Amarna letter EA 290



Amarna letter EA 290, titled: "Three Against One", is one of the two shorter letters, of six, from Abdi-Heba the governing man of Jerusalem. In the Jerusalem letters, Jerusalem is "Uru-Salem" ("City-Peace").

Amarna letter EA 290, like Amarna letter EA 285 (The Soldier-Ruler of Jerusalem) are short "texts" compared to the long involved letters of EA 286, EA 287, EA 288, & EA 289.

The short letter of EA 290, summarizes the local discord of neighboring city-states and their rulers, and the problem with the warring Habiru ('Apiru). The letter is wider than it is tall, approximately 6.1 cm tall x 7.3 cm wide. It has some damage (lacunae), but not enough to obscure the short letter's story/

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 290 (also see here-(Obverse & Reverse): ), is numbered VAT 1646, from the Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin.

EA 290: "Three Against One"
EA 290, letter six of six. (Not a linear, line-by-line translation, and English from French.) (Obverse & Reverse):

Obverse: (See here: )


 * (Lines 1-4)&mdash;[Sa]y [t]o the king, my lord: Message of 'Abdi-Heba, your servant. I fall at the feet [of the kin]g, my lord, 7 times and 7 times. (i.e. "Over-and-over again")


 * (5-13)&mdash;Here is the deed against the land1 that Milkilu and Shuardata did: against the land of the king, my lord, they ordered2 troops from Gazru, troops from Gimtu, and troops from Qiltu. They seized Rubutu. The land of the king deserted to the Hapiru.

Reverse & Left Side: (See here: ) (Or here: )


 * (14)
 * (15-21)&mdash;And now, besides this, a town belonging to Jerusalem, BitdNIN-URTA by name, a city of the king, has gone over to the side of the men of Qiltu. May the king give heed to 'Abdi-Heba, your servant, and send archers to restore the land of the king to the king.


 * (22-30)&mdash;If there are no archers, the land of the king will desert to the Hapiru. This deed against the land3 was [a]t the order of Milki[lu and a]t the order4 of [Shuard]atu, [together w]ith Gint[i] .5 So may the king provide for [his] land.&mdash;(complete, EA 290, with restored minor lacunae, lines 1-30)

<!-- [Say to the kin]g, m[y] lord: [Message of Abdi-Heba, yo[ur] servant. [I fall at the feet] of my lord 7 times and 7 times.'''
 * segue:
 * (4-9)--Consider] the ent(ire) affair.1, [ Milkilu and Tagi brought [troop]s into [Qiltu] against me.2 [Consider] the deed that they did [to your servant].3 Arrow(s)4 [ ... ]
 * ( ... lacuna )
 * ( ... lacuna )
 * (10-12)--[..] they brought into [Qilt]u. May the [kin]g know (that) all the lands are [at] peace (with one another), but I am at war.
 * (13-13)--May the king provide for his land.
 * segue:
 * (14-19)--Consider the lands of Gazru, Ašqaluna, and L [akis]i.5 They have given them food, oils, and any other requirement. So may the king provide for archers and 6 send the archers against men that commit crimes against the king, my lord.
 * (20-24)--If this year there are archers, then the lands and the mayors will belong to the king, my lord. But if there are no archers, then the ki[ng] will have neither lands nor mayors.
 * segue:
 * (25-28)--Consider Jerusalem! This neither my father nor m[y] mother gave to me. The [str]ong hand :(gloss) zu-ru-uh (arm) [of the king] gave to me.7 '''
 * segue:
 * (29-31)--Consider the deed! This is the deed of Milkilu and the deed of the sons(=cohorts) of Lab'ayu, who have given the land of the king (to) the 'Apiru.
 * segue:
 * (32-32)--Consider, O king, my lord! I am in the right!8
 * (33-42)--With regard to the Kašites, may the king make inquiry of the commissioners. Though the house is well fortified, they attempted a very serious crime. They [t]ook their tools, and I had to seek shelter by a support9 for the roof :(gloss) ga-ag-gi. A[nd so i]f he is going to send troop]s into [Jerusalem], let them come with [a garrison for] (regular) service.10 May the king provide for them; [all] of the land ''might be in dire straits'11  on their account.


 * bottom, obverse: 38-40:

Reverse: (See here: )

(line 41)


 * (43-49)--May the king inquire about the[m. Let there be]12 much food, much oil, much clothing until Pauru, the commissioner of the king, comes up to Jerusalem. Gone13 is Addaya together with the garrison of soldiers [that] the king [pro]vided. May the king know (that) Addaya [sa]id to me,
 * segue:
 * (50-52)--"[Beh]old, he has dismissed me."14 Do not abandon it, [and] send this [year] a garrison, and send right here15 the commissioner of the king.
 * (53-59)--I sent [ as gift]s16 to the king, my lord, [x] prisoners, 5000...[...],17 [and] 8 porters18 for the caravans of the k[ing, my lord], but they have been taken in the countryside: a-de4-e of Ayyaluna. May the king, my lord, know (that) I am unable to send a caravan to the king, my lord. For you information!
 * segue:
 * (60-63)--As the king has placed his name in Jerusalem forever, he cannot abandon it&mdash;the land of Jerusalem.19
 * (64-70)--Say to the scribe of the king, my lord: Message of 'Abdi-Heba, your servant. I fall at (your) feet. I am your servant. Present eloquent words to the king, my lord: I am a soldier of the king. I am always yours.20
 * (71-78)--And please make the Kašites responsible for the evil deed.21 I was almost killed by the Kašites [i]n my own house. May the king [make an inquiry] in the[ir] regard. [May the kin]g, my lord, [provide] for them. 7 times and 7 times my the king, my lord, [provide] for me.22(complete, EA 290, with restored minorlacunae, lines 1-30)

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The Habiru/'Apiru
The mention of the Habiru shows the conflict of the time, as the takeover of city-states or regions by the Habiru. The map shows various cities and regions, and their respective dealings with the Habiru. (There are only 3 letters from Labaya of Šakmu/Shechem.) The next closest mention of the Habiru is from the Jerusalem letters of Abdi-Heba, directly south at Jerusalem, letters EA 286, 287, 288, 289, and EA 290.

Spellings for Habiru in the Amarna letters

 * EA 100, l. 26&mdash;KUR,.. ša ìl-qú LÚ.MEŠ GAZ,.. [ ištu ]–.]–( LÚ-MEŠ GAZ )
 * EA 271, l. 16&mdash;..lú-meš Sa-GaZ-meš .. ( Men (pl), SA.GAZMEŠ(pl)
 * EA 290, l. 24&mdash;..Ha-Pí-Ri .. ( Hapiru ( 'Apiru ))
 * EA 299, l. 18&mdash;..da-an-nu LÚ-SA-GAZ-meš .. ( "Strengthening" - LÚ.SA.GAZ.MEŠ ..( "Strengthening Habiru" )
 * EA 366, l. 21&mdash;.. {LÚ} SA-GAZ .. ( LÚSA-GAZ (Habiru))

Ext links

 * Line drawing of EA 290, CDLI
 * CDLI entry of EA 290 ( Chicago Digital Library Initiative )
 * CDLI listing of all EA Amarna letters, 1-382
 * VAT, Vorderasiatische Museum (Berlin) entry for EA 290; Views of Obverse, Reverse, & 2 sides, & with dimension rulers. (4 photos)