Tutu (Egyptian official)

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Tutu, the Egyptian official, was one of pharaoh's officials during the Amarna letters period: 1350-1335 BC. He is only found in the body of letters from Aziru, and his son, DU -Teššup. Four letters, EA 158, 164, 167, and 169, (EA for 'el Amarna') are addressed to the Pharaoh, by way of Tutu. DU-Teššup's single letter is written to pharaoh because his father Aziru is being detained in Egypt, and Aziru is needed to attend to affairs at home. Unless he were to remarry he may never return home again.

Pharaoh Title of Ancient Egyptian rulers

Pharaoh is the common title of the monarchs of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty until the annexation of Egypt by the Roman Empire in 30 BCE, although the actual term "Pharaoh" was not used contemporaneously for a ruler until Merneptah, c. 1200 BCE. In the early dynasty, ancient Egyptian kings used to have up to three titles, the Horus, the Sedge and Bee (nswt-bjtj) name, and the Two Ladies (nbtj) name. The Golden Horus and nomen and prenomen titles were later added.

Amarna letters archive, written on clay tablets, primarily consisting of diplomatic correspondence between the Egyptian administration and its representatives in Canaan and Amurru during the New Kingdom

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 during the New Kingdom, between c. 1360-1332 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. The Amarna letters are unusual in Egyptological research, because they are mostly written in a script known as Akkadian cuneiform, the writing system of ancient Mesopotamia, rather than that of ancient Egypt, and the language used has sometimes been characterised as a mixed language, Canaanite-Akkadian. The written correspondence spans a period of at most thirty years.

In linguistics, a corpus or text corpus is a large and structured set of texts. In corpus linguistics, they are used to do statistical analysis and hypothesis testing, checking occurrences or validating linguistic rules within a specific language territory.

Contents

Letter: "Coming--on condition"

The undamaged letter EA 164 by Aziru, to Tutu is a good example of the intrigues of Aziru in north Canaan, and the involvement of all the local regions, and leaders.

Canaan region

Canaan was a Semitic-speaking region in the Ancient Near East during the late 2nd millennium BC. The name Canaan appears throughout the Bible, where it corresponds to the Levant, in particular to the areas of the Southern Levant that provide the main setting of the narrative of the Bible: i.e., the area of Phoenicia, Philistia, Israel, and other nations.

Letter EA 164:

"To Tutu, my lord, my father: Message of Aziru, your servant. I fall at the feet of my lord."
Hatip has come and brought the gracious and sweet words of the king, my lord, and I am quite overjoyed. My land (i.e. Amurru), and my brothers, the servants of the king, my lord, and the servants of Tutu, my lord, are overjoyed when the breath of the king, my lord, comes. I do not deviate from the orders of my lord, my god, my Sun, and from the orders of Tutu, my lord.
My lord, since Hatip is staying with me, he and I will make the journey. My lord, the king of Hatti has come to Nuhašše and I cannot g[o]. Just let the king of Hatti depart and straightaway I will make the journey with Hatip.
May the king, my lord, heed my words. My lord, I am afraid of the king, my lord, and of Tutu. Here are my gods and my messenger. Tutu and the magnates of the king, my lord, I would put under oath and then I will make the journey.
And thus Tutu, the king, my lord, and the magnates: "(We swear) we will notdevise anything regarding Aziru that is not good." Thus are you to be put under oath to my gods and to Aman.
Tutu, know [t]hat I will come to you." EA 164, lines 1-44 (complete)

List of letter titles

  1. EA 158 title: "Father and son"
  2. EA 164 title: "Comingon condition"
  3. EA 167 title: "The constant Hittite menace"
  4. EA 169 title: "Aziru in Egypt-(Mizri)"; see DU-Teššup

See also

Related Research Articles

Rib-Hadda King of Byblos in the 14th century BCE

Rib-Hadda was king of Byblos during the mid fourteenth century BCE. He is the author of some sixty of the Amarna letters all to Akhenaten. His name is Akkadian in form and may invoke the Northwest Semitic god Hadad, though his letters invoke only Ba'alat Gubla, the "Lady of Byblos".

DU–Teššup was the son of Aziru, of the 1350–1335 BC Amarna letters correspondence, and also the father of Aziru's successor, in Amurru. DU-Teššup's name refers to the Hurrian god of sky and storm, Teshub.

