About twenty lines of the letter are here destroyed; the broken lines below continue thus:

“And lo! my Lord ... and the King of the land of the Hittites why ... my Lord the letters ... and fearing ... and lo! the King of Egypt ... and now my Lord against ... and to the hands ... to our Lord ... thy Lord in the years that may come.... Do not scorn, since the land was faithful in service to the King my Lord. And if God commands my Lord to go forth, let my Lord also send a chief, to be sent up to him with his soldiers and with his chariots.”

Callimmasin's Letters

1 B.—“To Amenophis III the King of Egypt by letter thus (Cal)limmasin[410] the King of Carandunias (Babylonia) thy brother. I am at peace. To thee, to thy house, thy wives, thy land, thy chariots, thy horses, thy ... be much peace.

“Because of the youngest of my daughters, whom you send to wed, Irtabi whom you remember, they took this message. My father formerly sent a message. You collected many soldiers, you approved his message, and you sent making a present to my father.

“Now I send thee this envoy. In the sixth year you seek for this, and in the sixth year you send thirty manahs of gold (instead of?) silver for my present. I return the same gold. Casi your envoy has known its (value?) which he has seen. I send thy envoy well instructed as to our opinion. For I followed ... and the present that he is instructed to ... is thirty manahs of gold, which you ... a gift of alliance.”

The rest is too broken to read. It mentions five women sent, and ten wooden chariots—the latter as presents. The next letter is from Egypt. Either a copy or an original never sent.[411]

1 B. M.—“To Callimmasin King of Carandunias my brother, by letter thus Amenophis III the great King, the King of Egypt thy brother. There is peace to my region. To thy region be peace: to thy house, to thy wives, to thy sons, to thy Lords, to thy horses, to thy chariots, and in thy hands be much peace. I am at peace. There is much peace to my house, to my wives, to my sons, to my Lords, my horses, my chariots, my army; and in my lands there is much peace.

“Now I heard the message you sent about her to me. Thus it was, ‘Now you ask my daughter as your wife, but my sister whom my father gave thee, being good to you, has any seen her whether she has lived or whether she has died?’ This is the message that you send in your letter. But did you ever send as your envoy, one who has known your sister, and who has spoken with her, and understood her? And let one speak with her. The chiefs you send are useless, your envoy Zakara is one who is a chief(?). There is not one among them related to [pg 299] your father, and ... concerning this my envoy is with thee, and has spoken to her ... her heart ... concerning this, and she has given ... to her mother. And lo! you send this, ‘You spoke to my envoys, and they gathered your wives: a lady appeared before you (saying) thus, Behold your queen who is brought out before you all. But my envoys knew her not (to be) my sister.’ Now satisfy yourself as to what you thus send, ‘My envoys knew her not,’ and you say, ‘Who was it that was recognized by her?’ Why do not you send as your envoy one who shall tell you a true message as to the salutation from your sister, I pray you? And you said that they disputed as to her appearance. But you can see her with the King. And lo! you send thus, ‘Who was the princess—a daughter of one who was a native, or was she one of the land of (my neighbors?), or was she the daughter of the Land of Khani Rabbatu, or the princess of the Land of Ugarit, that my envoys so saw, and who was it that spoke to them to satisfy that nothing wrong was done?’ And does not your message say all this? But if she has died—your sister, and I am concealing, as you pretend, her ... in former times, which we ... the God Amanu ... (I rejoice that the wife I love?) ... she has been made queen ... I deny that ... beyond all the wives ... that the Kings of Egypt ... in the land of Egypt. And lo! you send thus ‘Both my daughters ... as wives of the Kings of the land of Carandunias.’ But if the ... of my envoys is friendly, and they have said ‘With these things our Lord has sent us, as a present, to satisfy thee concerning thy message: the princess salutes the Kings, and all her friends your daughters.’ Take thou possession from him of whatever is with them, and send me a letter, and arrange with thy sister who is with me, and make sure of everything; and I have sent to thee an overseer, so to make known to your daughters, in order to perceive the evil that they teach you. And lo! you send ‘The messages that my father has left, do not these messages of his say concerning this, that he established alliance between us?’ This is the message you send. Now you and I have fulfilled the alliance, and the portion is before your envoys as they will say in your presence. Is not all to be given by us to her who (is) to come to the land of Egypt (whom) they shall bring before [pg 300] me? And (choose?) one of them. (Now) I have sent silver, gold, unguents, cloths, all whatsoever the land can give, and the overseer will say what is the value of that which he has brought—every gift to be weighed to you, that my envoy is to give. And we have been shamed by the evils that they speak. They have refuted the abominations—the evil things that they told you of us. And I was grieved when they ... us all these things. For is it not of their deceit that they told you thus? And I appointed them not to ... them about this. And lo! you send thus, you say thus to my envoys, ‘There are no soldiers of my Lord, and is not (a young girl?) to be given them?’ This is thy message: ‘Thy envoys said for thee that none are going forth. It might be done safely if there were soldiers, if there be none it is impossible to arrange for us what I am asked by him. If there are soldiers I grant it you, if there are horses I grant you this.’ This reason your envoy made use of with us, who put me to shame—the evil man whom you sent. I pray thee if they feared to be slain, and lamented evils when she went out, lo! all was in your hands. Thus let my chariots be granted from among the chariots of the ruling chiefs: do not you regard them as a possession? You can send them wherever you please. Are not they all a possession? Are not there, I pray you also, chariots, are not there I pray you horses with me? Demand all my horses: the chariots behold you shall send to meet you at the stations. As for me you shall send me the girl, and send out one to lead (her) to me.”

3 B. M.—This is broken at the top, but supposed to be from Callimmasin.