Amarna letter EA 161, titled ''An Absence Explained'', is a tall

clay tablet In the Ancient Near East, clay tablets (Akkadian ) were used as a writing medium, especially for writing in cuneiform, throughout the Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age. Cuneiform characters were imprinted on a wet clay tablet with a stylu ...

letter of 8 paragraphs, with single paragraphing lines. The surface is somewhat degraded, but most

cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sha ...

signs that remain (undamaged corners, or scrapes contain lost signs, added by context per translation), allow for a relative complete translation context for the letter, and the eight paragraphs. The clay tablet is no. BM 29818 at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

; the number is visible at the top of the tablet, above Para I-(in ''black ink'', the top half of the number visible). The letter is about 3.2 in wide x 4.7 in tall, and probably slightly less than 1.0 inch thick. The text of the letter does not end at the right margin of the letter; instead the text appears to use the side of the clay tablet. The

Amarna letters The Amarna letters (; sometimes referred to as the Amarna correspondence or Amarna tablets, and cited with the abbreviation EA, for "El Amarna") are an archive, written on clay tablets, primarily consisting of diplomatic correspondence between t ...

, about 300, numbered up to EA 382, are mid 14th century BC, about

1350 BC Events and trends * c. 1356 BC – Amenhotep IV begins the worship of Aten in Ancient Egypt, changing his name to Akhenaten and moving the capital to Akhetaten, starting the Amarna Period. * c. 1352 BC – Amenhotep III ( Eighteenth ...

and 25? years later, correspondence. The initial corpus of letters were found at

Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Echnaton, Akhenaton, ( egy, ꜣḫ-n-jtn ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning "Effective for the Aten"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dy ...

's city Akhetaten, in the floor of the

Bureau of Correspondence of Pharaoh The building known as the Bureau of Correspondence of Pharaoh (also known as the Records Office) is located in the 'Central City' area of the ancient Egyptian city of Akhetaten, known as Amarna in modern times. The city was the short-lived capit ...

; others were later found, adding to the body of letters.

Text

Paragraph I is a very short introductory, salutory paragraph, with sections of the

prostration formula 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 ...

, notably: 7 times and 7 times, ''God-mine, Sun-mine, I bow.'' The appellation "My Lord" is used here in Para I, and throughout the letter's paragraphs; my Lord is ''Lord-mine'', and in EA 161 uses the

sumerogram A Sumerogram is the use of a Sumerian cuneiform character or group of characters as an ideogram or logogram rather than a syllabogram in the graphic representation of a language other than Sumerian, such as Akkadian or Hittite. Sumerograms are no ...

EN, for "Lord", with the possessive first person ''mine'',

ia (cuneiform) The cuneiform ia sign 𒅀, is a combined sign, containing i (cuneiform) ligatured with a (cuneiform); it has the common meaning in the suffix form ''-ia'', for the meaning of "-mine". In the Amarna letters, the letters written to the Pharao ...

. Many other Amarna letters use "be-li", or equivalent for 'lord',

Akkadian language Akkadian (, Akkadian: )John Huehnergard & Christopher Woods, "Akkadian and Eblaite", ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages''. Ed. Roger D. Woodard (2004, Cambridge) Pages 218-280 is an extinct East Semitic language th ...

, ''bēlu''. Cuneiform "ia"-(''-iya'') is still used today in world languages in Asia/Southeast Asia as ''-iya'', as for example "TownXYZ-iya", "TownXYZ-mine". ''-Ia'', or ''ia'', is extremely common throughout the

with one of the most common phrases being: ''King, Lord, mine'', often at the very beginning of a letter (especially vassal

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

), but will then be repeated throughout the letter. Para II begins the story of the letter, and the context of persons and places involved. Para III introduces

Tunip Tunip was a city-state in western Syria in 1350– 1335 BC, the period of the Amarna letters. The name "Syria" did not yet exist, though this was already the time of ancient Assyria. The regions were: Amurru, Nuhašše, the Amqu (the Beqaa), Ni ...

, one of two "locations", city townfolk who authored an Amarna letter to the pharaoh; EA 59, ''From the Citizens of Tunip'', and EA 100, ''The City of Irqata to the King''. Notably, Para III ends with a list of 6 supply items needed for the arrival of messenger Han'i, a list similar to items needed for the arrival of

archers (Egyptian pitati) Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In mo ...

, part of Pharaoh's foreign army. The list ends with a cuneiform sign for "plural" for each listed item; though many signs are degraded in lines 21, 22, every alternate sign (mostly) in lines 21, 22, is for the plural: " MEŠ (cuneiform)" (or is a

equivalent).

The letter

EA 161: ''An Absence Explained''

Letter threeMoran, 1987. ''The Amarna Letters,'' pp. 247-8. ''EA 161: An Absence Explained''. of thirteen between Aziru and the Pharaoh of Egypt (Egypt named Misri in the letters). (A free-form, non sequential, 20th century, French-English translation) :(Para I, Lines 1-3)–To the

Great King Great king, and the equivalent in many languages, refers to historical titles of certain monarchs, suggesting an elevated status among the host of kings and princes. This title is most usually associated with the ''shahanshah'' (shah of shahs, ...

