Letters from the Hittite Kingdom (Writings from the Ancient World/Society of Biblical Literature)

This is the first book-length collection in English of letters from the ancient kingdom of the Hittites. All known well-preserved examples, including the important corpus of letters from the provincial capital of Tapikka, are reproduced here in romanized transcription and English translation, accompanied by introductory essays, explanatory notes on the text and its translation, and a complete description of the rules of Hittite correspondence compared with that of other ancient Middle Eastern states. Letters containing correspondence between kings and their foreign peers, between kings and their officials in the provinces, and between these officials themselves reveal rich details of provincial administration, the relationships and duties of the officials, and tantalizing glimpses of their private lives. Matters discussed include oversight of agriculture, tax liabilities, litigation, inheritance rights, defense against hostile groups on the kingdom s periphery, and consulting the gods by means of oracular procedures. Title page 4 Contents 6 Series Editor's Forward 10 Chronological Table 12 Abbreviations 14 Map 19 1. Introduction 20 1.1. Written Correspondence in the Ancient Near East 21 1.2. Written Correspondence in the Hittite Kingdom 54 2. The Letter Corpus 94 2.1. An Old Hittite Letter (1) 94 2.2. Middle Hittite Letters (2–97) 99 2.3. New Hittite Letters (98–126) 300 Notes 394 Concordances 416 Glossary 420 Bibliography 430 Index of Names 458 Index of Subjects 464 By Harry A. Hoffner, Jr. ; Edited By Gary M. Beckman. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes.