entitled: "The city
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
of Irqata to the king
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
".
- This tablet-(i.e. tablet letter) is a tablet from Irqata. To the king, our lord: Message from Irqata and its el[d]ers. We fall at the feetProstration formulaIn the 1350 BC correspondence of 382–letters, called the Amarna letters, the Prostration formula is usually the opening subservient remarks to the addressee, the Egyptian pharaoh. The formula is based on Prostration, namely reverence and submissiveness...
of the king, our lord, 7 times and 7 times. To our lord, the Sun: Message from Irqata. May the heart of the king, (our) lord, know that we guard Irqata for him. - When the [ki]ng, our lord, sent D[UMU]-Bi-ha-a, he said to [u]s, "Message of the king: "Guard Irqata"! " The sons of the traitor to the king seek our harm; Irqata see[ks] loyalty to the king. As to [ silverSilverSilver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
] having been given to S[u]baru al[ong with] horseHorseThe horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s and cha[riots]ChariotThe chariot is a type of horse carriage used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Ox carts, proto-chariots, were built by the Proto-Indo-Europeans and also built in Mesopotamia as early as 3000 BC. The original horse chariot was a fast, light, open, two wheeled...
, may you know the mind of Irqata. When a tablet from the king arrived (saying) to ra[id] the land that the 'A[piru]HabiruHabiru or Apiru or ˁpr.w was the name given by various Sumerian, Egyptian, Akkadian, Hittite, Mitanni, and Ugaritic sources to a group of people living as nomadic invaders in areas of the Fertile Crescent from Northeastern Mesopotamia and Iran to the borders of Egypt in Canaan...
had taken [from] the king, they wa[ged] war with us against the enemy of our lord, the man whom you pla[ced] over us. Truly—we are guarding the l[and]. May the king, our lord, heed the words of his loyal servants. - May he grant a giftGreeting-gift (Šulmani)The Greeting-gift were gifts, or presents exchanged between Kings, and rulers of the 1350 BC-1335 BC Amarna letters correspondence...
to his servant(s) so our enemies will see this and eat dirt. May the breath of the king not depart from us. We shall keep the city gateCity gateA city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. Other terms include port.-Uses:City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods and animals...
barred until the breath of the king reaches us. Severe is the war against us—terribly! terribly! -EA 100, lines 1-44 (complete)