This is an essay I wrote recently for my class on Ancient Near Eastern History. It's one of the longest essays I have ever written, at 1607 words - 107 words over the target length of 1500 - and I greatly enjoyed writing it. It's also one of my first serious college essays, so it's definitely a point of pride for me. Seeing that, I figured I would post it here for you all to read, comment on, critique, et cetera! Enjoy!
In Late Bronze Age Egypt, specifically during the reigns of pharaohs Amenhotep III and Akhenaten, a number of clay tablets were found at Tell el-Amarna, known in ancient times as Akhetaten, that revolutionized what we knew about the era’s system of international relations, one that represented a political culture far different from the one we know today. The Amarna Letters, since their discovery, have brought to light the existence of a system full of nuance and complexity; one of both geopolitical relations between states and of personal relations between the rulers of said states; and one that was the product of a long progression of geopolitical history culminating in an egalitarian and reciprocal system of great powers.
First, before delving into said historical progression, it is important that one establishes the exact nature of the system being studied. As historian Kevin Avruch writes in his book Amarna Diplomacy: the Beginnings of International Relations, “It is clear that the Great Kings are engaged in fairly large-scale trade among themselves and that raw materials flow from the vassals to the center. In the Letters, this trade is conflated with more archaic-looking gift exchange, so that commerce appears in the guise of reciprocity.” (Avruch 155) This demonstrates two primary features of the Amarna System. Firstly, this was a system that had layers. There were great powers that traded amongst themselves, and vassals that provided the great powers with any necessary additional resources. Secondly, this was a highly personal system, in each layer. Letters from Egyptian vassals to the Pharaoh, for example, demonstrate what Avruch calls “prostration formulae” (Avruch 158). The rulers of vassal states would pay personal homage to the Pharaoh, humbling themselves to the very level of their persons before their lord. Meanwhile, the rulers of the great powers operated on a more egalitarian basis, with Great Kings often calling each other “my brother” (Avruch 159). Though not completely tranquil, the Great Kings had a sort of familial relationship, and trade between their states was like trade between they themselves, as individual people. W.L. Moran, in his own book simply entitled The Amarna Letters, further notes that the Amarna Letters, being written in cuneiform, are “manifestations of the ‘cuneiform culture’” (Moran XVIII), stating that “by the first quarter of the second millennium BC, knowledge of cuneiform writing had spread far and wide, and Babylonian had become the principal language of a cosmopolitan culture” (Moran XVIII). The spread of Babylonian cuneiform as an international writing system during this period further demonstrates the sophisticated level of complexity at which trade was conducted.
Naturally, the international system seen in the Amarna Letters was not always as complex, nor was it always nearly as expansive and interconnected. In his book The Archaeology of Early Egypt: Social Transformations in North-East Africa, David Wengrow notes that, for example, “throughout the initial period of state formation Egypt maintained and expanded terrestrial and maritime relations with the southern Levant. By 3300 BC, Levantine products - notably highland commodities such as wine, oil, resin, and timber - played an important role in local patterns of consumption and display.” (Wengrow 137) These developments were shared throughout the Ancient Near East, as Wengrow notes that “the changing relationship between Egypt and the Levant [...] parallels the contemporary articulation of lowland Mesopotamia with the northern margins of the Fertile Crescent” (Wengrow 138). At these early points in the region’s history, when goods started to be exchanged between the major early population centers of the Ancient Near East, commercial links were also made between states and peoples, which played an important part early on in the path towards the Amarna System. However, this period did not just see the beginnings of international commerce in the region; it also saw a cross-cultural pollination best exemplified by, as put forward by Andres Diego Espinel in his paper The Role of the Temple of Ba'alat Gebal as Intermediary between Egypt and Byblos during the Old Kingdom, as the title suggests, “possible Egyptian influence and of material allegedly belonging to the Old Kingdom” may very well be present at the Temple of Ba’alat Gebal in the Levantine city of Byblos, now in modern day Lebanon. Though still under discussion by experts in the field, if these correlations are found to be true it would represent the presence of substantial foreign cultural influence in Byblos, considering the status of Ba’alat Gebal as the most prominent goddess in the city at that point in time.
