Amarna letters: cuneiform as the language of diplomacy
- Date
- c. 1360–1332 BCE
- Category
- Politics & governance
- Region
- Egypt and the Near East
- Era
- Ancient Civilizations
- Significance
The Amarna archive—several hundred clay tablets found at Akhetaten (Tell el-Amarna), Akhenaten's short-lived Egyptian capital—preserves the diplomatic correspondence of the Egyptian court with the great powers and vassals of the Late Bronze Age Near East.
Strikingly, nearly all were written not in Egyptian but in Akkadian cuneiform, the Mesopotamian script and language that had become the international lingua franca of diplomacy, used by scribes from Egypt to Anatolia much as Latin later served medieval Europe. The letters record marriage negotiations, exchanges of gold and luxury gifts, oaths of brotherhood among kings of Egypt, Babylonia, Assyria, Mitanni and Hatti, and urgent pleas from Levantine vassals. They constitute the earliest substantial body of international diplomacy on record and a prime witness to the interconnected 'club of great powers' system, in which the new kingdom of Assyria under Ashur-uballit I asserted its parity (letters EA 15 and EA 16).
One piece of history in your inbox, weekly
New empires, events and features as they land — one good email a week. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Empires active in c. 1360–1332 BCE
- New Kingdom of Egypt1550 BCE – 1077 BCE
- Shang Dynasty1600 BCE – 1046 BCE
- Hittite Empire1650 BCE – 1178 BCE
- Mitanni1500 BCE – 1300 BCE
- Elamite Kingdom2700 BCE – 539 BCE
Related politics & governance events
- Mycenaean Takeover of Knossos and the Linear B Archivesc. 1450 BCE
- Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty (the 'Eternal Treaty')c. 1259 BCE
- Ahmose I expels the Hyksos and founds the New Kingdomc. 1550 BCE
- Code of Hammurabi inscribed on the basalt stelec. 1755 BCE
- Duke of Zhou's Regency, the Fengjian System and Ritual Orderc. 1042–1036 BCE
- Senusret III's Nubian campaigns and administrative centralisationc. 1850 BCE
Further reading
The wider story
The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt
Sweeping, readable narrative of the whole pharaonic era, New Kingdom included.
Get it on Amazon →As an Amazon Associate, Human Saga earns from qualifying purchases.