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

By A. H. Sayce

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Letter of Dusratta to Amenophis IV

OBVERSE

1. [To Napkhûri]ya my son-in-law whom I love and who loves [me],
2. [Dusratta], the great king, [the king of Mita]nni, thy brother, thy father-in-law, who loves thee: unto me (is) peace;
3. [to thee and] Teie [thy mother, and to] Tadukhêpa my daughter, thy wife, may there be [peace]!
4. [To …] may there be peace! To thy sons, to thy nobles, to thy chariots, to [thy] horses,
5. [to] thy [country], and to thy property may there be exceeding peace!

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6. [I sent an embassy?] to Nimmuriya, and thy father sent to me …
7. [and as regards] the message which he sent, there was no word whatsoever which [was concealed from?]
8. [the ambassadors] of thy father whom he sent [to] me; and Teie the chief wife of thy father,
9. thy mother, [knew?] them all; he showed (?) them to Teie and favoured (?) all of them, and after (?) them
10. thy father [repeated?] the words which he had spoken with me.

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11. … exceedingly, and [the words which I spoke] with Nimmuriya thy father whom we love,
12. [and the words which] Nimmuriya thy father spoke with me, he (and) I, my heart in nothing
13. did they vex, and all the words which I spoke those also on that day
14. did not vex the heart of [thy father, my] beloved one, in anything, and all that
15. [I said] these also did he perform on that day.

16. [Now Manakhbia 1] the father of [N]immuriya sent to Artatâma the father of my father, and the daughter [of]
17. [Artatâma, the father] of my father he asked for; 5 times, 6 times he sends, but (Artatâma) did not give her; at last
18. [his daughter] he sends and with a train (of handmaids) he gave her. An embassy from Nimmûriya thy father to Sut[tarna 2]
19. [my father came], and the daughter of my father, my darling sister, though he asked for her and seven times [requested her],
20. [my father did not give.] At last five times and six times he sends and (my father) gave [her] with a train (of handmaids).
21. [When] Nimmûriya [thy father] sent to me and when he asked for my daughter, I did not [refuse],
22. [but] I spoke favourably; to his messenger I speak as follows: "I am ready to give her; thy messenger among [my] children
23. has come, and [my] eyes [have seen] the aqqâti which he has given, and her dowry is worthy of yourself, 3 and I will bestow [on her]
24. the dowry due to Nimmûriya thy [father] which [contains] jewels (?) [such as] no god possesses; and because I am honoured 4 I do not. [refuse]
25. to give her;" and Amasis 5 [the ambassador] of my brother, [who had come] for the bride, I sent (back) to Nimmûriya
26. after three months, with a very costly present, and …, and four … of gold [such as] none [had given before]

27. [and] a goblet … of gold was given, which I [despatched].

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28. At last my daughter I gave [to him], and when [I had] despatched her and when Nimmûriya thy father had seen 1 her,
29. … he rejoiced with exceeding fulness, and my brother speaks as follows: "In the joy of my heart
30. I will give her [all her desire]"; and he caused her to be united publicly with his country 2; and moreover my ambassador
31. [he honoured?] like men … when he had seen [him], and he honoured him, and ever did Nimmûriya
32. [place him] in the front rank; and since he honoured the embassy, so among the houses which [he gave] to Tadukhepa
33. [my daughter, he placed] my [servants] all of them, and he made (them) dwell round about 3 and in the midst of my ambassadors, who entered
34. [his country]. There was nothing which Giliya [my ambassador did not obtain?]: gold which he gave a thousandfold in weight
35. … Nimmûriya gave to [Tadu]khêpa and Tadukhêpa
36. [gave to Giliya?] whatsoever he desired, and [Giliya] my ambassador did Nimmûriya in friendship
37. [exalt and] honour: then [Nimm]ûriya sent Nisag his ambassador
38. [on account of Tadukhêpa] my darling sister, and along with [Nisag] he sent slaves to my presence [and] objects of gold
39. …… of gold … of Giliya; and ever
40. …… [Nimmûriya] returned my friendship, [and] my ambassadors
41. ……… I (?) did not send to the slaves

