Patriarchal PalestineSayce, A. H. (Archibald Henry)
History
Patriarchal Palestine
Sayce, A. H. (Archibald Henry)
Jews -- History -- To 953 B.C.; Palestine -- History
The Hittite king had been joined in his invasion of Syria by the
governors of some otherwise unknown northern cities, but the kings of
Nukhasse, Ni, Zinzar (the Sonzar of the Egyptian texts), and Kinanat
(the Kanneh of Ezek. xxvii. 23) remained faithful to the Egyptian
monarch. The rebel governors, however, were in the land of Ube,--the Aup
of the hieroglyphics,--which they were urging Aidhu-gama to invade.
Another letter brings Aziru upon the scene. He is accused of having
invaded the land of Nukhasse, and made prisoners of the people of Qatna.
The Pharaoh is prayed to rescue or ransom them, and to send chariots and
soldiers to the help of his Mesopotamian subjects. If they come all the
lands round about will acknowledge him as lord, and he will be lord also
of Nukhasse; if they do not come, the men of Qatna will be forced to
obey Aziru.
It is probable that the misdeeds of Aziru which are here referred to
were committed at the time he was in Tunip, professedly protecting it
against Hittite attack. It would seem from what Akizzi says, that
instead of faithfully performing his mission, he had aimed at
establishing his own power in Northern Syria. While nominally an officer
of the Pharaoh, he was really seeking to found an Amorite kingdom in the
north. In this he would have been a predecessor of Og and Sihon, whose
kingdoms were built up on the ruins of the Egyptian empire.
A despatch, however, from Namya-yitsa, the governor of Kumidi, sets the
conduct of Aziru in a more favourable light. It was written at a
somewhat later time, when rebellion against the Egyptian authority was
spreading throughout Syria. A certain Biridasyi had stirred up the city
of Inu'am, and after shutting its gate upon Namya-yitsa had entered the
city of Ashtaroth-Karnaim in Bashan, and there seized the chariots
belonging to the Pharaoh, handing them over to the Beduin. He then
joined the kings of Buzruna (now Bosra) and Khalunni (near the Wadi
'Allân), in a plot to murder Namya-yitsa, who escaped, however, to
Damascus, though his own brothers turned against him. The rebels next
attacked Aziru, captured some of his soldiers, and in league with
Etu-gama wasted the district of Abitu. Etakkama, however, as Etu-gama
spells his own name, professed to be a loyal servant of the Egyptian
king, and one of the Tel el-Amarna letters is from him.
We next hear of Namya-yitsa in Accho or Acre, where he had taken refuge
with Suta, or Seti, the Egyptian commissioner. Seti had already been in
Jerusalem, and had been inquiring there into the behaviour of Ebed-Tob.
The picture of incipient anarchy and rebellion which is set before us by
the correspondence from Phoenicia and Syria is repeated in that from the
centre and south of Palestine. In the centre the chief seats of the
Egyptian government were at Megiddo, at Khazi (the Gaza of 1 Chron. vii.
28), near Shechem, and at Gezer. Each of these towns was under an
Egyptian governor, specially appointed by the Pharaoh.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account