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Records of the Past, 2nd Series, Vol. III

By A. H. Sayce

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Letter of Burna-buryas, King of Babylonia, to Amenophis IV of Egypt

OBVERSE

1. To Nipkhurri-riya king of the country of [Egypt]
2. by letter
3. I speak (even I) Burra-buriyas king of the country of Kara-duniyas 7

4. thy brother: unto myself (is) peace;
5. to thyself, thy house, thy wives, thy children, thy country,
6. thy officers, thy horses (and) thy chariots, may there ever be peace!
7. Ever since my father and thy father with one another

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8. conferred in amity,
9. they sent beautiful present[s] to one another,
10. but they did not address one another in fair (and) beautiful letter[s].
11. Again, O my brother, 2 manehs of gold I have sent as my present.
12. In return send (me) abundance of gold as much as thy father (sent),
13. or if that is displeasing send half of what thy father (sent).
14. Wherefore shouldst thou send two manehs of gold (only)?
15. For the sake of 1 the folding doors in the temple 2 of Mât and the palace
16. (which) I have undertaken 3 to build send much gold,
17. and whatsoever thou desirest in my country
18. write for and let them take it to thee.

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19. In the time of Kuri-galzu my father the Kuna(?)khians, all of them,
20. sent unto him saying: Against the government of the country (?) 4
21. let us sin and rebel.
22. [With] thee will we make (a league). My father

23. sent this (answer) to them
24. saying:

REVERSE

1. Cease (to ask) to ally thyself with me:
2. if thou art estranged from the king of Egypt my brother, and
3. alliest thyself with another,
4. I will not go and assist 1 you.
5. Thus my father was like-minded with me,
6. because of thy father he did not listen to them:
7. Again, by an Assyrian who regards [my face 2]
8. have I not sent to thee after the news (I have) of them, asking
9. why they have gone to thy country.
10. If thou lovest me, no success
11. will they obtain; dismiss them to their distant land.
12. For a present to thee 3 manehs of alabaster,
13. (and) 14 spans of horses with 5 chariots of wood
14. I have despatched to thee.

Footnotes
63:6 Budge, Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archæology, June 1888, Pl. v, vi.

63:7 Babylonia.

64:1 Literally, "in favour of."

64:2 Literally, "house of God," bit-ili, the Heb. beth-el. The following word mât seems to be a proper name, though whether it denotes the name of a deity or of a place I cannot say. We may, however, read mâd, "many a temple."

64:3 Read tsabtakû.

64:4 Perhaps the country of "Qannisat." The Kunakhians are probably to be identified with the Kinakhkhians of the next letter. Winckler compares the name of the Canaanites.

65:1 Akhamat like khamat, W. A. I., v. i. 75.

65:2 That is, "is tributary to me."