Ayyab
Encyclopedia
Ayyab was a king of Aštartu
, named Tell 'Aštara, during the Amarna letters
correspondence
of 1350-1335 BC, (about a 15-20 year period). His city is located south of Damascus
-(called Dimasqu in the letters), and is involved with the takeover of cities by the Habiru
of the Amarna letters intrigues. Besides foreign countries to the north, for example Hatti
of the Hittites, the internal Habiru were affecting cities/city-state
s, and their kings.
Biridašwa
was another king of Aštartu.
pharaoh
, letter EA 364-(EA for 'el Amarna
').
Ayyab's name is referred to in only one letter of the Amarna letters corpus
, one of two letters by Labaya
's son: Mutbaal
of the city, Pihilu, modern Pella, Jordan
. The letter is EA 256, title: "Oaths and denials", (the oaths and denials by Mutbaal). See: "Tenuous identifications with Biblical figures": Labaya-(Mutbaal letter 256).
Tell-Ashtara
Tell-Ashtara, or Tell-'Ashtara, also Aštartu, was a site south of Damascus mentioned in the Amarna letters correspondence of 1350 BC. In the Amarna letters the city is named: Aštartu, and is the Biblical 'Ashtarot'....
, named Tell 'Aštara, during the Amarna letters
Amarna letters
The Amarna letters are an archive of correspondence on clay tablets, mostly diplomatic, between the Egyptian administration and its representatives in Canaan and Amurru during the New Kingdom...
correspondence
Text corpus
In linguistics, a corpus or text corpus is a large and structured set of texts...
of 1350-1335 BC, (about a 15-20 year period). His city is located south of Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
-(called Dimasqu in the letters), and is involved with the takeover of cities by the Habiru
Habiru
Habiru or Apiru or ˁpr.w was the name given by various Sumerian, Egyptian, Akkadian, Hittite, Mitanni, and Ugaritic sources to a group of people living as nomadic invaders in areas of the Fertile Crescent from Northeastern Mesopotamia and Iran to the borders of Egypt in Canaan...
of the Amarna letters intrigues. Besides foreign countries to the north, for example Hatti
History of the Hittites
Hittites were an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language and established a kingdom centered in Hattusa in northern Anatolia from the 18th century BC. In the 14th century BC, the Hittite Kingdom was at its height, encompassing central Anatolia, south-western Syria as far as Ugarit, and...
of the Hittites, the internal Habiru were affecting cities/city-state
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
s, and their kings.
Biridašwa
Biridašwa
Biridašwa was a mayor of Aštartu, , south of Damascus, , during the time of the Amarna letters correspondence, about 1350-1335 BC...
was another king of Aštartu.
Ayyab's letter EA 364
Ayyab is the author of only one letter to the EgyptianAncient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
, letter EA 364-(EA for 'el Amarna
Amarna
Amarna is an extensive Egyptian archaeological site that represents the remains of the capital city newly–established and built by the Pharaoh Akhenaten of the late Eighteenth Dynasty , and abandoned shortly afterwards...
').
Title: Justified war
- "To the king, my lord: Message of Ayyab, your servant. I fall at the feetProstration formulaIn the 1350 BC correspondence of 382–letters, called the Amarna letters, the Prostration formula is usually the opening subservient remarks to the addressee, the Egyptian pharaoh. The formula is based on Prostration, namely reverence and submissiveness...
of my lord 7 times and 7 times. I am the servant of the king, my lord, the dirt at his feet. I have heard what the king, my lord, wrote to me through AtahmayaTahmaššiTahmašši, or Takhmašši, and also known by his hypocoristicon or pet name: Tahmaya, or Atahmaya was an Egyptian official to pharaoh in the 1350 BC Amarna letters correspondence...
. Truly, I have guarded very carefully, (i.e. Ma-GALGAL (cuneiform)GAL is the Sumerian cuneiform for "great".*LÚ.GAL*DEREŠ.KI.GAL...
, Ma-GALGAL (cuneiform)GAL is the Sumerian cuneiform for "great".*LÚ.GAL*DEREŠ.KI.GAL...
), [the citie]s of the king, my lord. Moreover, note that it is the ruler of HasuraHazor (archaeological site)Tel Hazor , also Hatzor, present day Tell el-Qedah, is a tell above the site of ancient Hazor, whose archaeological remains are the largest and richest known in modern Israel. Hazor was an ancient city located in the Upper Galilee, north of the Sea of Galilee, between Ramah and Kadesh, on the high...
who has taken 3 cities form me. From the time I heard and verified this, there has been waging of war against him. Truly, may the king, my lord, take cognizance, and may the king, my lord, give thought to his servant. -EA 364, lines 1-28 (complete)
Ayyab's name is referred to in only one letter of the Amarna letters corpus
Text corpus
In linguistics, a corpus or text corpus is a large and structured set of texts...
, one of two letters by Labaya
Labaya
Labaya was a Habiru, possibly Canaanite, warlord who lived contemporaneously with Pharaoh Akhenaten . Labaya is mentioned in several of the Amarna Letters , which is practically all scholars know about him...
's son: Mutbaal
Mutbaal
Mutbaal was a Canaanite king of the Amarna Period. He is identified in the Amarna letters as a son of Labaya, the ruler of the hill country north of Jerusalem, including the territory in the vicinity of the city of Shachmu .Mutbaal may be the son whose association with the Habiru raiders Labaya...
of the city, Pihilu, modern Pella, Jordan
Pella, Jordan
Pella is a village and the site of ancient ruins in northwestern Jordan. It is half an hour by car from Irbid, in the north of the country....
. The letter is EA 256, title: "Oaths and denials", (the oaths and denials by Mutbaal). See: "Tenuous identifications with Biblical figures": Labaya-(Mutbaal letter 256).
See also
- Tell-AshtaraTell-AshtaraTell-Ashtara, or Tell-'Ashtara, also Aštartu, was a site south of Damascus mentioned in the Amarna letters correspondence of 1350 BC. In the Amarna letters the city is named: Aštartu, and is the Biblical 'Ashtarot'....
- ShutuShutuShutu or Sutu is the name given in ancient Akkadian language sources to certain nomadic groups of the Trans-Jordanian highlands, extending deep into Mesopotamia and Southern Iraq...
- Aram DamascusAram DamascusAram Damascus was an Aramaean state around Damascus in Syria, from the late 12th century BCE to 734 BCE.Sources for this state come from texts that can be divided into three categories: Assyrian annals, Aramaean texts, and the Hebrew Bible....
- UpuUpuUpu, also called Apu , was the region surrounding Damascus of the 1350 BC Amarna letters. Damascus was named Dimašqu/Dimasqu/ etc. Upu, also called Apu (and Ubi or Upi by some authors), was the region surrounding Damascus of the 1350 BC Amarna letters. Damascus was named Dimašqu/Dimasqu/ etc. Upu,...
, regional Damascus - BiridašwaBiridašwaBiridašwa was a mayor of Aštartu, , south of Damascus, , during the time of the Amarna letters correspondence, about 1350-1335 BC...
, mayor of Aštartu/Tell-AshtaraTell-AshtaraTell-Ashtara, or Tell-'Ashtara, also Aštartu, was a site south of Damascus mentioned in the Amarna letters correspondence of 1350 BC. In the Amarna letters the city is named: Aštartu, and is the Biblical 'Ashtarot'.... - TahmaššiTahmaššiTahmašši, or Takhmašši, and also known by his hypocoristicon or pet name: Tahmaya, or Atahmaya was an Egyptian official to pharaoh in the 1350 BC Amarna letters correspondence...
, Egyptian official