Tunip was a city/'
city-stateA city-state is an independent republican country whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as part of another local government....
' in western Syria during the 1350-1335 BC, (and prior to that time),
Amarna lettersThe 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...
correspondenceIn linguistics, a corpus or text corpus is a large and structured set of texts...
. The name "Syria" did not exist, though
AssyriaAssyria was a civilization centered on the Upper Tigris river, in Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times in history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
was beginning. The regions were:
AmurruAmurru are names given in Akkadian and Sumerian texts to the god of the Amorite/Amurru people, often forming part of personal names. He is sometimes called Ilu Amurru .-Description:...
, Nuhašše, the
AmquThe Amqu is a region , equivalent to the "Beqaa Valley region", named in the 1350-1335 BC Amarna letters corpus....
(the
BeqaaBeqaa is a fertile valley in east Lebanon. The Romans considered the Beqaa Valley to be a major agricultural source, and today it remains Lebanon’s most important farming region.-Geography:The Beqaa is a fertile valley in Lebanon, located about 30 km east of Beirut...
),
NiiNiya, Niye, and also Niy of Thutmose I's Ancient Egypt, also Nii of the Amarna letters, and Nihe, etc. was a kingdom in Syria, or northern Syria....
, etc.
The record of the
appellationA name is a label for a noun, normally used to distinguish one from another. Names can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. A personal name identifies a specific unique and identifiable individual person...
'Tunip' is mainly from
EgyptianAncient Egypt was an ancient civilization of eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. The civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh, and...
records, (
Thutmose IIIThutmose III was the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. During the first twenty-two years of Thutmose's reign he was co-regent with his aunt, Hatshepsut, who was named the pharaoh...
, and
Ramesses IIRamesses II was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty...
), and especially the Amarna letters. But see also: Tunip-Tessup-(of 1550 BC).
Tunip is especially mentioned in the Amarna letters of
AziruAziru was the Canaanite ruler of Amurru, modern Lebanon, in the fourteenth century BC. He was the son of Abdi-Ashirta, the previous Egyptian vassal of Amurru and a direct contemporary of Akhenaten.The dealings of Aziru are well-known from the Amarna letters...
, residing in
AmurruAmurru are names given in Akkadian and Sumerian texts to the god of the Amorite/Amurru people, often forming part of personal names. He is sometimes called Ilu Amurru .-Description:...
and in conflict with the king of
HattiHatti in Bronze Age Anatolia refers to:*the area of Hattusa, roughly delimited by the Halys bend*the Hattians of the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC*the Hittite Empire of ca 1400 BC–1200 BC...
.
Tunip was a city/'
city-stateA city-state is an independent republican country whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as part of another local government....
' in western Syria during the 1350-1335 BC, (and prior to that time),
Amarna lettersThe 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...
correspondenceIn linguistics, a corpus or text corpus is a large and structured set of texts...
. The name "Syria" did not exist, though
AssyriaAssyria was a civilization centered on the Upper Tigris river, in Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times in history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
was beginning. The regions were:
AmurruAmurru are names given in Akkadian and Sumerian texts to the god of the Amorite/Amurru people, often forming part of personal names. He is sometimes called Ilu Amurru .-Description:...
, Nuhašše, the
AmquThe Amqu is a region , equivalent to the "Beqaa Valley region", named in the 1350-1335 BC Amarna letters corpus....
(the
BeqaaBeqaa is a fertile valley in east Lebanon. The Romans considered the Beqaa Valley to be a major agricultural source, and today it remains Lebanon’s most important farming region.-Geography:The Beqaa is a fertile valley in Lebanon, located about 30 km east of Beirut...
),
NiiNiya, Niye, and also Niy of Thutmose I's Ancient Egypt, also Nii of the Amarna letters, and Nihe, etc. was a kingdom in Syria, or northern Syria....
, etc.
The record of the
appellationA name is a label for a noun, normally used to distinguish one from another. Names can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. A personal name identifies a specific unique and identifiable individual person...
'Tunip' is mainly from
EgyptianAncient Egypt was an ancient civilization of eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. The civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh, and...
records, (
Thutmose IIIThutmose III was the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. During the first twenty-two years of Thutmose's reign he was co-regent with his aunt, Hatshepsut, who was named the pharaoh...
