The Amarna Letters of Kadashman-Enlil
Inside the Negotiations of an Ancient Diplomatic Marriage Alliance.
Jul 7, 2009
Out of the trove of documents known as the Amarna Letters, there are three that were sent from the Babylonian King Kadashman-Enlil. These letters, identified as EA 2, EA 3 and EA 4, are part of an ongoing exchange between the Pharaoh, Amenhotep III, and the Babylonian King. The first Amarna letter, EA 1, was written by the Pharaoh to Kadashman-Enlil, and precedes these others chronologically.
A Babylonian King Seeks An Egyptian Bride
In this initial exchange, the Pharaoh makes it clear that although he desires a bride to be sent to him from Babylonia, he, in turn, will not send an Egyptian bride to Babylonia.
The Babylonian King's response, found in EA 2, is a mixture of shock and an attempt at reconciliation. Indeed, Kadashman-Enlil appears to wonder at Egypt's delay. He states clearly that his daughters are “available”, as are the daughters of Amenhotep. He asks the Pharaoh simply, “why have you not given me one?”
Nevertheless, the Babylonian King sends along a “Greeting Gift” to both the Pharaoh and to his own sister, who was already a wife of the Pharaoh. These gifts included horses, 20 wooden chariots and 180 shekels of lapis lazuli.
Then, In the next letter, EA 3, Kadashman-Enlil once again explains that his daughter is ready to be sent to Egypt. He asks why there is a delay in the arrival of her escort. The Babylonian King then continues with further complaints in regard to Egyptian actions.
The Protocol of Trade Between Egypt and Babylonia
Kadashman-Enlil is concerned that his emissaries are being unnecessarily detained in Egypt. He hearkens back to prior exchanges during the time of his father Kurigalzu I(ca.1400-1374 B.C.E.) when emissaries were returned with speed from Egypt to Babylonia. The King of Babylon then goes on to complain that in the past six months that he has received only one gift from Egypt, and that was only small quantity, just 30 mina, of poor quality gold.
Adding to the list of indignities is the accusation the Egyptians failed to invite the Babylonians to a great festival, possibly Amenhotep-III’s 30th year Jubilee. Yet, the king reminds the pharaoh, the Egyptians were invited to attend the opening of a new temple or shrine for the royal family in Babylonia. However, in spite of the slight dealt to him by the Pharaoh, i n accordance with protocol, the Babylonian King declared that he would still be sending gifts to Egypt. The King sends 25 men and 25 women as gifts to celebrate the “house-opening.” Then, as a separate “Greeting Gift”, the King sends the Pharaoh an additional 10 teams of horses and 10 chariots.
Egypt Refuses Babylon A Royal Princess
By the time Kadashman-Enlil sent his final final letter to Egypt, it was clear that he was willing to make some concessions. Letter EA 4 begins with the Babylonian king recounting the Pharaoh's words from a previous letter Amenhotep III had apparently sent to Babylon that has not yet been located by modern scholars. In that missing letter, the Pharaoh had declared that Egypt never sends its royal daughters to be brides to foreign kings.
Kadashman-Enlil seems mystified by this response and wonders who would question the Pharaoh should he choose to send one of his daughters as a bride. He then concedes the point and suggests that any Egyptian woman could be sent, and no one in Babylonia would know the difference. The Babylonian King then mentions that he too could withhold his own daughters but, since they are available, he will not.
Then, making a further concession, Kadashman-Enlil withdraws a prior demand that his daughter’s children be acknowledged as heirs for the Egyptian throne. However, this is followed by the insistence that Babylonia’s requests for animals should be met in their entirety.
Finally, in an interesting ultimatum, Kadashman-Enlil demands that all available gold in Egypt to be sent to him at once. He reminds the pharaoh that he working on a building project and has need of the gold before the end of summer, which was marked by the month of Tammuz. The Babylonian King declares that if the gold is not sent to him by this time, then there would be no amount of gold which could persuade him to send his daughter as a bride to Egypt.
Egypt Sends Gold to Babylon
It is possible that letter EA 5, sent from Amenhotep III to Kadashman-Enlil, was in response to this request. In this letter, after mentioning that he has heard of the Babylonian king’s recent construction project, the Pharaoh lists the goods that are to be sent as gifts. Interestingly, the items listed are all furnishings. While the Babylonians requested only gold, the Egyptians sent items such as chairs, tables, and footstools, all covered in gold, with the precise weight of this gold covering listed next to the description of the each item.
Although a wedding would eventually take place, the exact outcome of these negotiations is unknown. After the passing of Amenhotep III and Kadashman-Enlil, their heirs would continue to attept to keep the trade between the two kingdoms flowing. In the end, a slow erosion of imperial power along the frontiers brought the letters and the commerce to a halt, leaving the Kassites only a few more generations before they would fade into obscurity.
Sources:
Moran, William, The Amarna Letters, (Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992)
Roaf, Michael, Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia, (Andromeda, Oxfordshire, 2004.)
Shaw, Ian. The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2003.)
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