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A“tata on the middle course of the Euphrates. ›atti took over most
of these vassals from Mittanni and for some time also maintained a
protectorate over a portion of her defeated adversary. Ultimately,
however, Assyria swallowed up almost the entirety of the former
Hurrian kingdom. At times, Egypt dominated Ugarit, Amurru, and
Qadesh in the north, but the heart of its Asiatic realm lay further
to the south on the coast—including the cities of later Phoenicia—
and inland as far as the neighborhood of Damascus. The great major-
ity of Egypt’s subordinates were rather small-scale polities.^292.4 Other Social Formations
The empires were also confronted with peoples living at a pre-state
level of social organization. In Anatolia, the Hittite heartland was
under constant threat from semi-nomadic Ka“ka tribesmen,^30 while
in Syria the Semitic Arameans^31 and Sutaeans^32 posed problems for
›atti, Assyria, and Babylonia alike.- T
Since such a preponderance of the relevant texts comes from the
archives of ›atti, discussion of written diplomatic instruments will nec-
essarily focus on Hittite practice. There is little doubt, however, that
all Great Powers of the Late Bronze Age followed similar procedures.3.1 Terminology
In their own language, the Hittites referred to a treaty as is¢iuland
lingais, literally a “binding” and an “oath.” In the Akkadian in use
at ›attu“a, the equivalent terms were rikiltu(or riksu)^33 and mamìtu.^34
Significantly, similar language was employed to denote the obliga-
tions of royal officials to the Hittite monarch; that is, there was no
essential difference between the duties of his domestic and foreign(^29) See the map in Moran, Amarna Letters, 123.
(^30) See von Schuler, Die Ka“käer.
(^31) Hittite Diplomatic Texts, no. 23, §6.
(^32) EA 16, ll. 37–42.
(^33) This word was also in use at Alalakh. Note Alalakh Tablets, no. 3, l. 1: [tu]p-
pí ri-ik-“i, “[t]ablet of the treaty.”
(^34) Idrimi refers to his agreement with Pilliya as NAM.ÉRIM/ma-mi-ti, “oath” (ll.
52–53).
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