, and
Ramesses IIRamesses II was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty...
), and especially the Amarna letters. But see also: Tunip-Tessup-(of 1550 BC).
Tunip is especially mentioned in the Amarna letters of
AziruAziru was the Canaanite ruler of Amurru, modern Lebanon, in the fourteenth century BC. He was the son of Abdi-Ashirta, the previous Egyptian vassal of Amurru and a direct contemporary of Akhenaten.The dealings of Aziru are well-known from the Amarna letters...
, residing in
AmurruAmurru are names given in Akkadian and Sumerian texts to the god of the Amorite/Amurru people, often forming part of personal names. He is sometimes called Ilu Amurru .-Description:...
and in conflict with the king of
HattiHatti in Bronze Age Anatolia refers to:*the area of Hattusa, roughly delimited by the Halys bend*the Hattians of the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC*the Hittite Empire of ca 1400 BC–1200 BC...
. He is often claiming to reside in Tunip, until it is safe to leave, or to try to defend other cities/city-states of his region. The local region in Syria,
NuhaššeNuhašše, also Nuhašša, was a territory in the Syrian region mentioned in various Middle Eastern documents as between Mari on the Euphrates and Hammath. The 1350 BC Amarna letters correspondence refers to Nuhašše in 11 tablet-letters written in Akkadian cuneiform.The region was generally south of...
is also in conflict, and is mentioned in 7 of Aziru's 13 EA letters, (EA for 'el
AmarnaThe site of Amarna is located on the east bank of the Nile River in the modern Egyptian province of Minya, some 58 km south of the city of al-Minya, 312 km south of the Egyptian capital Cairo and 402 km north of Luxor...
').
Amarna letters regarding Tunip
Five letters reference 'Tunip' in the Amarna letters
corpusIn linguistics, a corpus or text corpus is a large and structured set of texts...
, 3 from Aziru's sub-corpus.
-
- EA 57—Title: "Of kings and Tunip
Tunip was a city/'city-state' in western Syria during the 1350-1335 BC, , Amarna letters correspondence. The name "Syria" did not exist, though Assyria was beginning...
"-damaged letter
- EA 59—Title: "From the citizens of Tunip
Tunip was a city/'city-state' in western Syria during the 1350-1335 BC, , Amarna letters correspondence. The name "Syria" did not exist, though Assyria was beginning...
"-
- EA 161—"An absence explained"-Aziru
Aziru was the Canaanite ruler of Amurru, modern Lebanon, in the fourteenth century BC. He was the son of Abdi-Ashirta, the previous Egyptian vassal of Amurru and a direct contemporary of Akhenaten.The dealings of Aziru are well-known from the Amarna letters...
letter no. 6 of 13
- EA 165—"Tunip
Tunip was a city/'city-state' in western Syria during the 1350-1335 BC, , Amarna letters correspondence. The name "Syria" did not exist, though Assyria was beginning...
threated"-Aziru letter no. 9 of 13
- EA 167—"The constant Hittite
The Hittites were an ancient Anatolian people who spoke a language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family and established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia ca. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height ca...
menace"-Aziru letter no. 11 of 13
EA 59, "From the citizens of TunipTunip was a city/'city-state' in western Syria during the 1350-1335 BC, , Amarna letters correspondence. The name "Syria" did not exist, though Assyria was beginning...
"
- "To the king of Egypt, our lord: Message of the citizens of Tunip, your servant. For you may all go well. And we fall at the feet
In 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 my lord.
- My lord, thus says Tunip, your servant: Tunip—who ruled it in the past? Did not Manakhpirya
Thutmose III was the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. During the first twenty-two years of Thutmose's reign he was co-regent with his aunt, Hatshepsut, who was named the pharaoh...
-(i.e. "Men-Kheper-RêRe, bre, moré is an interjection common to Cypriot Greek, the languages of the Balkans, Turkish, and Venetian, with its "locus... more in the Greek world than elsewhere"...
-iya"): am-ma-ti-wu-uš (your ancestor) rule it?
