Rib-Hadda

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Rib-Hadda (also rendered Rib-Addi, Rib-Addu, Rib-Adda) was king of Byblos during the mid fourteenth century BCE. He is the author of some sixty of the Amarna letters. His name is Akkadian in form and may invoke the West Semitic god Hadad, though his letters invoke only Ba'alat Gubla, the "Lady of Byblos" (probably another name for Asherah).

One of the Amarna letters

Rib-Hadda's letters often took the form of complaints or pleas for action on the part of the reigning Pharaoh. In EA 105 he begged Pharaoh to interven in a dispute with Beirut, whose ruler had confiscated two Byblian merchant vessels. ^[1] In EA 122, Rib-Hadda complained of an attack by the Egyptian commissioner Pihuri, who killed a number of Byblos' Shardana mercenaries and took captive three of Rib-Hadda's men.

Rib-Hadda was involved in a long-standing dispute with Abdi-Ashirta, the ruler of Amurru (probably in southeastern Lebanon and southwestern Syria), who hired mercenaries from among the Habiru, Shardana, and other warlike tribes. EA 81 contains a plea for Egyptian aid against Amurru, whose ruler Rib-Hadda accused of luring away his followers and inciting them to rebellion. He reported further that an assassin sent by Abdi-Ashirta had attempted to kill him. Rib-Hadda pleaded with Akhenaten to send archers to defend him from the forces of Amurru and from his own increasingly resentful peasantry. In one of the most poingant of the Amarna texts, Rib-Hadda wrote "the people of Ammiya have killed their lord and I am afraid." (EA 75). He added: "like a bird in a trap so I am here in Byblos." (EA 74). Zemar, a city previously under his control, fell to Abdi-Ashirta (EA 84). Shortly thereafter the Egyptian commissioner Pahannate was withdrawn from northern Canaan, leaving Rib-Hadda without even the appearance of Egyptian support. His pleas for assistance evidently went unanswered (EA 107) and evidently caused much annoyance to Akhenaten (e.g., EA 162).

Map of the Ancient Near East during the Amarna period, showing the great powers of the period: Egypt (green), Hatti (yellow), the Kassite kingdom of Babylon (purple), Assyria (grey), and Mittani (red). Lighter areas show direct control, darker areas represent spheres of influence. The extent of the Achaean/Mycenaean civilization is shown in orange.

In EA 89, Rib-Hadda reported a coup d'etat in neighboring Tyre, in which the ruler of Tyre, his kinsmen, was killed along with his family. Rib-Hadda's sister and her daughters, who had been sent to Tyre to keep them away from the Amurru invaders, were also presumed to be among those killed. If this were not bad enough, Rib-Hadda wrote again to report that the Hittites were invading Egyptian protectorates in Syria, burning "the King's lands". (EA 126). At one point Rib-Hadda was forced to flee to exile in Beirut, under the protection of Ammunira. (EA 137)

An aged and ailing Rib-Hadda continued to write to Pharaoh, telling him of violent upheavels in Phoenicia and Syria, including revolutions instigated by Abdi-Ashirta's son Aziru and coupled with incursions by Habiru raiders. (e.g., EA 137)

Rib-Hadda was ultimately assassinated at the behest of Aziru.

[edit] Notes

1. ↑  The designation "EA" followed by a number is used by Egyptologists and other historians to refer to the various Amarna letters by the number assigned to them.

[edit] Resources

• Baikie, James. The Amarna Age: A Study of the Crisis of the Ancient World. University Press of the Pacific, 2004.
• Cohen, Raymond and Raymond Westbrook (eds.). Amarna Diplomacy: The Beginnings of International Relations. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002.
• Moran, William L. (ed. and trans.) The Amarna Letters. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002.