Pirissi and Tulubri
Encyclopedia
Pirissi and Tulubri are a pair of messengers of the 1350-1335 BC Amarna letters
correspondence
. Pirissi and Tulubri are the messengers of King Tushratta
of Mitanni, and are referenced in Amarna letters EA 27, 28, and EA 29, (EA for 'el Amarna
').
Queen Tiye
of the letter is the Great Royal Wife
of Amenhotep III
-(Akhenaten
's father–(Akhenaten=Amenhotep IV)). The letter EA 28 is by King Tushratta
of Mitanni
, sent to Akhenaten, King of ancient Egypt.
his mother. The "docket" on the reverse of EA 23 states the following:
):
A similar consultation/exhortation to Queen Teye can be found in letter EA 26, written to Teye, entitled: To the Queen Mother. In the second paragraph of the letter, (lines 7-18), Tushratta talks privately to Teye
, and ends by saying: "...who knows much better than all others the things [that] we said [to one an]other. No one [el]se knows them (-as well)."
In EA 27, and 29, the names of the messengers are partial, or in sections of missing/damaged characters-(lacunae
).
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...
. Pirissi and Tulubri are the messengers of King Tushratta
Tushratta
Tushratta was a king of Mitanni at the end of the reign of Amenhotep III and throughout the reign of Akhenaten -- approximately the late 14th century BC. He was the son of Shuttarna II...
of Mitanni, and are referenced in Amarna letters EA 27, 28, and EA 29, (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...
').
Queen Tiye
Tiye
Tiye was the daughter of Yuya and Tjuyu . She became the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III....
of the letter is the Great Royal Wife
Great Royal Wife
Great Royal Wife or Chief King's Wife is the term used to refer to the chief wife of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. While most Ancient Egyptians were monogamous, the pharaoh would have had other, lesser wives and concubines in addition to the Great Royal Wife...
of Amenhotep III
Amenhotep III
Amenhotep III also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty. According to different authors, he ruled Egypt from June 1386 to 1349 BC or June 1388 BC to December 1351 BC/1350 BC after his father Thutmose IV died...
-(Akhenaten
Akhenaten
Akhenaten also spelled Echnaton,Ikhnaton,and Khuenaten;meaning "living spirit of Aten") known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV , was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC...
's father–(Akhenaten=Amenhotep IV)). The letter EA 28 is by King Tushratta
Tushratta
Tushratta was a king of Mitanni at the end of the reign of Amenhotep III and throughout the reign of Akhenaten -- approximately the late 14th century BC. He was the son of Shuttarna II...
of Mitanni
Mitanni
Mitanni or Hanigalbat was a loosely organized Hurrian-speaking state in northern Syria and south-east Anatolia from ca. 1500 BC–1300 BC...
, sent to Akhenaten, King of ancient Egypt.
Egyptian docket notation (in black), reverse of EA 23
Shortly after Amenhotep IV-(Akhenaten) became Pharaoh of Egypt, Tushratta wrote letters(?) to TiyeTiye
Tiye was the daughter of Yuya and Tjuyu . She became the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III....
his mother. The "docket" on the reverse of EA 23 states the following:
- "Regnal 2?-[year], first month of the Growing seasonSeason of the EmergenceThe Season of the Emergence , or Proyet, or Peret, is the second season or Winter season of the Egyptian calendar. It falls roughly between early January and early May.)...
, day 5?, when One(i.e. 1="the King") was in the Southern City (=ThebesThebes, EgyptThebes is the Greek name for a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river Nile within the modern city of Luxor. The Theban Necropolis is situated nearby on the west bank of the Nile.-History:...
) in the estate of "Rejoicing in the Horizon". Copy of the NaharinNaharinNaharin, MdC transliteration nhrn, was the Ancient Egyptian term for the kingdom of Mitanni during the New Kingdom period of the 18th Dynasty. The New Kingdom 18th dynasty was in conflict with the kingdom of Mitanni for control of the Levant from the reigns of Thutmose I, Thutmose III ...
letter which the messenger Pirizzi (and) the messenger [Tulubri] brought." -(complete)
EA 28, Title: "Messengers detained and a protest"
Letter no. 12 of 13-(to AkhenatenAkhenaten
Akhenaten also spelled Echnaton,Ikhnaton,and Khuenaten;meaning "living spirit of Aten") known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV , was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC...
):
- "Say to Naphurereya-(Amenhotep IV), the king of Egyp[t], my brother, my son–in–law, who lo[ves me] and whom I love: Thus TušrattaTushrattaTushratta was a king of Mitanni at the end of the reign of Amenhotep III and throughout the reign of Akhenaten -- approximately the late 14th century BC. He was the son of Shuttarna II...
, the king of Mittan[i] , your father–in–law, who loves you, your brother. For me all goes well-(šalāmu). For you may all go well. For your household, for TeyeTiyeTiye was the daughter of Yuya and Tjuyu . She became the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III....
, your mother, the mistress of Egypt-("Mizri", see: MizraimMizraimMizraim 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....
), for Tadu-HebaTadukhipaTadukhipa, in the Hurrian language Tadu-Hepa, was the daughter of Tushratta, king of Mitanni and his queen, Juni and niece of Artashumara. Tadukhipa's aunt Gilukhipa had married Pharaoh Amenhotep III in his 10th regnal year...
, my daughter, your wife, for the rest of your wives, for your sons, for your magnates, for your 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, for your horseHorseThe horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s, for your troops, for your country, and for whatever else belongs to you, may all go very, very well-(dan-niš, dan-niš="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...
"}. - Pirissi and Tulubri, [m]y messengersCourierA courier is a person or a company who delivers messages, packages, and mail. Couriers are distinguished from ordinary mail services by features such as speed, security, tracking, signature, specialization and individualization of express services, and swift delivery times, which are optional for...
, I sent posthaste to my brother, and having told them to hurry very, very-(dan-niš, dan-niš) much, I sent them with a very small escort. Earlier, I had said this to my brother: "I am going to detain Mane, [my brothers's] messenger, until [my] brother lets my messengers go and they come to m[e]." - And now my brother has absolutely refused to let them go, and he has put them under very strict detention. What are messengers? Unless they are birdBirdBirds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s, are they going to fly and go away? Why does my brother suffer so about the messengers? Why can't one [sim]ply go into the presence of the other and hea[r] [the ot]her's greeting, [and] both of us rejoice very, very-(dan-niš, dan-niš) much every day? - May my [brother] let my messengers go promptly so I [m]ay hear the greeting [of] my [broth]er ...
- I want to let [Mane] go and I want to send [my] mess[engers to m]y [brother] as in the past, [that] I may h[ear] my brother's former ... [...] ... He went to my brother, and may my brother do absolutely every thing I want and not cause me dist[ress].
- TeyeTiyeTiye was the daughter of Yuya and Tjuyu . She became the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III....
, your mother, knows all the words that I spoke with yo[ur] father. No one else knows them. You must ask TeyeTiyeTiye was the daughter of Yuya and Tjuyu . She became the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III....
, your mother, about them so she can tell you. Just as your father-(Amenhotep IIIAmenhotep IIIAmenhotep III also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty. According to different authors, he ruled Egypt from June 1386 to 1349 BC or June 1388 BC to December 1351 BC/1350 BC after his father Thutmose IV died...
) always showed love to me, so now may my brother always show love to me. And may my brother listen to nothing from anyone else." -EA 28, lines 1-49 (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...
, (lines 32-36, etc.))
A similar consultation/exhortation to Queen Teye can be found in letter EA 26, written to Teye, entitled: To the Queen Mother. In the second paragraph of the letter, (lines 7-18), Tushratta talks privately to Teye
Tiye
Tiye was the daughter of Yuya and Tjuyu . She became the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III....
, and ends by saying: "...who knows much better than all others the things [that] we said [to one an]other. No one [el]se knows them (-as well)."
In EA 27, and 29, the names of the messengers are partial, or in sections of missing/damaged characters-(lacunae
Lacuna (manuscripts)
A lacunaPlural lacunae. From Latin lacūna , diminutive form of lacus . is a gap in a manuscript, inscription, text, painting, or a musical work...
).
See also
- Amarna lettersAmarna lettersThe 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...
- TushrattaTushrattaTushratta was a king of Mitanni at the end of the reign of Amenhotep III and throughout the reign of Akhenaten -- approximately the late 14th century BC. He was the son of Shuttarna II...
, King of Hanigalbat-Mittani - TiyeTiyeTiye was the daughter of Yuya and Tjuyu . She became the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III....
- TadukhipaTadukhipaTadukhipa, in the Hurrian language Tadu-Hepa, was the daughter of Tushratta, king of Mitanni and his queen, Juni and niece of Artashumara. Tadukhipa's aunt Gilukhipa had married Pharaoh Amenhotep III in his 10th regnal year...
-(Tadu-Heba)