Zimreddi from Lachish

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Zimreddi (also Zimridda ; my protector is Hadad ( Western Semitic )) was the mayor of Lachish (about 44 km southwest of Jerusalem ) in the Amarna period around 1350 BC. He is known from various Amarna letters . The so-called Amarna letters are the international correspondence of the rulers in the Middle East, which was addressed to the Egyptian royal court. The letters are written on clay tablets in cuneiform in Akkadian . Akkadian was the international language of the time. The letters were found by chance at the end of the 19th century in Amarna , which was the capital of Egypt at the time in question , and were given their name because of the place where they were found. In the letters, the Levant is portrayed as a region torn by small feuds. The various city princes ask the Egyptian king for assistance. Since the letters are not dated, it is difficult to put the events in a coherent sequence.

Zimreddi of Lachish was the writer of a single letter to the Egyptian king. The letter EA 329 (modern numbering, EA stands for El-Amarna) is short and begins with the address to the Egyptian ruler, in which Zimreddi shows himself to be extremely submissive: your servant, the dirt on your feet . Zimreddi was obviously a vassal, equal rulers referred to each other as a brother . The letter also confirms the arrival of a messenger from the Egyptian king who is not named. The messenger may have come from Gaza . Zimreddi listened to his instructions and gave instructions to carry them out. You don't learn anything about the type of instructions.

Zimreddi is mentioned in two other letters. In letter EA 333, the Egyptian official Paapu reports that Zimreddi was disloyal with Schipti-balu. Schipti-balu was also the mayor of Lachish. The relationship between the two is uncertain. Letter EA 288 is from the governor of Byblos , Rib-Addi . He reports that Zimreddi was killed by the Apiru . The Apiru appear in the Amarna letters as gangs who plundered the Levant. They are often equated with the Hebrews in research .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The letter is now in the Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin , VAT 1673.
  2. ^ Anson F Rainey, William M Schniedewind: The El-Amarna correspondence: a new edition of the Cuneiform letters from the site of El-Amarna based on collations of all extant tablets. Brill, Leiden 2015, ISBN 978-90-04-28145-5 , p. 1621.
  3. ^ William L. Moran: The Amarna Letters. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore / London 1992, ISBN 0-8018-4251-4 , p. 354.
  4. ^ WL Moran: The Amarna Letters. Baltimore / London 1992, p. 356.
  5. ^ WL Moran: The Amarna Letters. Baltimore / London 1992, p. 331.
personal data
SURNAME Zimreddi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Zimredda
BRIEF DESCRIPTION ancient city prince of Lachisch
DATE OF BIRTH 14th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 14th century BC Chr.