Pítati

The Pítati (pí-ta-ti) were a contingent of archers of ancient Egypt that were often requested and dispatched to support Egyptian vassals in Canaan. They are recorded in the correspondence of the 1350 BC Amarna letters, and were often requested to defend against the Habiru, also rogue vassal-kings and foreign troops of neighboring kingdoms, who were on the attack.

Ayyab King of Astartu

Ayyab was a king of Aštartu, named Tell 'Aštara, during the Amarna letters correspondence of 1350-1335 BC,. His city is located south of Damascus-(called Dimasqu in the letters), and is involved with the takeover of cities by the Habiru of the Amarna letters intrigues. Besides foreign countries to the north, for example Hatti of the Hittites, the internal Habiru were affecting cities/city-states, and their kings.

Biridašwa was a mayor of Aštartu, (Tell-Ashtara), south of Damascus,, during the time of the Amarna letters correspondence, about 1350–1335 BC. A second mayor of Aštartu, Ayyab, existed in this short 15–20 year time period.

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, 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.

Pawura

Pawura, and also: Pauru, Piwure, Puuru/Puwuru was an Egyptian official of the 1350-1335 BC Amarna letters correspondence. As mentioned in letter no. 171, he was also an Egyptian "archer–commander". In letter no. 289 he is called an "irpi–official". In Egyptian his name means 'the Great One', (Pa-wr/Pa-ur)(letter EA 287:45-"1.-Pa-Ú-Ru")

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, Nii, etc.

Abimilku 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).

Haapi, also Haip and Ha'ip was a commissioner of the 1350-1335 BC Amarna letters correspondence. The name "Hapi" in Egyptian is the name for the Nile god Hapi.

Ili-Rapih was the follow-on mayor in Gubla-(modern Byblos), and the brother of Rib-Hadda, the former mayor of Gubla, ; Ili-Rapih is in the 1350-1335 BC Amarna letters correspondence, and wrote 2 follow-on letters to the Pharaoh after the death of Rib-Haddi.

Zita was a Hittite prince and probably the brother of Suppiluliuma I,, in the 382–letter correspondence called the Amarna letters. The letters were mostly sent to the pharaoh of Egypt from 1350-1335 BC, but other internal letters, vassal-state letters, and epics, also word texts, are part of the letter corpus. Zita had a son called Hatupiyanza.

Salhi (region)

The Salhi is a region/city-state in the vicinity of Ugarit during the 15-20 year Amarna letters correspondence of 1350-1335 BC.

Amarna letter EA 161

Amarna letter EA 161, titled: An Absence Explained, is a tall clay tablet letter of 8 paragraphs, with single paragraphing lines. The surface is somewhat degraded, but most cuneiform signs that remain, 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 number is visible at the top of the tablet, above Para I-(in black ink, the top half of the number visible).

Amarna letter EA 149

Amarna letter EA 149, titled: "Neither Water nor Wood" is a moderate- to extended-length clay tablet Amarna letter from Abimilku of Tyre-(called Ṣurru in the letters), written to the Pharaoh of Egypt.

Amarna letter EA 59

Amarna letter EA 59, titled: "From the Citizens of Tunip" is a short-, to moderate-length clay tablet Amarna letter from the city-state of Tunip, written to the Pharaoh of Egypt. Only one other city sent a clay tablet Amarna letter to the Pharaoh, namely Irqata, letter EA 100, titled: "The City of Irqata to the King".

Amarna letter EA 156

Amarna letter EA 156, titled: "Aziru of Amurru" is a very short letter from Aziru, the leader of the region of Amurru. EA 156 is the first letter in a series of 16 letters regarding Aziru.

Amarna letter EA 158

Amarna letter EA 158, titled: "Father and Son" is a moderate length letter from Aziru, the leader of the region of Amurru. The letter is written to the Egyptian official, Tutu/ (Dudu). EA 158 is the third letter in a series of 16 letters regarding Aziru.

Amarna letter EA 170

Amarna letter EA 170, titled: "To Aziru in Egypt" is a moderate length letter, from Aziru, the leader of the region of Amurru. EA 170 is the fifteenth letter in a series of 16 letters regarding Aziru.

References

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