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Mitanni, earlier called Ḫabigalbat in old Babylonian texts, c. 1600 BC; Hanigalbat or Hani-Rabbat in Assyrian records, or Naharin in Egyptian texts, was a Hurrian-speaking state in northern Syria and southeast Anatolia with Indo-Aryan linguistic and political influences. Since no histories, royal annals or chronicles have yet been found in its excavated sites, knowledge about Mitanni is sparse compared to the other powers in the area, and dependent on what its neighbours commented in their texts.
Kadesh, or Qadesh, was an ancient city of the Levant on or near the headwaters or a ford of the Orontes River. It was of some importance during the Late Bronze Age and is mentioned in the Amarna letters. It was the site of the Battle of Kadesh between the Hittite and Egyptian empires in the 13th century BC.
Šuppiluliuma I, also Suppiluliuma or Suppiluliumas was an ancient Hittite king.
The Amarna letters are an archive, written on clay tablets, primarily consisting of diplomatic correspondence between the Egyptian administration and its representatives in Canaan and Amurru, or neighboring kingdom leaders, during the New Kingdom, spanning a period of no more than thirty years in the middle 14th century BC. The letters were found in Upper Egypt at el-Amarna, the modern name for the ancient Egyptian capital of Akhetaten, founded by pharaoh Akhenaten during the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt.
Tushratta was a king of Mitanni, c. 1358–1335 BCE, at the end of the reign of Amenhotep III and throughout the reign of Akhenaten. He was the son of Shuttarna II. Tushratta stated that he was the grandson of Artatama I. His sister Gilukhipa and his daughter Tadukhipa were married to the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III; Tadukhipa later married Akhenaten who took over his father's royal harem.
The Amarna Period was an era of Egyptian history during the later half of the Eighteenth Dynasty when the royal residence of the pharaoh and his queen was shifted to Akhetaten in what is now Amarna. It was marked by the reign of Amenhotep IV, who changed his name to Akhenaten in order to reflect the dramatic change of Egypt's polytheistic religion into one where the sun disc Aten was worshipped over all other gods. The Egyptian pantheon was restored under Akhenaten's successor, Tutankhamun.
Burna-Buriaš II, was a king in the Kassite dynasty of Babylon, in a kingdom contemporarily called Karduniaš, ruling ca. 1359–1333 BC, where the Short and Middle chronologies have converged. Recorded as the 19th King to ascend the Kassite throne, he succeeded Kadašman-Enlil I, who was likely his father, and ruled for 27 years. He was a contemporary of the Egyptian Pharaohs Amenhotep III and Akhenaten. The proverb "the time of checking the books is the shepherds' ordeal" was attributed to him in a letter to the later king Esarhaddon from his agent Mar-Issar.
Ammittamru I was a king of the ancient Syrian city of Ugarit who ruled c. 1350 BC.
Nuhašše, was a region in northwestern Syria that flourished in the 2nd millennium BC. It was east of the Orontes River bordering Aleppo (northwest) and Qatna (south). It was a petty kingdom or federacy of principalities probably under a high king. Tell Khan Sheykhun has tenatively been identifed as kurnu-ḫa-šeki.
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"-, in the letter correspondence.
Etakkama, as a common name, but also, Aitukama, Atak(k)ama, Etak(k)ama, and Itak(k)ama is the name for the 'mayor' (king) of Qidšu, (Kadesh) of the 1350–1335 BC Amarna letters correspondence.. Etakkama is referenced in 11 of the 382 EA letters,, and especially, a series of 4 identical letters concerning: Amqu, the region of the Beqaa in Lebanon. Those 4 letters concern the intrigues of city/city-state takeovers, along with troops from Hatti, and the claim of: Etakkama's troops from 'Kinsa' -(Qidšu-Kissa)-Kadesh) and are titled: "A joint report on Amqu (1-4)".
Niya was a kingdom in Syria near the Orontes River in northern Syria next to Nuhasse.
Milki-ilu of Gezer, was the mayor/ruler of the Land of Gazru (Gezer) around 1350 BC. He is known as the son-in-law of Tagi of Ginti-Kirmil and cooperating with Labaya of Shechem, during a period of turmoil among the vassals of Egypt. He is accused of being a rebel, employing mercenaries from the Habiru men.
Tunip was a city-state along the Orontes River in western Syria in the Late Bronze Age. It was large enough to be an urban center, but too small to be a dominant regional power. It was under the influence of various factions like the Mitanni, Egyptians, and Hittites.
Abimilki around 1347 BC held the rank of Prince of Tyre, during the period of the Amarna letters correspondence. He is the author of ten letters to the Egyptian pharaoh, EA 146–155. In letter EA 147, Pharaoh Akhenaten confirmed him as ruler of Tyre upon the death of his father, and in EA 149, referred to him with the rank of rabisu (general).
The Amqu is a region during the Late Bronze Age, equivalent to the Beqaa Valley region in eastern Lebanon, named in the 1350–1335 BC Amarna letters corpus.
Dakhamunzu is the name of an Egyptian queen known from the Hittite annals The Deeds of Suppiluliuma, which were composed by Suppiluliuma I's son Mursili II. The identity of this queen has not yet been established with any degree of certainty and Dakhamunzu has variously been identified as either Nefertiti, Meritaten or Ankhesenamen. The identification of this queen is of importance both for Egyptian chronology and for the reconstruction of events during the late Eighteenth Dynasty.
Amarna letter EA 271, titled: "The Power of the 'Apiru," is a moderately short, tallish, rectangular clay tablet letter, approximately 3 in wide x 4 in tall, from Milkilu the mayor/ruler of Gazru (Gezer), of the mid 14th century BC Amarna letters.
Adad-Nirari or Addu-Nirari was a king of Nuhašše in the 14th century BC. The Land of Nuḫašše was located southeast of Aleppo and north of Qatna.
Amarna letter EA 75, titled: "Political Chaos", is a short to moderate length letter from Rib-Hadda, who wrote the largest number of Amarna letters in a sub-corpus, from the city-state of Byblos; Byblos contained an Ancient Egyptian colony, and was aligned with a few neighboring townsites.
References
- Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1990, Cambridge University Press for the Royal Asiatic Society 1990, p. 52
- K. A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions, Blackwell Publishing 2000, p. 67
- G. Maspero, 1904, History of Egypt, Part Four, Kessinger Publishing 2003, p. 278
- William L. Moran, The Amarna Letters, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987