, my lord, my god,

y Sun Y, or y, is the twenty-fifth and penultimate Letter (alphabet), letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. According to some auth ...

Message-( '' um- ma'') of ''

Aziru Aziru was the Canaanite ruler of Amurru kingdom, Amurru, modern Lebanon, in the 14th 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 ...

'', your servant. I fall at the feet of my lord, god, my Sun, 7 times and 7 times. :(Para II, 4-10)–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. :(Para III, 11-22)–The king, my lord, has spoken about Han'i-( Ha- Ni- I). My lord, I was residing in ^(townsite)''

,''-(^{URU
Uru or URU may refer to:

Language
* Uru dialect of Central Kilimanjaro, a Bantu language of Tanzania
* Uru language, the extinct language of the Uros, an Amerindian people
* Uru of Ch'imu, an extinct language of the Uros, an Amerindian people
...}- Tu- Ni- iP) 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 An ox ( : oxen, ), also known as a bullock (in BrE British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Oxford Dictionaries, "English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer spec ...

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

, and

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

s, and

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s, his food and strong drink. :(Para IV, 23-34)–I gave

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

s and

asses Ass most commonly refers to: * Buttocks (in informal American English) * Donkey or ass, ''Equus africanus asinus'' **any other member of the subgenus ''Asinus'' Ass or ASS may also refer to: Art and entertainment * Ass (album), ''Ass'' (album ...

, r his journey. May the king, my lord, hear my words. en 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 Sun be witness: (I swear):–"I was residing in ''Tunip''." :(Para V, 35-40)–The king, my lord, has spoken about the building of Sumur-(

Zemar Sumur (Biblical Hebrew: ollective noun denoting the city inhabitants Egyptian: ''Smr''; Akkadian: ''Sumuru''; Assyrian: ''Simirra'') was a Phoenician city in what is now Syria. It was a major trade center. The city has also been referred to in ...

). The kings of

Nuhašše Nuhašše, also Nuhašša, was a region in northwestern Syria that flourished in the 2nd millennium BC. It was a federacy ruled by different kings who collaborated and probably had a high king. Nuhašše changed hands between different powers in t ...

have been at war with me and have taken my cities at the instruction of

Hatip Hatip is a small village in Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra state in Western India. The 2011 Census of India recorded a total of 417 residents in the village. Hatip is 484 hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of a ...

. So I have not built it. Now, in all haste, I am going to build it. :(Para VI, 41-46)–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 (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

that the king, my lord, gave me, Hatip has taken. May my lord know (this). :(Para VII, 47-53)–Moreover, the king, my lord, also said, "Why did you provide for the

messenger ''MESSENGER'' was a NASA robotic space probe that orbited the planet Mercury between 2011 and 2015, studying Mercury's chemical composition, geology, and magnetic field. The name is a backronym for "Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geoche ...

of the king of Hatti, 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! :(Para VIII, 54-56)–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 watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

, logs, of ''

boxwood ''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood. The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...

'', and (other) woods. -EA 161, lines 1-56 (complete)

Summary of the Aziru letters sub-corpus

:1) EA 156, Aziru to Pharaoh #1 :2) EA 157, Aziru to Pharaoh #2 :3) EA 158, Aziru to Dudu #1 :4) EA 159, Aziru to Pharaoh #2 :5) EA 160, Aziru to Pharaoh #3 :6) EA 161, Aziru to Pharaoh #5 :7) EA 162, Pharaoh to Amurru Prince :8) EA 163, Pharaoh to.. :9) EA 164, Aziru to Dudu #2 :10) EA 165, Aziru to Pharaoh #6 :11) EA 166, Amurru king Aziru to Haay :12) EA 167, Amurru king Aziru to (to Haay #2?) :13) EA 168, Aziru to Pharaoh #7 :14) EA 169, Amurru son of Aziru to an Egyptian official :15) EA 170, Ba-Aluia & Battilu :16) EA 171, Amurru son of Aziru to an Egyptian official

References

* Moran, William L. ''The Amarna Letters.'' Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987, 1992. (softcover, ) *Parpola, 1971. ''The Standard Babylonian

Epic of Gilgamesh The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poetry, epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia, and is regarded as the earliest surviving notable literature and the second oldest religious text, after the Pyramid Texts. The literary history of Gilgamesh ...

'', Parpola, Simo,

Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project is an international scholarly project aimed at collecting and publishing ancient Assyrian texts and studies based on them. Its headquarters are in Helsinki in Finland. State Archives of Assyria State Archives ...

, c 1997, Tablet I thru Tablet XII, Index of Names, Sign List, and Glossary-(pp. 119–145), 165 pages. (softcover, {{ISBN, 951-45-7760-4)

External links