Tushratta, King of Hatti (Mitanni)

EA17; From Tushratta, King of Hatti to Nibmuaria (Amenhotep III)

To Nibmuaria, King of Egypt, my brother, say: Thus says Tushratta, King of Mitanni, your brother. It is well with me. May it be well with you; with Kelu-Heba (wife of Amenhotep III), my sister, may it be well; with your household, your wives, your sons, your nobles, your warriors, your horses, your chariots, and throughout your land may it be very well.

When I sat upon my father's throne, I was still young, and Tuhi did evil to my land, and he killed his lord. And, therefore, he did not treat me well, nor the one who was on friendly terms with me. I, however, especially because of those evils, which were perpetrated on my land, made no delay; but the murderers of Artashumara, my brother, along with all that they had, I killed.

Because you were friendly with my father, for this reason I sent and spoke to you, so that my brother might hear of this deed and rejoice. My father loved you, and you loved my father still more. And my father, because of his love, has given my sister to you. And who else stood with my father as you did? The very next year, moreover, my brother's . . . the whole land of Hatti. As the enemy came to my land, Teshub (a Hurrian storm-god), my lord, gave him into my hand, and I destroyed him. And not one of them returned to his own land.

Behold, one chariot, two horses, one male servant, one female servant, out of the booty from the land of Hatti I have sent you. And as a gift for my brother, five chariots (and) five teams of horses I have sent you. And as a gift for Kelu-Heba, my sister, one set of gold pins, one set of gold earrings, one gold idol, and one container of "sweet oil." I have sent her.

Behold, Keliya, my sukkal (an official) along with Tunip-ibri, I have sent. May my brother quickly dispatch them so that they may quickly bring back word so that I may hear my brother's greeting and rejoice. May my brother seek friendship with me, and may my brother send his messengers so that they may bring my brother's greeting and I may receive them.

From Tushratta, King of Hatti to Nibmuaria (Amenhotep III)

To Nimmuaria, King of Egypt, my brother whom I live and who loves me.

Thus speaks Tushratta, King of Mitanni who loves you, your father-in-law. For me everything is well. May everything be well for you, for your house, for Tadu-Heba, my daughter, your wife whom you love. May everything be well for your wives, your sons, your noblemen, your chariots, your horses, your soldiers, your country and everything belonging to you. May everything be well, very well!

Thus speaks Shauskha (the goddess Ishtar) of Nineveh, Lady of all the lands: I wish to go to Egypt, a land I love and then return from there.

Now I am sending you this letter and She is on the way [...] Then, in the times of my father (Shuttarna) She was in that country, and just as on other occasions She stayed there and was honoured. May my brother honour Her now ten times more than the other time. May my brother honour Her. May you let Her leave when She pleases, so She may return. May Shauskha, Lady of the Heavens, protect us, my brother and myself, one hundred thousand years, and may our Queen grant us both great joy and may we treat each other as friends. Is it because Shauskha is my only Mistress? Maybe She is also the Mistress of my brother?

.....the year 36, in the fourth month of winter, on the first day. The king staying in the southern city, in Per Hai.

http://ancientegyptonline.co.uk/EA17.html

Amenhotep III- The Diplomat

Amenhotep III took to the throne of the Egyptian Empire at the beginning of a peaceful, wealthy and prosperous time in Egypt’s history. Although the new Pharaoh still maintained military forces in western Asia and undertook a minor campaign to Nubia, Amenhotep would become a major player in diplomatic affairs of Egypt, to keep the peace that his predecessors fought for.

He did this through several different methods:
=Communicating with both the vassal princes that were placed in various neighbouring cities, and the Great Kings of Mitanni, Babylon etc.
=Bargaining alliances with the neighbouring rulers
=Receiving foreign royal princesses into his group of
wives
=Exchanging gifts with foreign “Brother” kings

