Judah "could not drive out
the inhabitants of the Shephelah (or lowlands) because they had chariots
of iron" (i. 19). The coast road was still open when Dusratta was writing
to his son-in-law Amenophis IV twenty years later; and all lower Galilee
was, for some few years, with Philistia and Syria, reconquered by Rameses
II, who, however, never entered the Judaean mountains.

-------------------------------------

This concludes the sum of 176 letters from Palestine, the translation of
which has occupied me for nearly two years. I have no doubt that it may be
improved upon in detail; but the general results seem to be too well
corroborated, by comparison of the numerous epistles, which throw light on
one another, to admit of any very important changes.

Royal Letters

DUSRATTA'S LETTERS

No. 9 B. M.--"To _Neb-mat-ra_ (Amenophis III) King of _Egypt_ my brother,
by letter, thus _Tuseratta_(365) King of _Mitani_(366) thy brother. I am
at peace. Peace be to thee; to _Gilukhipa_ my sister be peace. To thy
house, thy wives, thy sons, thy lords, thy terrible army, thy horses, thy
chariots, and in thy land, be much peace. Since I have sat on my father's
throne, and have conquered. But (_Pirkhi?_) made a lawless command in my
land, and smote his Lord; and because of these things, they have striven
to right me, with who so loved us well; and because my land submitted to
this lawless order I was not afraid, but the chiefs who supported
_Artasu-mara_ my brother, with all that were theirs, I slew. As thou wast
well with my father, and because of these things, I send this. I say to
you, as my brother hears, and will rejoice; my father loved thee, and thou
therefore didst love my father; and my father, as he saw this, gave thee
my sister; and now ... as thou wast with my father. When my brother saw
these things, he brought all those in the land of the _Hittites_ as foes
to my land; and _Rimmon_ my Lord gave them to my hand; and I slew him
among them, so that not one returned to his land.(367) Now I have sent
thee a chariot with two horses, a young man and a young woman, of the
spoil of the land of the _Hittites_. I have sent thee, as a present to my
brother, five chariots, and five yoke of horses; and as a present to
_Gilukhipa_(368) my sister, I have sent her (trinkets?) of gold, a pair of
gold earrings, and ... of gold, and goodly stones, each(?). Now _Gilia_, a
prudent man, and _Tunipripi_(369) I send t