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Amarna letter: Royal Letter from Abi-milku of Tyre to the king of Egypt

New Kingdom, Amarna Period
ca. 1353–1336 B.C.
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 122
This letter from Abi-milku, the ruler of the Levantine city of Tyre, to the Egyptian king was found in the late 1880s at the site of Amarna, the religious capital of Egypt under Akhenaten. It was likely originally stored in administrative offices that formed part of a palace complex in the central part of the city. It is written in cuneiform script on a clay tablet using a reed stylus. The language is Akkadian, the lingua franca of the time. One of ten missives from Abi-milku that have survived, this letter makes it clear that this vassal ruler expected protection from his Egyptian overlord in return for his loyalty.

For further discussion and translation, see the Curatorial Interpretation below.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Amarna letter: Royal Letter from Abi-milku of Tyre to the king of Egypt
  • Period: New Kingdom, Amarna Period
  • Dynasty: Dynasty 18
  • Reign: reign of Akhenaten
  • Date: ca. 1353–1336 B.C.
  • Geography: From Egypt; Probably from Middle Egypt, Amarna (Akhetaten)
  • Medium: Clay (unfired)
  • Dimensions: H. 7.7 × W. 5.2 cm (3 1/16 × 2 1/16 in.)
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1924
  • Object Number: 24.2.12
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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