The letters that were sent to and received by the Pharaoh from his vassal princes and the foreign Kings are known as the Amarna Letters. They are extremely important in understanding the correspondence between Egypt and
its neighbours; how Amenhotep maintained peace throughout his reign. The Amarna letters shown the power, might and superiority of Egypt, and particularly the Pharaoh himself. This can be seen in the way vassal princes would address their letters:“To the king, my lord, the Sun-God from heaven…thy servant, the servant of the King, and the dirt under his two feet, the ground which he treads. At the two feet of the King, my lord, the
Sun-God from heaven, seven times, seven times I fall…” They then would go onto either complain about some matter in their lands or would pronounce their loyalty to the Pharaoh: “Further if the King should write for my wife, how could I withhold her? If the king should write to me, ‘Plunge a bronze dagger into thy heart and die!’ how could I refuse to carry out the command of the King.”
However in the case of the great foreign Kings the addresses between the Pharaoh and them would be quite different, they would see each other as almost equals, more so if a marriage had happened between them and Amenhotep III. This can be seen in the letters they would send to each other, for example:
“To Nimmuraria (Amenhotep III) the great
King, my brother, my brother-in-law, who loves me, and who I also love…”

A major part of the King’s diplomatic and foreign relations, was his marriages to foreign princesses sent from the great nations, Mitanni, Babylon and Syria.
At least seven foreign princesses were sent to the Egyptian
courts, along with large number of foreign concubines that officials would find for the Pharaoh. No Egyptian princesses were ever sent to marry a foreign King;
instead Amenhotep would receive the Princess and then would send some kind of treasure in return. However, this was not always the case, as in some instances the Pharaoh did not uphold his end of the bargain. For example, Amenhotep had promised Tushratta, King of the Mitanni, two solid gold statues for one of his princesses, but died before he sent them, Akhenaten then sent two wooden statues covered in gold, for his father’s debt.

After the 10th year of his reign it is said that
Amenhotep III “gave himself over to the pleasures of the harem,” meaning that he devoted his energy to gaining as many wives and concubines as possible, even into his old age. (Harem= a group of women that was to be only associated with one man)
The first foreign princess to be sent to the Pharaoh was
Gilu-khepa, a Mitannian Princess, who arrived with an entourage of 317 ladies-in-waiting; this union was celebrated with a commemorative scarab. This
scarab also shows that even with these diplomatic marriages the King’s affection for his great wife was not diminished, as she is also mentioned on the scarab:
“Year 10 under the majesty of…the Son of Re, Amenhotep, Ruler of Thebes, who is granted life and the Great King’s wife, Tiye, who liveth; the name of whose father was Yuya, the name of whose mother was Thuya. Marvels brought to his majesty… Gilu-khepa, the daughter of the chief of Naharin (Mitanni), Shuttarna, and the chief of her harem ladies, 317 persons.”

The diplomatic marriages that occurred between Babylon and Egypt were slightly different to those of the Mitanni, as the Babylonian King was looking to receive a princess of his own from Egypt, but Amenhotep III simply
replied “never has the daughter of an Egyptian king been given to anyone.” The Babylonian King was also persistent in regards to the gold for which he would receive in sending his daughter to marry the Pharaoh:“Now as for the gold about which I wrote you, send very much gold, as much as possible, now quickly, (even) before your return messenger reaches me…that I may carry through the work I have undertaken. If during the harvest …you send the gold for which I sent to you, then I will give you my daughter…” Negotiations like this were common between Amenhotep and the Babylonian King.

Amenhotep III also would receive another daughter from
Tushratta, King of Mitanni, Tadu-khepa. Like the other kings, Tushratta wished for gold in return for his princess, as he states in one of his letters: “let my brother send me exceeding much gold, without measure… for in my brother’s land gold is as plentiful as dust…”

These diplomatic marriages “increased Amenhotep’s status and power to have his harem full of the royal daughters of the most powerful rulers in the east.”(Pamela Bradley, Ancient Egypt: Reconstructing the Past, 1999)

Along with receiving foreign princesses as brides the king also demanded many concubines from the foreign lands to be sent to him. These concubines would be found by the vassal princes and various other officials on
the King’s orders: “I have sent you this tablet to inform you that I am sending you Colonel Khanaia… to procure fine concubines: Silver, gold, linen garments… various precious stones, chairs of ebony, and sundry other fine things: total value, 160 Deben. Total: 40 concubines; 40 pieces of silver being the cost per woman. So send very fine concubines in whom there is no blemish.”

https://amenhotepiii.weebly.com/foreign-policies.html

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Saturday, May 12, 2018