Šuwardata, also Šuardatu, (''Shuwardata'') is understood by most scholars to be the king of the Canaanite city of Gath (Tell es-Safi), although some have suggested that he was the 'mayor' of ''Qiltu'', ( Keilah?, or Qi'iltu) during the

1350 Year 1350 ( MCCCL) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * January 9 – Giovanni II Valente becomes Doge of Genoa. * May 23 (possible date) &n ...

1335 BC Year 1335 ( MCCCXXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * May 2 – Otto the Merry, Duke of Austria, becomes Duke of Carinthia. * July 30 ...

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 ...

correspondence. Šuwardata was the author of 8 letters to the Egyptian pharaoh.

Sample of Šuwardata's letters

Besides letters EA 283, and EA 366, ( EA for 'el

Amarna Amarna (; ar, العمارنة, al-ʿamārnah) is an extensive Egyptian archaeological site containing the remains of what was the capital city of the late Eighteenth Dynasty. The city was established in 1346 BC, built at the direction of the Ph ...

'), only letter 280 tells of intrigues: See Labaya, or

Abdi-Heba Abdi-Heba (Abdi-Kheba, Abdi-Hepat, or Abdi-Hebat) was a local chieftain of Jerusalem during the Amarna period (mid-1330s BC). Abdi-Heba's name can be translated as "servant of Hebat", a Hurrian goddess. Whether Abdi-Heba was himself of Hurrian d ...

, as EA 280 claims: ''"Moreover, Lab'ayu who used to take our town, is dead, but now nther Lab'ayu is 'Abdi-Heba, and he seizes our town."'' The other 5 letters do refer to the following: Qeltu-(Qiltu, Keilah:); silver (as mercenary pay); the Sun, (as Rê); the archer-forces; and the only reference to Rahmanu, an Egyptian official, (letter EA 284, ''"The powerful hand of the king"'').

EA 283: "Oh to see the king"--(no. 6 of 8)

All Šuwardata's letters are addressed to the pharaoh. Šuwardata must have been an important regional individual, since he claims 30 cities, sub-cities, or city-states have been warring with his city.

EA 366: "A rescue operation"--(no. 8 of 8)

:"Say to the king, my lord, my Sun, my god: Message of ''Šuwardata'', your servant, the servant of the king and the dirt at your feet, the ground you tread on. I

prostrate Prostrate may refer to:- *Prostration, a position of submission in religion etc. *Prone position, a face-down orientation of the body *Prostrate shrub A prostrate shrub is a woody plant, most of the branches of which lie upon or just above the ...

myself at the feet of the king, my lord, the Sun from the sky (i.e. '' 'heaven:' ša-me ''), 7 times and 7 times, both on the stomach and on the back. :May the king, my lord, be informed that the 'Apiru that rose up: ''na-aš-ša-a'' �שאagainst the lands, the god of the king, my lord, gave to me–and I smote him. And may the king, my lord, be informed that all my brothers have abandoned me. Only

and I have been at war with (that) 'Apiru. Surata, the ruler of

Akka Akka or AKKA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Akka'' (film), a 1976 Indian Tamil film * ''Akka'' (TV series), a 2014–2015 Indian Tamil soap opera * Akka, a character in the children's novel ''The Wonderful Adventures of Nils'' by Selma ...

, and Endaruta, the ruler of Akšapa, (these) two also have come to my aid: ''na-az-a-qú'' �זעקו(have been summoned to help) with 50–

chariot A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&nbs ...

s, and now they are on my side in the war. So may it seem right in the sight of the king, my lord, and may he send

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. ...

so that we may all wage war and you restore the land of the king, my lord, to its borders: ''up-sí-hi.'' �פסי''((i.e. up-si-hi='borders' ''referring to article:

Upu Upu or Apu, also rendered as Aba/Apa/Apina/Ubi/Upi, was the region surrounding Damascus of the 1350 BC Amarna letters. Damascus was named ''Dimašqu'' / ''Dimasqu'' / etc. (for example, "Dimaški"-(see: Niya (kingdom)), in the letter correspon ...

, also of the "Amarna letters"-?, putting Shuwardata's location on the perimeter?))'' -EA 366, lines 1-34 (complete)

List of letters

:#EA 278—title: ''"As ordered (4)"'' :#EA 279—title: ''"A wasteland"'' :#EA 280—title: ''" Lab'ayu redevivus"'' :#EA 281—title: ''"Rebellion"'' :# EA 282—title: ''"Alone"'' :#EA 283—title: ''"Oh! to see the king.'' :#EA 284—title: ''"The powerful hand of the king"'' and from the later corpus: :#EA 366—title: ''"A rescue operation"''

External links

A minor discussion of "Šamê"-(Sky/Heaven): "''dingir'' A-num AN-e, ''dingir'' Anum, Šamê"--(the Cuneiform)
See:

Dingir ''Dingir'' (, usually transliterated DIĜIR, ) is a Sumerian word for "god" or "goddess". Its cuneiform sign is most commonly employed as the determinative for religious names and related concepts, in which case it is not pronounced and is con ...

References

Moran, William L. William Lambert Moran (August 11, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American Assyriologist. He was born in Chicago, United States. In 1939, Moran joined the Jesuit order. He then attended Loyola University in Chicago, where he received his ...