Eventually, as the Bronze Age progressed, new states began to coalesce. Marc Van de Mieroop, in his book A History of the Ancient Near East, writes that “within the hurly-burly of competing dynasties that characterized the first half of the second millennium, a small number of highly accomplished rulers stand out. For short periods of time, these men were able to extend their political control over a wide geographical area, creating short-lived territorial states.” (Van de Mieroop 67) These states included the Babylonian Empire of Hammurabi, the Old Hittite Kingdom founded by Hattusili I, and the Old Assyrian Empire founded by Shamshi-Adad I. These states, though they did not last, would lay the groundwork for the emergence of later, stronger kingdoms during the Late Bronze Age, when the Amarna Letters were written, based upon the ethnic and cultural identities first founded at this point in time during the Middle Bronze Age which Van de Mieroop mentions. Indeed, as Van de Mieroop himself notes, “Despite the ephemeral nature of their states, the changes these men initiated laid the foundations for the system of territorial states in later centuries.” (Van de Mieroop 67) However, this period saw another major step on the path towards the Amarna System. As mentioned previously, Babylonian cuneiform was the most common international writing system of the Ancient Near East during the Late Bronze Age, when the Amarna Letters were written; indeed, most of the letters were written in said cuneiform script. That trend started during this period. We know this because, as Van de Mieroop notes, after the Babylonian Empire fell, “when scribal activity stopped, the last works were left behind. We can study the school curriculum on the basis of these exercises, including mathematics, surveying, and music.” (Van de Mieroop 123) From what we know about said curriculum based on this, learning how to write in cuneiform was a paramount skill taught in schools at the time, and eventually “models from Babylonia inspired the numerous letters written throughout the Near East.” (Van de Mieroop 125)
At this point, many of the cultures that came to prominence during the Late Bronze Age were all in place, as was the nature of the written international communication that would come to serve as one of the foundations of the Amarna System. However, the exact political configurations were not yet in place. Van de Mieroop notes that “by 1590 [BC] the Near East looked very different from what it had been four generations earlier. A system of flourishing states, ruled by courts in close contact with one another, spreading from the Mediterranean coast to the Persian Gulf, had been fully wiped out.” (Van de Mieroop 131) A “dark age” had set in since the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire, and it was this vacuum that bridged the Middle and Late Bronze Ages and allowed the states that would define the latter to rise. It was during this period that new people groups, such as “the Kassites in the south and the Hurrians in the north” (Van de Mieroop 131), rose, with the Hurrians forming Mitanni in northern Syria and the Kassites reconsolidating Babylon, founding a second and long-lasting Babylonian empire. As well, the “known world”, as far as the people of the Ancient Near East were concerned, greatly expanded during this period. Van de Mieroop notes that “after 1500 we observe a shift of attention of the people of the Near East from east to west: islands and countries across the Mediterranean Sea became incorporated in the Near Eastern world-view.” (Van de Mieroop 133) States such as Alashiya, the cities of Mycenaean Greece, and the port city of Ugarit began to come to prominence, and maritime trade in the Eastern Mediterranean region began to drastically increase. This, in turn, greatly benefited the economies of other areas, such as Mesopotamia and Anatolia, and ushered in the Late Bronze Age. Great powers, at this point, either began to establish themselves or were in the process of doing so. The Hittites, Babylonians, and Egyptians all flourished, as well as the Mitanni until they were defeated by the Hittites and replaced with a new Assyrian Empire. Around these powers and in the gaps between them, smaller vassal states and trade cities flourished; and, consequently, the Amarna System of international relations between them became complete.
While it is not unheard of for history to turn in a new direction suddenly - the Late Bronze Age Collapse that destroyed the Amarna System and the cultures that participated in it comes to mind- more often than not, there is a series of factors that led to a certain event or set of circumstances such as the Amarna System, and that very system is no exception. History, or indeed any discipline of study, is never truly simple, and when dealing with an environment such as the Ancient Near East, where sources are much more scarce and much older than in many other fields, recognition of nuances such as the long path that Ancient Near Eastern society took to get to what we see in the Amarna Letters is paramount to forge an optimal understanding of this mysterious, alien, and enchanting period of history.
Avruch, K. (2000) ‘Reciprocity, Equality, and Status-Anxiety in the Amarna Letters’, in R. Cohen and R. Westbrook (eds.) Amarna Diplomacy. The Beginnings of International Relations, Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 154-164.
Espinel, A. E. (2002) ‘The Role of the Temple of Ba’alat Gebal as Intermediary between Egypt and Byblos during the Old Kingdom’, Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur 20, pp. 103-119.
Wengrow, D. (2006) The Archaeology of Early Egypt. Social Transformations in North-East Africa, 10,000 to 2650 BC, Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press (Chapter 7, ‘Egypt and the Outside World II, c. 3300- 2500 BC’, pp. 135-150).
Van De Mieroop, M. (2016) A History of the Ancient Near East, ca. 3000-323 BC, Chichester and Malden: Wiley Blackwell (pp. 67-89, 113-134, 160-165).
