Biridašwa
Encyclopedia
Biridašwa was a mayor of Aštartu, (Tell-Ashtara
), south of Damascus
, (named Dimasqu/Dimašqu), during the time of the Amarna letters
correspondence
, about 1350-1335 BC. A second mayor of Aštartu, Ayyab
, existed in this short 15-20 year time period.
pharaoh
directly in any of the Amarna letters, he, along with the mayors of Busruna and Halunnu were involved with the intrigues of city/city-state
takeovers, in the region of Damascus
. The region around Dimašqu was named Upu
, or Apu, a name going back to at least pharaoh Thutmose III
's time, (1479-1425 BC).
the king of Dimašqu wrote 4 letters addressed to pharaoh, and letters 3 and 4 are about Biridašwa.
Letter EA 197-(EA for 'el Amarna
'), is the only reference to the locality/capture of: Šaddu. Also the only reference to city Yanuamma.
Biryawaza letter no. 3 of 4:
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'....
), 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...
, (named Dimasqu/Dimašqu), during the time of 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...
, about 1350-1335 BC. A second mayor of Aštartu, Ayyab
Ayyab
Ayyab was a king of Aštartu, named Tell 'Aštara, during the Amarna letters correspondence of 1350-1335 BC, . His city is located south of Damascus-, and is involved with the takeover of cities by the Habiru of the Amarna letters intrigues...
, existed in this short 15-20 year time period.
History
Though Biridašwa did not communicate with 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...
directly in any of the Amarna letters, he, along with the mayors of Busruna and Halunnu were involved with the intrigues of city/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:...
takeovers, in the region 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...
. The region around Dimašqu was named Upu
Upu
Upu, 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,...
, or Apu, a name going back to at least pharaoh Thutmose III
Thutmose III
Thutmose III was the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. During the first twenty-two years of Thutmose's reign he was co-regent with his stepmother, Hatshepsut, who was named the pharaoh...
's time, (1479-1425 BC).
Biridašwa of EA letters 196, and EA 197
BiryawazaBiryawaza
Biryawaza was king of Damascus in the middle fourteenth century BC. In the Amarna letters, he was ordered by his Egyptian overlords to take armed action against Labaya's sons ....
the king of Dimašqu wrote 4 letters addressed to pharaoh, and letters 3 and 4 are about Biridašwa.
Letter no. 197: title: "Biryawaza's plight"
Biryawaza letter no. 4 of 4:- "[... ...he] said t[o me when] your servant was in A[dura, ...They gave] his horses and hi[s] chariotChariotThe chariot is a type of horse carriage used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Ox carts, proto-chariots, were built by the Proto-Indo-Europeans and also built in Mesopotamia as early as 3000 BC. The original horse chariot was a fast, light, open, two wheeled...
s to the 'ApiruHabiruHabiru 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...
, and they did not [give them] to the king, my lord. And who am I? My (only) purpose is to be a servant. Everything belongs to the king. Biridašwa saw this deed and moved Yanuamma to rebellion against me. Having barred the city gateCity gateA city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. Other terms include port.-Uses:City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods and animals...
against me, he took chariots from AštartuTell-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'....
but gave both of them to the 'Apiru and did not give both of them to the king, my lord. When the king of Busruna and the king of Halunnu saw (i.e. saw this), they waged war with Biridašwa against me, constantly saying, "Come, let's kill BiryawazaBiryawazaBiryawaza was king of Damascus in the middle fourteenth century BC. In the Amarna letters, he was ordered by his Egyptian overlords to take armed action against Labaya's sons ....
-(i.e. 'of Damascus'), and we must not let him go to [...] ...." But, I got away from them and stayed in [...]–DimašqaDamascusDamascus , 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...
, for [by myself h]ow can I serv[e the king, my lord]? [They] keep saying, "[We are servants of the king of Hat]tiHistory of the HittitesHittites 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...
," and I keep saying, "I am a servant of the king of Egyp[t]-(named MizriMizraimMizraim is the Hebrew name for the land of Egypt, with the dual suffix -āyim, perhaps referring to the "two Egypts": Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt....
)." ArsawuyaArsawuyaArsawuya was a 'mayor' of Ruhizzi, located east of Qidšu-, and farther east beyond the Anti-Lebanon mountain range, during the 1350-1335 BC Amarna letters correspondence...
went to Ki[ssa]-(Qidšu/KadeshKadeshThis article is about Kadesh in the lands of the Amurru, bordering on Damascus Syria up to Hammath; see also Kadesh or Kedesh Kadesh was an ancient city of the Levant, located on or near the headwaters or ford of the Orontes River...
), took (some of) AziruAziruAziru was the Canaanite ruler of Amurru, modern Lebanon, in the fourteenth century BC. He was the son of Abdi-Ashirta, the previous Egyptian vassal of Amurru and a direct contemporary of Akhenaten.The dealings of Aziru are well-known from the Amarna letters...
's troops, and captured Šaddu. He gave it to the 'Apiru and did not give it to the king, my lord. Now, since Itatkama (EtakkamaEtakkamaEtakkama, as a common name, but also, Aitukama, Atakama, Etakama, and Itakama is the name for the 'mayor' of Qidšu, of the 1350-1335 BC Amarna letters correspondence....
), has caused the loss of the land of Kissa, and since Arsawuya along with Biridašwa is causing the loss of ApuUpuUpu, 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,...
-(i.e. the "region" surrounding Damascus), may the king look carefully to his land lest the enemies take it. Since my brothers are at war with me, I am guarding KumiduKamed al lawzKamed El-Loz, is located in West Bekaa, Lebanon, and is known as Kumidi in the El Amarna documents.This town was the site of major German archaeological excavations between 1963 and 1981...
, the city of the king, my lord. May the king indeed be at one with his servant. [M]ay the king [not] abandon his servant, [and may] the kings of [... (and) the ki]ngs of Apu see whe[ther ...] ... I have seen the archersArchers (Egyptian pítati)The Pítati were a contingent of archers in the Egyptian Empire, often requested and dispatched, to support the Egyptian vassalage in Canaan, or northern Canaan...
. -EA 197, lines 1-42 (~~complete, with lacunaeLacuna (manuscripts)A lacunaPlural lacunae. From Latin lacūna , diminutive form of lacus . is a gap in a manuscript, inscription, text, painting, or a musical work...
)
Letter EA 197-(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...
'), is the only reference to the locality/capture of: Šaddu. Also the only reference to city Yanuamma.
Letter no. 196: title: "Unheard-of deeds"
Biryawaza's letter 196, is a heavily reconstructed letter with "6 lines of 43", a lacuna. The ending is mostly complete and has the referencing to Biridašwa.Biryawaza letter no. 3 of 4:
- "...
- Moreover, may the king, [my] lord, send me 200–men to guard ((to guard))-(-emphasis?), the cities of the king, [my] lord, [un]til [I] see the archersArchers (Egyptian pítati)The Pítati were a contingent of archers in the Egyptian Empire, often requested and dispatched, to support the Egyptian vassalage in Canaan, or northern Canaan...
[of the king], my lord. The king, my lord, must not negle[ct] this deed that Biridašwa [has] committed, for he has moved the land of [the king], my lord, and [his] cities to rebellion." -EA 196 (only lines 33-43(End))