Amarna letter EA 286

Amarna letter EA 286, titled: "A Throne Granted, Not Inherited,"^[1] is a tall, finely-inscribed clay tablet letter, approximately 8 in tall, and 3.5 in wide, from Abdi-Heba the mayor/ruler of Jerusalem, of the mid-14th-century BC Amarna letters. The scribe of his six letters to Egypt were penned by the "Jerusalem scribe"; EA 286 is a moderately long, and involved letter.

Unlike similarly-lengthed letters by the Jerusalem scribe, (EA 287, EA 288, and shorter EA 289), EA 286 is damaged over the entire surface by erosion, probably from moisture. Other small sections of the clay tablet letter are missing entirely, with text supplied by the story's context.

The Amarna letters, about 300, numbered up to EA 382, are a mid-14th-century BC [text corpus|correspondence]] from about 1350 BC and 20–25 years later. The initial corpus of letters were found at Akhenaten's city, Akhetaten, in the floor of the Bureau of Correspondence of Pharaoh; others were later found, adding to the body of letters.

Letter EA 286 (see here-(Obverse & Reverse): [1]), is numbered VAT 1642, from the Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin.

Letter

EA 286: "A Throne Granted, Not Inherited"

EA 286, letter two of six. (Not a linear, line-by-line translation, and English from French.)^[1] (Obverse & reverse):

Obverse (see here: [2])

Say [t]o the king, my lord:
Message of Abdi-Heba, your servant.
I fall at the feet of my lord, the king,
7 times and 7 times.
What have I done to the king, my lord?
They denounce me: [ú-ša-a-ru]^[2]
before the king, my lord, "Abdi-Heba
has rebelled against the king, his lord."
Seeing that, as far as I am concerned, neither my father
nor my mother put me
in this place,
but the strong arm of the king
brought me into my father's house,
why should I of all people commit
a crime against the king, my lord?
As truly as the king, my lord, lives,
I say to the commissioner of the king, [my] lord, "Why do you love the
'Apiru, but the mayors
you hate?" Accordingly,
I am slandered before the king, my lord.
Because I say, "Lost are
the lands of the king, my lord," accordingly
I am slandered before the king, my lord.
May the king, my lord, know that
(though) the king, my lord stationed
a garrison (here),
Enhamu has taken i[t al]l away. [ ... ]

Reverse, (see here: [3])

32. [Now], O king, my lord,

33. [there is n]o garrison,

34. [and so] may the king provide for his land.

35. May the king [pro]vide for his land! All the [la]nds of

36. the king, my lord, have deserted. Ili-Milku

37. has caused the loss of all the land of the king,

38. and so may the king, my lord, provide for his land.

39. For my part, I say, "I would go

40. in to the king, my lord, and visit

41. the king, my lord," but the war

42. against me is severe, and so I am not able

43. to go in to the king, my lord.

44. And may it seem good in the sight of the king,

45. [and] may he send a garrison

46. so I may go in and visit

47. the king, my lord. In truth, the king, my lord,

48. lives: whenever the commissioners have come out,

49. I would say (to them), "Lost are the lands of the king,"

50. but they did not listen to me.

51. Lost are all the mayors;

52. there is not a mayor remaining to the king, my lord.

53. May the king turn his attention to the archers

54. so that archers

55. of the king, my lord, come forth. The king has no lands.

56. (The) 'Apiru have plundered all the lands of the king.

57. If there are archers

58. this year, the lands of

59. the king, my lord, will remain. But if there are no archers,

60. lost are the lands of the king, my lord.

61. [T]o the scribe of the king, my lord: Message of Abdi-Heba,

62. your [ser]vant. Present eloquent

63. words to the king, my lord. Lost

64. are all the lands of the king, my lord.

Akkadian text

The Akkadian language text: (starting at line 1)^[3]

Akkadian:

Obverse:

(Line 1)--[ A ]na 1.^diš ŠÀRRU Bēlu-ia qa b û--(To 1.-King-Lord-mine,..Speak!)