Moran, W. L. (1992) The Amarna Letters, Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press (pp. xiiixxxix, 1-5, 92-100).
The Amarna Letters: What Are They and Where Did They Come From?
by Syrixia
by Syrixia
In Late Bronze Age Egypt, specifically during the reigns of pharaohs Amenhotep III and Akhenaten, a number of clay tablets were found at Tell el-Amarna, known in ancient times as Akhetaten, that revolutionized what we knew about the era’s system of international relations, one that represented a political culture far different from the one we know today. The Amarna Letters, since their discovery, have brought to light the existence of a system full of nuance and complexity; one of both geopolitical relations between states and of personal relations between the rulers of said states; and one that was the product of a long progression of geopolitical history culminating in an egalitarian and reciprocal system of great powers.
First, before delving into said historical progression, it is important that one establishes the exact nature of the system being studied. As historian Kevin Avruch writes in his book Amarna Diplomacy: the Beginnings of International Relations, “It is clear that the Great Kings are engaged in fairly large-scale trade among themselves and that raw materials flow from the vassals to the center. In the Letters, this trade is conflated with more archaic-looking gift exchange, so that commerce appears in the guise of reciprocity.” (Avruch 155) This demonstrates two primary features of the Amarna System. Firstly, this was a system that had layers. There were great powers that traded amongst themselves, and vassals that provided the great powers with any necessary additional resources. Secondly, this was a highly personal system, in each layer. Letters from Egyptian vassals to the Pharaoh, for example, demonstrate what Avruch calls “prostration formulae” (Avruch 158). The rulers of vassal states would pay personal homage to the Pharaoh, humbling themselves to the very level of their persons before their lord. Meanwhile, the rulers of the great powers operated on a more egalitarian basis, with Great Kings often calling each other “my brother” (Avruch 159). Though not completely tranquil, the Great Kings had a sort of familial relationship, and trade between their states was like trade between they themselves, as individual people. W.L. Moran, in his own book simply entitled The Amarna Letters, further notes that the Amarna Letters, being written in cuneiform, are “manifestations of the ‘cuneiform culture’” (Moran XVIII), stating that “by the first quarter of the second millennium BC, knowledge of cuneiform writing had spread far and wide, and Babylonian had become the principal language of a cosmopolitan culture” (Moran XVIII). The spread of Babylonian cuneiform as an international writing system during this period further demonstrates the sophisticated level of complexity at which trade was conducted.
Naturally, the international system seen in the Amarna Letters was not always as complex, nor was it always nearly as expansive and interconnected. In his book The Archaeology of Early Egypt: Social Transformations in North-East Africa, David Wengrow notes that, for example, “throughout the initial period of state formation Egypt maintained and expanded terrestrial and maritime relations with the southern Levant. By 3300 BC, Levantine products - notably highland commodities such as wine, oil, resin, and timber - played an important role in local patterns of consumption and display.” (Wengrow 137) These developments were shared throughout the Ancient Near East, as Wengrow notes that “the changing relationship between Egypt and the Levant [...] parallels the contemporary articulation of lowland Mesopotamia with the northern margins of the Fertile Crescent” (Wengrow 138). At these early points in the region’s history, when goods started to be exchanged between the major early population centers of the Ancient Near East, commercial links were also made between states and peoples, which played an important part early on in the path towards the Amarna System. However, this period did not just see the beginnings of international commerce in the region; it also saw a cross-cultural pollination best exemplified by, as put forward by Andres Diego Espinel in his paper The Role of the Temple of Ba'alat Gebal as Intermediary between Egypt and Byblos during the Old Kingdom, as the title suggests, “possible Egyptian influence and of material allegedly belonging to the Old Kingdom” may very well be present at the Temple of Ba’alat Gebal in the Levantine city of Byblos, now in modern day Lebanon. Though still under discussion by experts in the field, if these correlations are found to be true it would represent the presence of substantial foreign cultural influence in Byblos, considering the status of Ba’alat Gebal as the most prominent goddess in the city at that point in time.
Eventually, as the Bronze Age progressed, new states began to coalesce. Marc Van de Mieroop, in his book A History of the Ancient Near East, writes that “within the hurly-burly of competing dynasties that characterized the first half of the second millennium, a small number of highly accomplished rulers stand out. For short periods of time, these men were able to extend their political control over a wide geographical area, creating short-lived territorial states.” (Van de Mieroop 67) These states included the Babylonian Empire of Hammurabi, the Old Hittite Kingdom founded by Hattusili I, and the Old Assyrian Empire founded by Shamshi-Adad I. These states, though they did not last, would lay the groundwork for the emergence of later, stronger kingdoms during the Late Bronze Age, when the Amarna Letters were written, based upon the ethnic and cultural identities first founded at this point in time during the Middle Bronze Age which Van de Mieroop mentions. Indeed, as Van de Mieroop himself notes, “Despite the ephemeral nature of their states, the changes these men initiated laid the foundations for the system of territorial states in later centuries.” (Van de Mieroop 67) However, this period saw another major step on the path towards the Amarna System. As mentioned previously, Babylonian cuneiform was the most common international writing system of the Ancient Near East during the Late Bronze Age, when the Amarna Letters were written; indeed, most of the letters were written in said cuneiform script. That trend started during this period. We know this because, as Van de Mieroop notes, after the Babylonian Empire fell, “when scribal activity stopped, the last works were left behind. We can study the school curriculum on the basis of these exercises, including mathematics, surveying, and music.” (Van de Mieroop 123) From what we know about said curriculum based on this, learning how to write in cuneiform was a paramount skill taught in schools at the time, and eventually “models from Babylonia inspired the numerous letters written throughout the Near East.” (Van de Mieroop 125)
At this point, many of the cultures that came to prominence during the Late Bronze Age were all in place, as was the nature of the written international communication that would come to serve as one of the foundations of the Amarna System. However, the exact political configurations were not yet in place. Van de Mieroop notes that “by 1590 [BC] the Near East looked very different from what it had been four generations earlier. A system of flourishing states, ruled by courts in close contact with one another, spreading from the Mediterranean coast to the Persian Gulf, had been fully wiped out.” (Van de Mieroop 131) A “dark age” had set in since the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire, and it was this vacuum that bridged the Middle and Late Bronze Ages and allowed the states that would define the latter to rise. It was during this period that new people groups, such as “the Kassites in the south and the Hurrians in the north” (Van de Mieroop 131), rose, with the Hurrians forming Mitanni in northern Syria and the Kassites reconsolidating Babylon, founding a second and long-lasting Babylonian empire. As well, the “known world”, as far as the people of the Ancient Near East were concerned, greatly expanded during this period. Van de Mieroop notes that “after 1500 we observe a shift of attention of the people of the Near East from east to west: islands and countries across the Mediterranean Sea became incorporated in the Near Eastern world-view.” (Van de Mieroop 133) States such as Alashiya, the cities of Mycenaean Greece, and the port city of Ugarit began to come to prominence, and maritime trade in the Eastern Mediterranean region began to drastically increase. This, in turn, greatly benefited the economies of other areas, such as Mesopotamia and Anatolia, and ushered in the Late Bronze Age. Great powers, at this point, either began to establish themselves or were in the process of doing so. The Hittites, Babylonians, and Egyptians all flourished, as well as the Mitanni until they were defeated by the Hittites and replaced with a new Assyrian Empire. Around these powers and in the gaps between them, smaller vassal states and trade cities flourished; and, consequently, the Amarna System of international relations between them became complete.
While it is not unheard of for history to turn in a new direction suddenly - the Late Bronze Age Collapse that destroyed the Amarna System and the cultures that participated in it comes to mind- more often than not, there is a series of factors that led to a certain event or set of circumstances such as the Amarna System, and that very system is no exception. History, or indeed any discipline of study, is never truly simple, and when dealing with an environment such as the Ancient Near East, where sources are much more scarce and much older than in many other fields, recognition of nuances such as the long path that Ancient Near Eastern society took to get to what we see in the Amarna Letters is paramount to forge an optimal understanding of this mysterious, alien, and enchanting period of history.
Bibliography
Avruch, K. (2000) ‘Reciprocity, Equality, and Status-Anxiety in the Amarna Letters’, in R. Cohen and R. Westbrook (eds.) Amarna Diplomacy. The Beginnings of International Relations, Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 154-164.
Espinel, A. E. (2002) ‘The Role of the Temple of Ba’alat Gebal as Intermediary between Egypt and Byblos during the Old Kingdom’, Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur 20, pp. 103-119.
Wengrow, D. (2006) The Archaeology of Early Egypt. Social Transformations in North-East Africa, 10,000 to 2650 BC, Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press (Chapter 7, ‘Egypt and the Outside World II, c. 3300- 2500 BC’, pp. 135-150).
Van De Mieroop, M. (2016) A History of the Ancient Near East, ca. 3000-323 BC, Chichester and Malden: Wiley Blackwell (pp. 67-89, 113-134, 160-165).
Moran, W. L. (1992) The Amarna Letters, Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press (pp. xiiixxxix, 1-5, 92-100).