- The gods and the ...: na-ab-ri-il-la-an (=?) of the king of Egypt, our lord, dwell in Tunip, and he should inquire of his ancients: am-ma-ti (ancient) when we did not belong to our lord, the king of Egypt-(named "Mizri"-see: Mizraim
Mizraim is the Hebrew name for the land of Egypt, with the dual suffix -āyim, perhaps referring to the "two Egypts": Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt....
).
- And now, for 20–years, we have gone on writing to the king, our lord, but our messenger
Messenger is a person or thing that carries a message.Messenger may also refer to:-Biology and chemistry:* Chemical messenger or Hormone, a molecule used for cellular signalling...
s have stayed on with the king, our lord. And now, our lord, we ask for the son of 'Aki- Teššup'Teshub was the Hurrian god of sky and storm. He was derived from the Hattian Taru. His Hittite and Luwian name was Tarhun , although this name is likely from the Proto-Indo-Europeam Perkūnas or the Hittite root *tarh- to defeat, conquer h h.He is depicted...
from the king, our lord. May our lord give him.
- My lord, if the king of Egypt has given the son of Aki-Teššup, why does the king, our lord, call him back from the journey?
- And now Aziru
Aziru was the Canaanite ruler of Amurru, modern Lebanon, in the fourteenth century BC. He was the son of Abdi-Ashirta, the previous Egyptian vassal of Amurru and a direct contemporary of Akhenaten.The dealings of Aziru are well-known from the Amarna letters...
is going to hear that in HittiteThe Hittites were an ancient Anatolian people who spoke a language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family and established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia ca. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height ca...
territory a hostile fate has overtaken your servant, a ruler (and) your gardener.
- Should his (the king's) troops and his chariot
The chariot is the earliest and simplest type of carriage, used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Chariots were built in Mesopotamia by the Mesopotamians as early as 3000 BC and in China during the 2nd millennium BC. The original chariot was a fast, light, open,...
s be delayed, Aziru will do to us just as he did to NiiNiya, Niye, and also Niy of Thutmose I's Ancient Egypt, also Nii of the Amarna letters, and Nihe, etc. was a kingdom in Syria, or northern Syria....
.
- If we ourselves are negligent and the king of Egypt does nothing about these things that Aziru is doing, then he will surely direct his hand against our lord.
- When Aziru entered Sumur
Zemar was a Phoenician city in what is now Lebanon. Zemar was a major trade center.Zemar appears in the Amarna letters; Ahribta is named as its ruler. It was under the guardianship of Rib-Hadda, king of Byblos, but revolted against him and joined Abdi-Ashirta's expanding kingdom of Amurru...
-(ZemarZemar was a Phoenician city in what is now Lebanon. Zemar was a major trade center.Zemar appears in the Amarna letters; Ahribta is named as its ruler. It was under the guardianship of Rib-Hadda, king of Byblos, but revolted against him and joined Abdi-Ashirta's expanding kingdom of Amurru...
), he did to them as he pleased, in the house of the king, our lord. But our lord did nothing about the(s)e things.
- And now Tunip, your city, weeps, and its tears flow,–and there is no grasping of our hand.
- We have gone on writing to the king, our lord, the king of Egypt, for 20–years, and not a single word of our lord has reached us." -EA 59, lines 1-46 (complete)
EA 161, "An absence explained", Aziru no. 6 of 13
Letter EA 161 shows how Aziru claims he was made a 'mayor' of his region (or city), in
AmurruAmurru are names given in Akkadian and Sumerian texts to the god of the Amorite/Amurru people, often forming part of personal names. He is sometimes called Ilu Amurru .-Description:...
.
- "To the Great King
Great King and the equivalent in many languages is a semantic title for historical titles of Monarchs, suggesting an elevated status among the host of Kings and Princes...
, my lord, my god, [my Sun]: Message of AziruAziru was the Canaanite ruler of Amurru, modern Lebanon, in the fourteenth century BC. He was the son of Abdi-Ashirta, the previous Egyptian vassal of Amurru and a direct contemporary of Akhenaten.The dealings of Aziru are well-known from the Amarna letters...
, your servant. I fall at the feetIn 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 my lord, [m]y god, my Sun, 7 times and 7 times.
- My lord, I am your servant, and on my arrival in the presence of the king, my lord, I spoke of all my affairs in the presence of the king, my lord. My lord, do not listen to the treacherous men that denounce me in the presence of the king, my lord. I am your servant forever.