(2)--um ma 1.^dišAbdi-Hiba ARAD-ka-ma--('message thus' 1.-Abdi-Heba, "The Servant-yours",.. )

(3)--a na 2^diš šēpu-meš Bēlu-ia ŠÀR RU--(at 2 feet(pl), My-Lord, King, )

(4)--7^diš ta-a-an ù 7^diš ta-a-an^[2] ma qāt u!--(7 times and 7 times again, I bow!... )ú-ša-a-ru--("

(5)--Ma nn u ep ēš u a na ŠÀRRU Bēlu-ia--("What (done)'did I do' to King-Lord-Mine?".. )

(6)--a kā lu ka-ar-și-ya :–(gloss) eaten stomach"('my parts are eaten') :–(gloss) "I am slandered!".. )

(7)--i na pā nu ŠÀRRU Bēlu-ia 1.^diš Abdi-Hi-Ba--(.. before (the) King-Lord-Mine!" 1.-Abdi-Heba)

(8)--pa tā r u a na ŠÀR RI Bēlu-šu--("rebelled" 'against' King, His Lord!..)

segue:

(9)--Am āru! a nā ku l ā LÚ-a b u--(Look!.. I(myself),.. not Father.. )

(10)--ù l ā MUNUS u mm u :–(gloss) šak ā nu--(nor (not) Mother :–(gloss) "was emplaced!".. )

(11)--i na aš ru an n u--("into" 'region'/site-this,.. )

(12)--zu-ru-uh ŠÀR RI KAL.GA(=dannu)--("arm" (of) King 'strong')

(13)--e šē r u a na É(=bītu) LÚ-a b u--("put straight"(enthroned) into HOUSE (of) Father.)

(14)--Am mi n i a na e pē šu--(Who?.. "against" conducted(deed)?.. )

(15)--:–(gloss) ar nu a na ŠÀRRU Bēlu-ri--(:–(gloss) 'evil crime' against King, Lord-(ri).?.. )

(16)--A di ŠÀRRU Bēlu-ia til la--(As King-Lord-Mine "lives"(and breaths)..)

(17)--Q a bû a na LÚ-MAŠKIM2 ŠÀRRU Bēlu-ia--("Say" to 'Man-Commissioner' (of) King-Lord-Mine.. )

(18)--Am mi n i r 'ā m u--(..Why "do you love".. )

(19)--LÚ-HA PÍ RI ù LÚ-MEŠ-Ha-zi-[-ia nu ti ]--(..(the) Man-HAPIRU?.. and (the) MEN-Governors.. )

(20)--ta-za-ia-ru ù ki n ān nu--("Hate"('fight battles' and defeat('wrap up')))

(21)--ú-ša-a'3-ru^[2] i na pā nu--("I am slandered" before King-Lord-Mine)

(22)--e nū ma yi?qa bû:.. "hal ā q u--('Now'(Because) I say: "Lost.. )

(23)--KUR-HI.A ŠÀRRU Bēlu-ia ki n ān nu--(..(the) Land(s)(pl), King-Lord-Mine: "Defeated"!.. )

(24)--ú-ša-wa-ru^[2] a na ŠÀRRU Bēlu-ia--(.."I am slandered" before King-Lord-Mine!.. )

(25)--ù lē t u ŠÀRRU Bēlu-ia--(..But (I) "side" (with) King-Lord-Mine!... )

(26)--e nū ma ša kā nu ŠÀRRU Bēlu-ia--("Now-(at-this-time)" (the)-'stationed'(emplaced) King-Lord-Mine,.. )

(27)--LÚ-MEŠ-ma-ṣar-ta le q û--(garrison-(men(pl)) taken(defeated).. )

(28)--[ gáb-]bi 1.^diš YA N HA MU--(..all (by) 1.-Yanhamu.. )

(29)--[ ... (lacuna) ]

(30)--[ ... (lacuna) ]

Reverse:

External links

Photo, EA 286: Reverse^{[permanent dead link]}
Photo, EA 286: Obverse & Reverse, CDLI no. 271088 (Chicago Digital Library Initiative)
EA 286 at kchanson.com (Ancient Documents)
CDLI listing of all EA Amarna letters, 1-382
[4] Line drawing of EA 286
VAT, Vorderasiatische Museum (Berlin) entry for EA 286, photos of Obverse, Reverse, and sides (4 photos)

References

^ ^a ^b Moran, William L. 1987, 1992. The Amarna Letters. EA 286, A Throne Granted, Not Inherited, pp. 326-327.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Moran, EA 286, n. 1: "I am slandered"
^ Akkadian language characters & Photo, EA 286: Reverse & Obverse^{[permanent dead link]}, CDLI no. 271088 (Chicago Digital Library Initiative)

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, Parpola, Simo, Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, c 1997, Tablet I thru Tablet XII, Index of Names, Sign List, and Glossary-(pp. 119–145), 165 pages.

[William_L_1987,_pp._326-327-1] Moran, William L. 1987, 1992. The Amarna Letters. EA 286, A Throne Granted, Not Inherited, pp. 326-327.

[moran-2] Moran, EA 286, n. 1: "I am slandered"

[3] Akkadian language characters & Photo, EA 286: Reverse & Obverse^{[permanent dead link]}, CDLI no. 271088 (Chicago Digital Library Initiative)

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