He goes on to mention “the Sudu people” who were taking advantage of Aziru’s absence to further their own ends: And all lands and all Sudu-people have said, “Aziru does not come from Egypt.” And now the Sudu steal out of the lands and exalt themselves against me, saying, “Your father dwells in Egypt, so we will make hostility with you.”[37] We do not know what happened to Rib-Addi. By his own testimony he was an old man, but whether he died of natural causes or was a casualty in the battles of his generation we do not know. There seems to be a poetic justice in the fate of Aziru. As he had terrorized the Phoenician countryside, so his Amorite lands were terrorized by other tribes which were seeking a place for themselves in a time of general chaos. While Suppiluliumas backed Aziru, the Hittites were really only using him as a pawn to weaken Egyptian control in Asia and prepare the way for Hittite domination. Lab‘ayu of Shechem The troublemaker in the region around Shechem was a man named Lab‘ayu who, in league with the ‘Apiru people, sought to control the central hill country of Canaan. Like Aziru, farther north, Lab‘ayu sent letters to Egypt affirming his loyalty: Behold, I am a faithful servant of the king, and I have not committed a crime, and I have not sinned, and I do not refuse my tribute, and I do not refuse the demand of my deputy. Behold, I have been slandered and evil entreated but the king, my lord, has not made known to me my crime.[38] Biridya of Megiddo, however, saw things differently: To the king, my lord and my sun, say: Thus says Biridya, the faithful servant of the king. At the feet of the king, my lord and my sun, seven and seven times I fall. Let the king know that ever since the archers returned, Lab‘ayu has carried on hostilities against me, and we are not able to pluck the wool, and we are not able to go outside the gate in the presence of Lab‘ayu since he has learned that you have not given archers, and now his face is set to take Megiddo, but let the king protect his city lest Lab‘ayu seize it. Indeed, the city is destroyed by death from pestilence and disease. Let the king give one hundred garrison troops lest Lab‘ayu seize it. Verily there is no other purpose in Lab‘ayu. He seeks to destroy Megiddo.[39] Biridya succeeded in capturing Lab‘ayu, and plans were made to send him to Egypt. He was turned over to Zurata of Akko, an ally of Biridya, who was to send him to Egypt by ship. Zurata, however, accepted a bribe and released Lab‘ayu.[40] His freedom was brief for Lab‘ayu was murdered before he could reach home, but lawlessness continued as the sons of Lab‘ayu continued to terrorize the countryside.[41] Abdi-Khepa of Jerusalem At least seven letters were addressed to the Pharaoh by Abdi-Khepa of Jerusalem, asking help in resisting the encroachments of a people known as ‘Apiru. He notes: