fend the city (by so doing?) . . . behold Yankhamu says (or asks) . . . that wheat be given to Ribadda . . . to him . . . corn (the bread of men?) . . . and now with Yapaaddu . . . their money henceforth . . . ask him, he will tell all in your presence. Mayest thou know when it is spoken in the presence of the King my Lord. And this year of storms makes the wheat scarce (in) my unhappy land . . . there was scarcity before in the city Simyra, and now behold in the city Gebal.”
The text is here too broken to be read. It seems, perhaps, to refer to the enemy having possession of the sea, and to the entreaties of Yankhamu, and to certain waters, and the general wretchedness. A paragraph then begins:[1]
“The King of the Land Taratzi[2] has coveted the city of Simyra; and they desired to march to the city of Gebal; and none now has urged him, and he has stayed in his land. Now as he is strong he will send to the great . . . by my wish s they have returned to us.” The letter is again much broken; it refers to a ruler, saying: “His heart is with my heart; but Abdasherah has conquered beyond the land of the Amorites, also since the time of your father the city of Sidon has submitted to the occupation by his allies: the lands are for the men of blood, so now there is none who is a friend (or kin) to me. Let the King regard the message of his servant. Let him give men to guard his city. Is not she insulted by all the men of blood?”
The latter part, referring to allies, is much broken.
54 B.—This is broken at the top, and considerably injured. It demands soldiers, and the restoration of the rulers. “The city of (Sidon?), and the city of Beirût, the sons of Abdasherah have silenced: they fought for the King, but the city of Sidon and the city of Beirût are not the King’s. We sent a Paka: he did not desert his duty to you, but she has rebelled to your face: for it was permitted by the freemen. The men of blood have seized the city.[3] Behold as for me this is my repetition . . . city Atsar . . . restraint . . .”
- ↑ The paragraphs are marked off in many of the letters by the word “sacunu” (“pause”).
- ↑ “Taratzi” may perhaps be Tarsus. Baal Tarzi is the legend on Phœnician coins of that city. Its king naturally would have a common border with Abdasherah on the north, if his fortresses (or land) were outside the northern Lebanon, which was the Amorite country, and he was therefore regarded as a possible ally.
- ↑ Comparing the letters from Beirût and Sidon (27 B. M., 90 B.) it will be seen that the city whose freemen were on the side of Aziru was Sidon.
