Elamarna, modern name of the site of akhetaton, the capital city of egypt, founded by amenophisamen. Moranthe johns hopkins university press baltimore and london. This letter is part of a series of correspondences from babylonia to egypt, which run from ea2 to ea4 and ea6 to ea14. All of the tablets are inscribed with cuneiform writing. This is a list of the amarna letters text corpus, categorized by. It was created by egypts heretic king, akhenaten for his revolutionary religion that worshiped aten during the amarna period. While much of this bears more particularly upon general history of the ancient orient, there is scarcely any part of it which does not directly or indirectly supply information which parallels some phase of biblical history. Theamarna letters edited and translated by william l. The city was founded by the egyptian king pharaoh amenhotep iv, who later became known as akhenaten. The amarna letters are cuneiform tablets discovered in the new capital built by amenophis iv, who called himself akhenaton 6549 bc. The amarna letters provide invaluable insight into the nature of diplomatic relations among the great nations and petty states of the 14th. Best known are the various heads of akhenatens wife, nefertiti. Tell elamarna letters 5 assuming the identification of the names, then the habiru, or hebrews, mentioned in these letters must refer to tribes which had either stayed behind at the time of the israelite immigration into egypt, or else had made their way.
The first letters were found in 1887 ce and date back to the 14th century bce. The amarna letters essay the metropolitan museum of. The affair of the egyptian queen and the consolidation of hittite power in. The name for the city employed by the ancient egyptians is written as. Discovered there, circa 1887, were nearly four hundred cuneiform tablets containing correspondence of the egyptian court with rulers of neighboring states in the midfourteenth century b. Among them were letters written in babylonian cuneiform script to these pharaohs of egypt by various kings dwelling. A new edition of the cuneiform letters from the site of elamarna based on collations of all extant tablets. Canaanite polities and the royal court at tell elamarna, egypt. The acknowledged master of these texts is william moran, who produced a complete reedition of the tablets, in french, in 1987. The elamarna letters comprise a collection of cuneiform tablets named after al. Ancient researchers work with the layout of tell elamarna, ancient egypts capital during the reign of pharaoh akhenaten 53b.
Elamarna tablets 3593792, aoat 8 neukirchenvluyn, 1978. Akhenatens mission was to elevate the innovative religious ideas of his father into a comprehensive alternative to the complex theological system inherited. The site is renowned for its frescoed palaces and for the royal sculpture workshop in which were found moving portraits of the pharaoh, his children, and his. The site was occupied for only about 21 years before the priests of amon reasserted control and returned the court to thebes. In the moran translation, the letter is given the cursory or synoptic title marriage, grumblings, a palace opening. It was the discovery in 1887 of over 350 cuneiform letters at tell elamarna. Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
Ea1 and ea5 are from egypt to babylonia during 1888 the vorderasiatisches museum received part of the tablet as part of a group of. The letter is part of a series of correspondences from babylonia to egypt, which run from ea2 to ea4 and ea6 to ea14. Tell elamarna the site of the ruins of the ancient egyptian capital akhetaten, on the east bank of the nile. Amarna letter ea12 is a correspondence written to egypt by a princess of babylonia a scribe named kidinadad is mentioned within the letter. In 1887, a peasant woman was digging in the ruins of tell elamarna in egypt discovered some clay tablets. The ancient capital of akhetaten lies some 365 miles south of cairo in a natural amphitheater between inhospitable cliffs. Tell elamarna, site of the ruins and tombs of the city of akhetaton horizon of aton in upper egypt, 44 miles 71 km north of modern asyut. The amarna letters are an archive, written on clay tablets, primarily consisting of diplomatic. But should she make some acquisition, i will send it to you. The name amarna letters derives from the place where the tablets were found. These tablets were part of a collection of diplomatic documents between foreign countries during the amarna period the time of cultural and artistic shifts in ancient egyptian history when akhenaten was pharaoh of new kingdom egypt.
Pdf the amarna letters are generally accepted as the most illustrative. It includes countries, regions, and the citiesor citystates. Previous translations of these letters were both incomplete and reflected an imperfect understanding of. We know of 382 tablets, but many others were probably destroyed, or may even be a part of unknown private. Ancient egyptian capital tell elamarna mapped through. The amarna letters are a group of inscribed clay tablets discovered around 1887 at amarna, a site in egypt on the east bank of the nile about 190 miles south of cairo. The amarna tablets, also known as the amarna letters, are a group of documents found near the modern egyptian city of tell elamarna. William morans book is the most comprehensive and thorough analysis of the amarna letters.
What we call amarna, or elamarna today was the city of akhetaten the horizon of the aten. Amarna letter ea4 is a continuation of correspondence between kadasmanenlil i and amenhotep iii the letter is part of a series of correspondences from babylonia to egypt, which run from ea2 to ea4 and ea6 to ea14. Journal of ancient egyptian interconnections the amarna letters from tyre as a. Times literary supplement explore the amarna letters by clicking on the link below and visiting. Lynn holaies west georgia college the messenger is a prime key to understanding the trade and diplomacy of the ainarna period, because it was he who controlled both the diplomatic and economic intercourse between the important powers of the time. Since the discovery of the amarna letters, where the appellation ohabiruo4 usually is written by the use of the sumerian logogram sa. Full text of selections from the tell elamarna letters.
