Rib-Hadda

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Rib-Hadda (also rendered Rib-Addi, Rib-Addu, Rib-Adda) was

Ba'alat Gubla, the "Lady of Byblos" (probably another name for Asherah
).

Letter EA 362 written by Rib-Hadda to Pharaoh, one of the Amarna letters, Louvre Museum

Rib-Hadda's letters often took the form of complaints or pleas for action on the part of the reigning

Shardana
mercenaries and took captive three of Rib-Hadda's men.

Rib-Hadda was involved in a long-standing dispute with

Zemar, a city previously under his control, fell to Abdi-Ashirta (EA 84). Shortly thereafter the Egyptian commissioner Pahannate was withdrawn from northern Canaan, leaving Rib-Hadda without even the appearance of Egyptian support. His pleas for assistance evidently went unanswered (EA 107) and caused much annoyance to Akhenaten. Akhenaten's irritation with Rib-Hadda is recounted in EA 117 where the pharaoh is quoted saying to Rib-Hadda "Why do you alone keep writing to me?" (EA 117)[4] While Abdi-Ashirta is reported to have been killed in EA 101, this only provided temporary relief to Rib-Hadda since the former was succeeded by his son Aziru; Rib-Hadda soon after complains about the depredations caused by "the sons of Abdi-Ashirta" in several Amarna letters to Akhenaten such as EA 103[5] and EA 109[6]

Hatti (yellow), the Kassite
kingdom of Babylon (purple), Assyria (grey), and Mittani (red). Lighter areas show direct control, darker areas represent spheres of influence. The extent of the Achaean/Mycenaean civilization is shown in orange.

In EA 89, Rib-Hadda reported a

Tyre, in which the ruler of Tyre, his fellow kinsmen, was killed along with his family. Rib-Hadda's sister and her daughters, who had been sent to Tyre to keep them away from Abdi-Ashirta's Amurru invaders, were also presumed to be among those killed.[7] If this was not bad enough, Rib-Hadda wrote again to report that the Hittites were invading Egyptian protectorates in Syria and burning "the King's lands". (EA 126). At one point Rib-Hadda was forced to flee to exile in Beirut, under the protection of king Ammunira
. (EA 137) In EA 75, Rib-Hadda details the changing political situation around Byblos:

[Ri]b Hadda says to his lord, king of all countries, Great King: May the Lady of Gubla grant power to my lord. I fall at the feet of my lord,
Hatti has seized all the countries that were vassals of the king of Mitan<ni>...Send arc[hers] [8]

An aged and ailing Rib-Hadda continued to write to Pharaoh, telling him of violent upheavals in Phoenicia and Syria, including revolutions instigated by Abdi-Ashirta's son Aziru coupled with incursions by Apiru raiders. (e.g. EA 137)

Rib-Hadda was ultimately exiled by his younger brother Ilirabih and not long afterwards and depending on the interpretation of EA 162, either sent to be killed or offered a mayoral position in Sidon.[9] This event is mentioned in Amarna letter EA 162 from Akhenaten to Aziru.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ The designation "EA" followed by a number is used by Egyptologists and other historians to refer to the various Amarna letters by the number assigned to them.
  2. ^ William L. Moran, The Amarna Letters, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002., p.150
  3. ^ Moran, p.143 & p.151
  4. ^ Moran, p.193
  5. ^ Moran, p.176
  6. ^ Moran, p.183
  7. ^ Moran, p.162
  8. ^ Moran, EA 75 p.145
  9. ^ Trevor Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, Clarendon Press, 1998. p.186
  10. ^ Moran, The Amarna Letters, p.xxvi

Resources

  • Baikie, James. The Amarna Age: A Study of the Crisis of the Ancient World. University Press of the Pacific, 2004.
  • Cohen, Raymond and Raymond Westbrook (eds.). Amarna Diplomacy: The Beginnings of International Relations. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002.
  • Moran, William L.
    (ed. and trans.) The Amarna Letters. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992.