Amurru (Part 4).
Reconquista. The land of Amurru, and its leaders, have been a noteworthy part of the story in recent decades. Since the reigns of Amunhotep III and Akhenaten, the lords of Amurru have caused great trouble in Egypt’s northern empire. They have raided, plundered, and even murdered their way to regional prominence. Now, a couple decades after their betrayals, King Sety I is bringing vengeance…
Note: This episode includes new content and old material from episodes 123, 124, 142c. See timecodes for relevant chapters.
Listen on 
Timecodes:
- 00:00 Introduction.
- 02:25 The Land of Amurru.
- 12:25 How Science Uncovered Amurrite Expansion.
- 24:04 The Amurru – Hittite Alliances.
- 35:44 The Battle of Amurru.
- 46:28 Can We Trust Sety’s Story?
- 51:15 Conclusion.
- 53:50 Episode 123, Amurrites and Where to Find Them.
- 2:07:17 Episode 124, The Crimes of Aziru.
- 3:07:45 Episode 142c, Aziru’s Betrayal.
Episode Details:
- Date: c. 1300 BCE.
- Music: Michael Levy – Composer for Lyre (ancientlyre.com).
- Interludes: Keith Zizza and Luke Chaos.
- Goren, Finkelstein, and Na’aman: The Expansion of the Kingdom of Amurru According to the Petrographic Investigation of the Amarna Tablets | Yuval Goren and Nadav Na’aman – Academia.edu.
- Sety’s Battle Reliefs, including the possible scenes of Amurru, at the University of Chicago: Reliefs and Inscriptions at Karnak, Volume IV: The Battle Reliefs of King Sety I | Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (uchicago.edu).
- Peter Brand, Ramesses II: Egypt’s Ultimate Pharaoh, out now from Lockwood Press.
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Partially visible relief of Sety at Karnak (Epigraphic Survey).
Map of Sety’s activities (tentative).
Syrian/Canaanite warriors, reconstruction
Priests
Veronica
Paul
Ashley Welch
Martha Gill
Steven Feurer
Nidden
Kyla
Evan A
Kendra Jones
Andy & Chelsea Lientz
Meicost Ettal
Jolle Kirpensteijn
TJ Kahn
Terri Jones
Linda Yancey
Hereditary Nobles
Donald Johnston
Joel Hadary
Brian K Barnes
Joseph Stashkevetch
Thothotep
Misty Bastian
Grace Devery
Bethany Killian
TV Liew
Eddie, Ezma, And Russo Are Law Dogs But Not Legal Beagles
Rae Knowler
Jenny Granum
Joseph Snow
Dallas Robinson
Ronald Hall
Pat Remler
Rodney Shuff
Dr. A.J. Zwagerman
Karen
William Tracy
Andrew Flaherty
Anders Hegvik
Rabia Altaf
Shawn Knight
William Russell
David Pepper
Inkymonkey
Karin W.
James Waters
Stephen King
Jan Dodoo
Kate Potter
Peter Culicover
Katherine Lewis
Pernille Engberg
Simone
RA EGYPTIAN
Elna Nilsson
Skip Howard
Eric J Holmes
Sandi & Stuart
Chrissi Ross
Bibliography
- S. Aḥituv, Canaanite Toponyms in Ancient Egyptian Documents (1984).
- G. Beckman, Hittite Diplomatic Texts (1996).
- P. J. Brand, The Monuments of Seti I: Epigraphic, Historical and Art Historical Analysis (2000).
- T. Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites (2005).
- T. Bryce and J. Birkett-Rees, Atlas of the Ancient Near East from Prehistoric Times to the Roman Imperial Period (2016).
- T. R. Bryce, Ancient Syria: A Three Thousand Year History (2014).
- T. R. Bryce, Warriors of Anatolia: A Concise History of the Hittites (2019).
- V. Davies, ‘The Treatment of Foreigners in Seti’s Battle Reliefs’, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 98 (2012), 73–85.
- A. Dodson, Sethy I King of Egypt: His Life and Afterlife (2019).
- H. El-Saady, ‘The Wars of Sety I at Karnak: A New Chronological Structure’, Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur 19 (1992), 285–94.
- R. O. Faulkner, ‘The Wars of Sethos I’, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 33 (1947), 34–9.
- Y. Goren et al., ‘The Expansion of the Kingdom of Amurru According to the Petrographic Investigation of the Amarna Tablets’, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (2003), 1–11.
- M. Healy, Qadesh 1300 BC: Clash of the Warrior Kings (1993).
- K. A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions Translated and Annotated: Notes and Comments, I (1993).
- K. A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions Translated and Annotated: Translations, I (2017).
- S. Langdon and A. H. Gardiner, ‘The Treaty of Alliance between Ḫattušili, King of the Hittites, and the Pharaoh Ramesses II of Egypt’, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 6 (1920), 179–205.
- D. D. Luckenbill, ‘Hittite Treaties and Letters’, The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures 37 (1921), 161–211.
- E. F. Morris, The Architecture of Imperialism: Military Bases and the Evolution of Foreign Policy in Egypt’s New Kingdom (2005).
- W. J. Murnane, The Road to Kadesh: A Historical Interpretation of the Battle Reliefs of King Sety I at Karnak (1985).
- I. Singer, ‘The “Land of Amurru” and the “Lands of Amurru” in the Šaušgamuwa Treaty’, Iraq 53 (1991), 69–74.
- A. J. Spalinger, ‘The Northern Wars of Seti I: An Integrative Study’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 16 (1979), 29–47.
- A. J. Spalinger, War in Ancient Egypt: The New Kingdom (2005).
- R. R. Stieglitz, ‘The City of Amurru’, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 50 (1991), 45–8.
- The Epigraphic Survey, Reliefs and Inscriptions at Karnak Volume 4: The Battle Reliefs of King Sety I (1986).
- W. Wreszinski, Atlas zur altaegyptischen Kulturgeschichte (1988).
I noted your mention of “petrography” with special delight. In the 1980s and 1990s, I was an academic geologist, studying a variety of rocks in the U.S. and Norway while teaching at a several universities. In studying rocks, the first lab method employed is observation with a petrographic microscope, which allows mineral identification and analysis of rock textures. In addition to geologic studies–and similar to the Goren et al. study you cited in this episode–I participated in one archaeological study. That project involved analysis of pot sherds from 1150 BCE to AD 1300 cultures from the state of Ohio. We identified slips, or coatings, which had not previously been reported from Midwestern cultures from those times. The study was done over a 10 year period, as children were born, I moved several times for jobs, and changed careers and marital status (you know, the normal things). For those interested, the now-24-year-old research was published in American Antiquity, available (if this works) at https://www.google.com/search?q=cotkin+clay+slip&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS738US738&oq=cotkin+clay+slip&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKAB0gEJMTA0NjJqMGo0qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Wonderful! 😊