- The king, my lord, has spoken about Han'i. My lord, I was residing in Tunip, and so I did not know that he had arrived. As soon as I heard, I went up after him, but I did not overtake him. May Han'i arrive safe and sound so that the king, my lord, can ask him how I provided for him. My brothers and Bet-ili were at his service; they gave oxen, sheep, and goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep: both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s, and birdBirds are winged, bipedal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay eggs. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Birds range in size from the Bee Hummingbird to the ...
s, his food and strong drink.
- I gave horse
The horse is a hoofed mammal, a subspecies of one of seven extant species of the 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 assesThe donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family, and an odd-toed ungulate. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E. africanus. Traditionally, the scientific name for the donkey is Equus asinus asinus based on the principle of...
, [f]or his journey. May the king, my lord, hear my words. [W]hen I come to the king, my lord, Han'i will go before me; like a mother and like a father he will provide for me. And no(w) my lord says, "You hid yourself from Han'i." –May your gods and the SunRe, bre, moré is an interjection common to Cypriot Greek, the languages of the Balkans, Turkish, and Venetian, with its "locus... more in the Greek world than elsewhere"...
be witness: (I swear):–"I was residing in Tunip."
- The king, my lord, has spoken about the building of Sumur
Zemar was a Phoenician city in what is now Lebanon. Zemar was a major trade center.Zemar appears in the Amarna letters; Ahribta is named as its ruler. It was under the guardianship of Rib-Hadda, king of Byblos, but revolted against him and joined Abdi-Ashirta's expanding kingdom of Amurru...
-(ZemarZemar was a Phoenician city in what is now Lebanon. Zemar was a major trade center.Zemar appears in the Amarna letters; Ahribta is named as its ruler. It was under the guardianship of Rib-Hadda, king of Byblos, but revolted against him and joined Abdi-Ashirta's expanding kingdom of Amurru...
). The kings of NuhaššeNuhašše, also Nuhašša, was a territory in the Syrian region mentioned in various Middle Eastern documents as between Mari on the Euphrates and Hammath. The 1350 BC Amarna letters correspondence refers to Nuhašše in 11 tablet-letters written in Akkadian cuneiform.The region was generally south of...
have been at war with me and have taken my cities at the instruction of Hatip. So I have not built it. Now, in all haste, I am going to build it.
- And may my lord know that Hatip has taken half of the things that the king, my lord, gave (gave me). All the gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. It has been a highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewelry, and other arts since the beginning of recorded history. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, in veins and in alluvial deposits. Gold is...
and silverSilver is a 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...
that the king, my lord, gave me, Hatip has taken. May my lord know (this).
- Moreover, the king, my lord, also said, "Why did you provide for the messenger
Messenger is a person or thing that carries a message.Messenger may also refer to:-Biology and chemistry:* Chemical messenger or Hormone, a molecule used for cellular signalling...
of the king of HattiHatti in Bronze Age Anatolia refers to:*the area of Hattusa, roughly delimited by the Halys bend*the Hattians of the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC*the Hittite Empire of ca 1400 BC–1200 BC...
, but did not provide for my messenger?" But this is the land of my lord, and the king, my lord, made me –one of the mayors!
- Let my lord's messenger come to me so I can give all that I promised in the presence of the king, my lord. I will give food supplies, ship
A ship is a large vessel that floats on water. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and passenger capacity. Ships may be found on lakes, seas, and rivers and they allow for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing, entertainment, public...
s, oilAn oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and is hydrophobic but soluble in organic solvents. Oils have a high carbon and hydrogen content and are nonpolar substances. The general definition above includes compound classes with otherwise unrelated chemical structures,...
, logLog may refer to:*Chip log, a device used in navigation to estimate the speed of a vessel through water.*Data log, a record of sequential data*Laplacian of Gaussian*Log , an architectural magazine...
s, of boxwoodBoxwood may refer to:*Boxwood or Buxus, a genus of about 70 species of shrubs and trees in the family Buxaceæ*Boxwood , a Greek Revival house built in 1840*Boxwood Public School, a school in Markham, Ontario...
, and (other) woods. -EA 161, lines 1-56 (complete)