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.
EA 288 , from Abdi-Heba , letter 4 of 6 from Jerusalem . (very high-resolution expandable photo)
Unlike similar length letters by the Jerusalem scribe , namely 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, about 1350 BC and 20–25 years later, correspondence . 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): ), is numbered VAT 1642, from the Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin .
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: )
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: )
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.
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.diš Abdi-Hiba ARAD -ka -ma --('message thus' 1.-Abdi-Heba, "The Servant-yours",.. )
(3)--a na 2diš šēpu -meš Bēlu-ia ŠÀR RU --(at 2 feet(pl), My-Lord, King, )
(4)--7diš ta -a -an ù 7diš 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:
Moran, William L. 1987, 1992. The Amarna Letters. EA 286, A Throne Granted, Not Inherited , pp. 326-327.
Moran, EA 286, n. 1: "I am slandered"
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.