42. ……… among the slaves when he sent
43. …… he did not despatch to me, and … I despatched; an object (?) it had not; and so
44. [Nimmû]riya, thy father, in all the words [he had], one subject for vexation did not leave.
45. [The words] which I speak, all of them, … and a wish I do not utter. Teie
46. [knows the truth of] what I speak, and ask Teie thy [mother] if among the words which I speak
47. (there is) one word of falsehood … him did Nimmûriya thy father [honour?], and
48. Nimmûriya thy father made brotherhood [and league?] with me, and Nimmûriya thy father
49. did [not] say: At last the gold which [thou desirest] I have forwarded 1 to the land of Khani-rabbat; and when I went down and
50. he did not send the [gold which] I asked for, [to] future [days] it was left in the keeping of Nimmûriya
51. thy [father]; and Nimmûriya said to [my] envoy: Furniture (and) objects of gold, a profusion of everything
52. [which] my brother has asked for, which was left [here], which [I have agreed to give] and which my father agreed to give, I [now] send to you.
53 [And] so Nimmûriya thy father never changed his word to a non-word;
54. [through what] he said in words never did he cause vexation.

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55. [Now] they say that Nimmûriya has died, 2 and what they have said
56. has distracted my heart, 3 and I wept on that day,
57. [on my throne] I did [not] sit. 4 Bread and water on that day I did not [take], and I was sad,
58. [and] I [said]: If he is dead, in the land of my beloved (sister) and among my [servants] are the objects (of gold), and
59. [his son will succeed him?], and he loves me; or if he is alive with the god 1 and …, we love
60. [one another, and on] that account in our hearts we are [not] distant (from each other).

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61. [And now to] me the eldest son of Nimmûriya by Teie his wife
62. has made [offers of alliance and brotherhood] and has spoken thus: Nimmûriya is not dead
63. [since Napkhururi]ya [his] eldest son by Teie his chief wife (sits) in his place and
64. will never at all alter [his] words from their place (but they shall remain) as before.

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65. [Now to] my [brother] I say as follows: [Artat?]ama my brother whom we love in our hearts
66. [I have sent to? Napkhûriya] the son of Nimmûriya his father [whom I] honour on account of Teie his mother, who [was chief] wife
67. [of Nimmûriya] (and) loved (him) during the reign of (his) father, in order that she may repeat (?) the words before Napkhûriya,
68. [even the words of Nimmû]riya her husband, very earnestly, whom we love.

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69. Since [Nimmûriya] formerly sent an embassy to [me] when he dismissed Giliya, and
70. [further] sent Manê [as ambassador], and my brother despatched objects of wood, and also gold
71. …… [saying] that it (is) not gold and that I have not brought (it)
72. …… immediately from before the king

73. Nimmû[riya] my brother forthwith [despatched the object]s which my brother gave to me,
74. [saying, Take it?] since I dig [the mines] very laboriously,
75 and I [answer] thus: Nimmûriya my brother the presents
76. despatched [to me], which Napkhûriya my brother, whom [I love], has not increased above him
77. ……… and what he despatched; and since ……
78. ……… and before Manê …… I was vexed
79. ……………

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80. …… [the presents] which my brother forwarded and
81. …… [I convened] my nobles, saying: With my brother in [friendship]
82. [I am united, as his fathers with] my fathers in sooth and with his fathers
83. [my fathers; I have received] the gifts which my brother has sent and
84. …… we have rejoiced exceedingly and kept a day of festival.
85. …… he fixed ourselves, and in the [time] of night thou thyself
.      .      .      .      .      .      .      .      .

Footnotes
79:1 Winckler and Abel: Mittheilungen, i. p. 22.

80:1 Manakhbia is mentioned as the father of Amenôphis III in a tablet now at Berlin (Winckler and Abel, ii. No. 30). It represents the Egyptian Menkhepru-(Ra) or Thothmes IV.

80:2 The name is restored from the letter of Dusratta in the Mitannian language (Winckler and Abel, i. p. 29, line 55). A scarab of Amenôphis III states that in the tenth year of the Egyptian monarch, Satarna king of Nahrina sent his daughter Kirgipa to Egypt with an escort of 317 maidens.

80:3 Literally "like yourself."

80:4 Literally "made illustrious."

80:5 Khâmasi.

81:1 We must read itamar.

81:2 Literally "he performed the affiliation of that (lady) in public with his country."

81:3 Zikhkhirti for ’sikhirti. Sasba, "he made dwell," is the permansive Shaphel.

82:1 We must read u-se-its-tsi.

82:2 Literally "has gone to his destiny."

82:3 Such seems to be the signification of the text. The verb ultebsil is literally "caused to seethe."

82:4 [At]tasab.

83:1 It is unfortunate that the mutilation of the text makes it impossible to state with certainty what is the context of this interesting phrase.