Amarna letter EA 364
ancient clay tablet with cuneiform writing
Amarna letter EA 364, titled Justified War, is a clay tablet letter from Ayyab, ruler of Aštartu, to Pharaoh Akhenaten (1350s–1330s BC).
It is one of the Amarna letters, 382 in total, dating from c. 1360 – c. 1332 BC. The initial corpus of letters were found at the city of Amarna, founded by Akhenaten, in the floor of the Bureau of Correspondence of Pharaoh.
The letter is a reply to the pharaoh referring to a letter from the pharaoh's messenger Tahmassi. In it, Ayyab, governing-man (often—("who/which"-(ša))-"man, city")-Aštartu, who is in control of one of the city-states in Canaan, is stating his commitment to guarding the city (and the region), after three cities in the region were taken in attacks by Habiru raiders.
The tablet measures about 4 in x 2.3 in and is in relatively pristine condition. Because of its narrowness, each line averages only between 4 and 7 cuneiform characters in the Akkadian language.
Glossenkeils used in letter 364:
Text
The following English language text, and Akkadian is from Rainey, 1970, El Amarna Tablets, 359-379:
(Line 1)--To the "King, my Lord",
(2)--thus (speaks) Ayyab
(3)--your servant: at
(4)--the feet of my lord
(5)--7 times (and) 7 times
(6)--I have fallen down. I am the servant
(7)--of the "King, my Lord", "And"--[ "and"=Ù (omitted by Rainey)]
(8)--("and") the dust of(at?) (i.e.
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