From these tablets we obtain certain details as to the state of the Holy Land and the surrounding country before the entry of the Israelites. Besides the kingdom of Mitanni mentioned above, there were the states of Alašia (supposed to be Cyprus), Ziri-bašani (plain of Bashan), Hazor, Askelon, Lachish, Gaza, Qatna (west of Damascus), Accho, Simyra, Tyre, Sidon, the Amorites, the Hittites, Dunip (Tenneb), Jerusalem, etc., etc. Many of them were small states with the cities after which they are named as capital, and naturally were obliged to enter into a league for their common protection, or else accept the suzerainty of some more powerful state, falling, if its protector went under, into the power of the common invader. It must have been in consequence of this state of things in the east Mediterranean littoral that Egypt was able to extend her power so far, and subdue this large district.
From these tablets we learn something of their religion. To all appearance one of the gods most worshipped in the extreme west of Asia was Rimmon, the Rammānu (“thunderer”) of the Assyrians and Babylonians, the Addu or Hadad of the Semitic nations of this district (the name Addu afterwards became general as the appellation of the god in Babylonia and Assyria), and the Tešupa or Tešub of Mitanni (Aram-Naharaim) and district to the north (Armenia). At Tyre they seem to have worshipped [pg 278] a personage or deity called Šalmayātu, whilst the Phœnician Astarte is commemorated in âl Aštarti, “the city of Aštartu,” perhaps Ashtaroth, 29 miles east of Tiberias (Petrie). As the word Ashtoreth is evidently a lengthening of the name of the Assyro-Babylonian goddess Ištar, it is not to be wondered at that this goddess should be mentioned by the king of Mitanni, Dušratta, who refers to a statue of Ištar of Nineveh, which had been sent to Egypt, and requests that it may be returned to him soon. The name of Nergal, also, was evidently familiar to the king of Alašia, for he speaks of the hand of that god as having killed all his people, when wishing to refer to the prevalence of a pestilence there, Nergal being the Assyro-Babylonian god of disease and death. In the same way Dušratta speaks of Šamaš, the Assyro-Babylonian Sun-god, but he refers to him more as the luminary which men love than as a god, though there is every probability that he was worshipped in Mitanni.[55] Another Assyro-Babylonian deity whose name occurs is Ninip, once in the name of Abdi-Ninip, “servant of Ninip,” apparently a Gebalite, and again in âl Bêth-Ninip, “(city of) the temple of Ninip,” in a district which Abdi-Aširta called upon to unite against Gebal—perhaps the Beth-Ninip in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem. In the name of Abdi-Aširta it is to be noted that we have here, to all appearance, the name of the asherah or “grove” of the Authorised Version, the “token” of the goddess Ištar,[56] with the ideogram for which the word once interchanges. The Egyptian god Amāna (Amon) is mentioned several times, invoked apparently as a god in whom the writer believed, though he was the special god of the Egyptians and the Egyptian king. [pg 279] In addition to the above deities, the names of men reveal Uraš, the god of Dailem near Babylon, Bidina, another Babylonian deity, and Merodach, the principal god of the Babylonians. Among west Semitic deities may be mentioned Dagan (Dagon), Milku (Melech, Moloch), and others.
Notwithstanding a considerable period of Egyptian rule, therefore, Babylonian influence, which had been predominant in the tract for many centuries, still held the upper hand. Merodach was to all appearance venerated, Nergal was worshipped as the god of death and disease, Ištar was held in high esteem. It must have been during those centuries of Babylonian rule that the worship of Tammuz or Adonis got into the country, becoming one of the stumbling-blocks of the Israelites in later days, when Hebrew women lamented for him, hidden in the realm of darkness where dwelt Persephone (Ereš-ki-gala, “the lady of the great domain” of the Babylonians), into whose realm, at great risk, Ištar, his spouse, descended to seek him, but only escaped from the rival's clutches by the intervention of the gods.
Exceedingly interesting are the various forms of government in Western Asia at this period. Among hereditary chiefs may be mentioned Etakama of Gidši (Kadesh), Šum-addu, who is probably the same as Šamu-Addu, prince of Šamḫuna, Mut-zu'u (see p. [286]), and Azru, though this last is doubtful, as in one of the letters he calls himself a governor installed by the king of Egypt. The best example of an elected chief, however, is in all probability Yabitiri, governor of Gaza and Jaffa, who, when young, went down to Egypt and served in the Egyptian army, being afterwards appointed to the posts which he held later. The power of the Egyptian kings of a period somewhat preceding this is well exemplified by the fact, that Addu-nirari of Assyria attributes to an Egyptian ruler the appointment of his grandfather and father as [pg 280] kings of Nuḫašše, on account of which all three rulers seem to have acknowledged Egyptian overlordship. An interesting instance of female rule is that of Nin-Urmuru (?),[57] who, in her letters, mentions Ajalon and Sarḫa (identified with Zorah), probably lying in her district.
Most interesting of all, however, is the case of Jerusalem, whose ruler, as will be seen from the letters quoted later on, was apparently elected by some of the magnates of the district which acknowledged his sway, and who were probably the members of a religious community. Nothing, however, is known of the electorate or the system of election employed—all that can be said is, that the ruler was not placed there by virtue of his father or his mother, but by the “mighty king.”
The matter of the government of Dunip, one of the most important towns of ancient Palestine, is also of importance, as it does not seem to have possessed an autocratic head of any kind, and may have been a kind of republic. Its government was probably similar to that of Irqata, which was ruled over by its elders, acknowledging the overlordship of the Egyptian king. A similar state of things seems to have prevailed in Babylonia, where, however, the king of Babylon was naturally recognized as lord of the country. In all probability the towns governed by their elders were regarded as royal cities of Egypt, whilst the others were semi-independent states.
The relations of the Egyptian king with foreign states is well illustrated by the following—
Letter From The Babylonian King Burra-Buriaš (Burna-Buriaš) To Amenophis IV. King Of Egypt.
“(To) Napḫu'ruria the king of Egypt, my brother, say also thus: ‘It is Burra-buriaš, king of the land of Karu-duniaš, thy brother. My health is good. To thee, thy country, thine house, thy wives, thy sons, thy great men, thine horses, thy chariots, may there be very good health.
“I and my brother have spoken friendship with each other, and we said as follows: ‘As our fathers were with each other, let us be friendly.’ Now my merchants, who went with Aḫi-ṭâbu, remained in the land of Kinaḫḫi (Canaan) for trade. After Aḫi-ṭâbu proceeded to my brother,[58] in the city Ḫinnatunu of the land of Kinaḫḫi (Canaan), when Šum-adda, son of Malummê, (and) Šutadna, son of Šarâtum, of the city of Akka (Accho), sent their people, they killed my merchants, and took their money away. When I have sent (Azzu (?)) to thy presence, ask him, and let him tell thee.”