The Expansion of the Kingdom of Amurru According to the Petrographic Investigation of the Amarna Tablets

A petrographic investigation of the Amarna tablets has been carried out by the authors since 1997. Over 300 tablets have so far been examined, including 14 letters sent by the rulers of Amurru. The petrographic data makes it possible to trace the territorial expansion of the kingdom of Amurru in the days of Abdi-Ashirta and Aziru. The Amurru letters fall into four distinct petrographic groups. The first includes two letters, which were sent from the mountainous area east of Tripoli, the core area of the kingdom. The second includes four letters, which were probably dispatched from the city of Ardata in the foothills. Five letters were sent from Tell Àrqa. This seems to indicate that after consolidating his reign, Aziru transferred his capital to Irqata in the Àkkar Plain. Finally, three of Aziru's letters were sent from the Egyptian center of Sumur. No Amurru letter was sent from the city of Tunip, which was also captured by Aziru. The analysis of the letter of the citizens of Tunip supports the identification of this important city at Tell Àsharneh northwest of Hama. This city was too remote from the main arena of Aziru's operations, which was focused on the Lebanese coast. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.