Amarna letter EA 270, titled: ''"Extortion,"'' is an ovate-shaped, medium-sized, tall letter, approximately 3 in wide x 4 in tall, from

Milkilu Milkilu, and more properly Milk-ilu, or Milku-ilu, with an alternate version of Ili-Milku (letter 286, by Abdi-Heba of Jerusalem), was the mayor/ruler of ''Gazru'' (Gezer) of the 1350–1335 BC Amarna letters correspondence. Adda-danu, and Yapahu ...

the mayor/ruler of Gazru (

Gezer Gezer, or Tel Gezer ( he, גֶּזֶר), in ar, تل الجزر – Tell Jezar or Tell el-Jezari is an archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (eithe ...

), of the mid 14th century BC

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 ...

. The Canaanite

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 ...

s were visited by the scribes, with short 'status reports' sent to the Pharaoh (King) reporting on city or regional accounts, for example the troubles with the

habiru Habiru (sometimes written as Hapiru, and more accurately as ʿApiru, meaning "dusty, dirty"; Sumerian: 𒊓𒄤, ''sagaz''; Akkadian: 𒄩𒁉𒊒, ''ḫabiru'' or ''ʿaperu'') is a term used in 2nd-millennium BCE texts throughout the Fertile C ...

, or other external affairs. Many of the Canaanite letters are short, with some nearly identical phraseology of words, as well as the layout of the individual

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 ...

letters. Milkilu authored EA 268 through EA 271. Amarna letter EA 270-(29 lines) is nearly identical in shape to EA 271-(27 lines), with the beginning lines of the obverse, nearly identical in wording, and spacing. The

, about 300, numbered up to EA 382, are a 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 20–25 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. Letter EA 270 (see here: 1–''Photo'' (Obverse & Reverse)

2–''Line art'', et

, is numbered BM 29845, from 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 letter

EA 270: ''"Extortion"''

EA 270, letter four of five. (Not a linear, line-by-line translation, and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

from French.) (Obverse & Reverse): :Lines 1-8)--Say to the king, my lord, my god, my Sun: Message of

, your servant, the dirt at your feet. I fall at the feet of the king, my lord, my god, my Sun, 7 times and 7 times. :(9-16)--May the king, my lord, know the deeds that

Yanhamu Yanhamu, also Yenhamu, and Enhamu, was an Egyptian commissioner of the 1350- 1335 BC Amarna letters correspondence. Yanhamu is referenced in 16 of the 60–letter ''"Rib-Hadda of Gubla"''-(Byblos) sub-corpus, and also 12 additional letters. ...

keeps doing to me since I left the king, my lord. :(17-21)--He indeed wants 2000

shekel Shekel or sheqel ( akk, 𒅆𒅗𒇻 ''šiqlu'' or ''siqlu,'' he, שקל, plural he, שקלים or shekels, Phoenician: ) is an ancient Mesopotamian coin, usually of silver. A shekel was first a unit of weight—very roughly —and became c ...

s of silver from me, and he says to me, "Hand ov r''¹ your wife and your sons, or I will kill (you)." :(22-29)--May the king know of this deed, and may the king, my lord, send chariots and fetch me to himself lest I perish.--(complete EA 270, only minor, restored lacunae, lines 1-29)-->

Akkadian text

The

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 ...

text: (obverse & reverse) Akkadian: :(Line 1)-- a- na 1(disz)-

LUGAL Lugal ( Sumerian: ) is the Sumerian term for "king, ruler". Literally, the term means "big man." In Sumerian, ''lu'' "𒇽" is "man" and ''gal'' "𒃲" is "great," or "big." It was one of several Sumerian titles that a ruler of a city-state could ...

EN- ia—(To King-Lord-mine...) :(2)--dingir-

meš The cuneiform MEŠ, or meš is a plural form attached at the end of Mesopotamian cuneiform words as a suffix. As part of a name (PN, personal name, or other), or major class being referenced, in capital letters (a Sumerogram form), it is typical ...

- ia (d)

UTU Utu (dUD "Sun"), also known under the Akkadian name Shamash, ''šmš'', syc, ܫܡܫܐ ''šemša'', he, שֶׁמֶשׁ ''šemeš'', ar, شمس ''šams'', Ashurian Aramaic: 𐣴𐣬𐣴 ''š'meš(ā)'' was the ancient Mesopotamian sun god. ...

- ia—((of) gods(pl)-mine, Sun-god-mine) :(3)--qí-bí- ma—(speak(-ing)!...) :(4)-- um- ma 1. MiL-Ki-Li, ARAD- ka—('message thus' 1.

, Servant-yours...) :(5)--ep- ri ša GÌR- MEŠ- ka—(dirt hich atfeet(pl)-yours) :(6)-- a- na GÌR- MEŠ

EN- ia—(at feet(pl), King-Lord-mine) :(7)--dingir-

- ia (d)

- ia—((of) gods(pl)-mine, Sun-god-mine) :(8)--7-

šu The cuneiform šu sign is a common, multi-use syllabic and alphabetic sign for ''šu'', ''š'', and ''u''; it has a subsidiary usage for syllabic ''qat''; it also has a majuscule-(capital letter) Sumerogram usage for ŠU, for Akkadian language ...

ù 7-tá- a- an am-qut—(7 times and 7 times (again)...--...I bow(-ing))(am bowing) :(9)--yi- de

be-li—(Know!...King-Lord) :(10)--ip- ši ša yi-pu-

-ni— :(11)--1. iYa- aN- Ha- Ma—(1. YaN-HaMu) :(12)-- iš- tu a-sé- ia :(13)-- iš#- tu-mu-hi

EN- ia—(To King-Lord-mine...) :(14)-- a#- nu- ma yu-ba-ú# :(15)--2 li-im kù- BABBAR#—(2000 shekels silver) Reverse :(16)-- iš- tu qa- ti- ia—(from hand) :(17)-- ù yi-iq-bu—(and Say:...) :(18)-- a- na ia- ši id- na- mi#—(to me, alone) :(19)--DAM- ka ù—(Wife-yours, and) :(20)-- DUMU- MEŠ- ka ù lu-ú—(Sons(pl)-yours, and... may it be...) :(21)-- i- ma- ha-ṣa ù lu-ú—("I Strike Down!"... and... may it be...) :(22)--yi- de

—(Know!...King...) :(23)-- ip- ša an- na- am—(make...this) :(24)-- ù lu-ú yu-uš- ši- ra—(and,..may it be ousend(issue)) :(25)--

-be-li—(King...Lord) :(26)--GIŠ-GIGIR- MEŠ(Chariots) ù lu-ú—(Chariots(pl)... and may it be) :(27)--yi-ìl-te-qé- ni—("fetch"(check or test)) :(28)-- a- na mu-hi-

la- a—(to himself ((and)) NOT...) :(29)--ih- la-aq—(die! (disappear))

External links

Photo, EA 270: Obverse & Reverse

Line art, EA 270: Obverse & Reverse
CDLI no. 270947 (''Chicago Digital Library Initiative'')
Photo, EA 271: Obverse
CDLI no. 271040 (''Chicago Digital Library Initiative'')

References

* Moran, William L. ''The Amarna Letters.'' Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987, 1992. (softcover, {{ISBN, 0-8018-6715-0) * 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. Amarna letters Canaan

The letter

EA 270: ''"Extortion"''

Akkadian text

See also

External links

References