All this opinion is now changed, primarily by the information contained in the tell elamarna letters and secondarily by incidental hints from egyptian and babylonian inscriptions now seen to support the high stage of civilization revealed in the tell elamarna letters see archaeology and criticism. On a virgin site on the east bank of the nile river, akhenaton amenhotep iv built the city about 48 bce as the new capital of his kingdom when he. The amarna letters essay the metropolitan museum of art. Open it, and hear these voices from a vanished empire speak after three and a half millennia. Amarna letter ea3 is a letter of correspondence between nimuwareya, this being the ruler of egypt, amen.
Rainey tel aviv introduction the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the amarna tablets was marked by the appearance of the french version of morans new translation moran 1987. Amarna letter ea2 is the letter of the amarna series of inscriptions designated ea2, which is inscribed with cuneiform writing showing the continuation of a correspondence between kadasmanenlil i and amen. This letter is known to be concerning, a proposal of marriage. Amarna, a plain on the east bank of the nile about. Amarna letter ea4 is a continuation of correspondence between kadasmanenlil i and amenhotep iii. With photographic frontispiece in each volume and folding map at rear of volume ii. Just like the dead sea scrolls, the tell elamarna letters were discovered accidentally by a local resident. Careful examination of their content enables the archaeologist to draw conclusions on geographical, political and socioeconomic conditions of that era and allows him to compare and accord them with the archaeological. Perspectives on the amarna letters find, read and cite all the research you need on. Ea1 and ea5 are from egypt to babylonia in a publication of the moran translations, the letter is given the title royal deceit and threats.
The clay tablets,mostly from syria,but with a few duplicatesof letters from egypt, were depositedin. In 1887 a bedouin woman searching among ancient ruins near the nile river discovered some inscribed clay tablets. The letter is part of a series of correspondences from babylonia to egypt, which run from ea2 to ea4 and. These tablets were discovered in elamarna and are therefore known as the amarna letters. The letters were found in upper egypt at elamarna, the modern name for the ancient. In 1887, an egyptian peasant woman was digging in the ruins of elamarna for the nitrogenrich soil that results from the decomposition of mud bricks used in ancient building sites. For the main article of the 50 to 35 bc text corpus see. Information and translations of amarna letters in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. During the age of the decline of egyptian power in syria,when the great conquests of tahutmes i. Gaz, the term also has turned up in a number of cuneiform texts from different parts of mesopotamia, syria, egypt, and asia minor in a timespan dating from the end of the. The tell elamarna letters furnish an amount of historical material about equal in bulk to onehalf of the pentateuch.
Five years later, morans original english version was published by the johns hopkins press. Pdf the amarna letters from tyre as a source for understanding. Previous translations of these letters were both incomplete and reflected an imperfect. A new english translation of the amarna letters by a. Tell elamarna explained tell elamarna was founded by the new kingdom pharaoh akhenaten, son of amenhotep iii and queen tiye, husband of nefertiti, and probable father of tutankhamen. In 1988 there were about 400 cuneiform tablets discovered at this site which were part of the royal archives of amenhotep iii and amenhotep iv akhenaten who reigned about 1400 bc.
Amarna, a plain on the east bank of the nile about 190 mi. They are written in the babylonian language and cuneiform characters and. The letters were found at amarna, the modern name for the capital of the egyptian new kingdom, primarily from the reign of pharaoh amenhotep iv, better known as akhenaten 69 53 bc. The amarna letters is a revised version of this, done into english.
Pdf the representatives of power in the amarna letters. The tell elamarna tablets are a collection of some 350 clay tablets found in 1887 amid the ruins of the ancient egyptian city of akhetaton modern tell elamarna about midway between memphis and thebes. They are an important record of egypt during a period of 15 to 30 years during the later part of amenophis iiis 9153 bc rule and the rule of akhenaten 5336 bc. The amarna letters are a group of several hundred clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform wedgeshaped writing that date to the fourteenth century b. Library of congresi cataloging inpnblicaiion data tell elamarna tablets. The amarna letters were discovered in 1887 by a village woman digging ancient mudbrick for use as fertilizer. A series of cuneiform tablets known as the amarna letters was discovered on the site in 1887, providing valuable insight into near eastern diplomacy of the 14th century bc. Discovered there, in about 1887, were nearly four hundred cuneiform tablets containing correspondence of the egyptian court with rulers of neighboring states in the midfourteenth century b. Tell elamarna is situated in middle egypt and is the location of the new kingdom city of akhetaten, founded by akhenaten in c. Occupied only briefly, it is our most complete example of an ancient egyptian city, at which a contemporaneous urban landscape of cult and ceremonial buildings, palaces, houses, cemeteries. This site, located 200 miles south of cairo, was later named elamarna, and the tablets became known as the amarna tablets or amarna letters. Discovered there, circa 1887, were nearly four hundred cuneiform tablets containing correspondence of the egyptian court with rulers of neighboring states in. Modern tell nebi mend, first relocated by breasted, the battle of kadesh, university of chicago.
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