Publisher's Synopsis
IN 1887, some fellahin, digging at a spot called Tell El-Amarna, about 170 miles south of Cairo, the site of Ajjetaton (Horizon of Aton), the new capital built by Amenhetep IV. of the Eighteenth Dynasty, in honour of the sun-god, came upon a chamber containing several hundred clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform characters Unhappily, the value of this discovery was not at the time realised, and a number were carried in sacks to Luxor to be hawked about among the dealers, and were largely broken or damaged on the way. The remainder, some 290, found their way into museums or private collections, and on examination were found to form part of the official archives of Amenhetep III. (c. 1411 B.C.) and his successor, Amenhetep IV. (c. 1375 B.C.), and to consist, for the most part, of letters addressed to these kings by local rulers, and by the independent rulers of the Kingdoms of Western Asia.
