Editing Arqa (section)

===Late Bronze===
====Amarna Period ''Irqata'' (c. 1350 BC)====
{{Further|Amarna letter EA 100}}
Arqa has the distinction of being a city-state that wrote one of the 382 [[Amarna letters]] to the [[Pharaoh]] of Ancient Egypt.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 February 2016 |title=Tal Arqa, a great city in Antiquity - LebanonUntravelled.com |url=https://lebanonuntravelled.com/tal-arqa-great-city-antiquity/ |access-date=4 August 2024 |language=en-US }}</ref>

The [[city-state]] Irqata was the 3rd city of the [[Rib-Hadda]] letters, (68 letters), that were the last hold-outs against the [[Habiru|(H)Apiru]] invasion. Sumur(u)-([[Zemar]]) was the 2nd hold-out city besides Rib-Hadda's Byblos, (named [[Gubla]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Amarna Letters; Rib-addi of Byblos {{!}} Ancient Egypt Online |url=https://ancientegyptonline.co.uk/earibbaddi/ |access-date=4 August 2024 |language=en-GB |archive-date=31 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531061447/https://ancientegyptonline.co.uk/EAribbaddi/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Eventually, the king of Irqata, [[Aduna (Irqata mayor)|Aduna]] was killed along with other city kings, and also the 'mayor' of Gubla, Rib-Hadda. Rib-Hadda's brother, [[Ili-Rapih]], became the successor mayor of Gubla, and Gubla never fell to the Hapiru.

During Rib-Hadda's lengthy opposition to the Habiru, even the city-state of Irqata and its elders, wrote to the [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] Pharaoh [[Akhenaten]] for assistance. (EA 100, [[EA (el Amarna)|EA]] for el [[Amarna]]).

The letter is entitled: "The [[City-state|city]] of Irqata to the [[Pharaoh|king]]".

:This tablet-(i.e. tablet letter) is a tablet from Irqata. To the King, our Lord: Message from Irqata and its el[d]ers. We [[Prostration formula|fall at the feet]] of the king, our lord, 7 times and 7 times. To our lord, the Sun: Message from Irqata. May the heart of the king, (our) lord, know that we guard Irqata for him.
:When the [ki]ng, our lord, sent [[DUMU-Biha|D[UMU]-Bi-ha-a]], he said to [u]s, "Message of the king: "Guard Irqata"! " The sons of the traitor to the king seek our harm; Irqata see[ks] loyalty to the king. As to [ silver ] having been given to [[Subaru (region)|S[u]baru]] al[ong with] horses and [[Chariot|cha[riots] ]], may you know the mind of Irqata. When a tablet from the king arrived (saying) to ra[id] the land that the [[Habiru|'A[piru] ]] had taken [from] the king,'they wa[ged] war with us against the enemy of our lord, the man whom you pla[ced] over us. Truly&mdash;we are guarding the l[and]. May the king, our lord, heed the words of his loyal servants.
:May he grant a [[Greeting-gift (Šulmānī)|gift]] to his servant(s) so our enemies will see this and eat dirt. May the breath of the king not depart from us. We shall keep the [[city gate]] barred until the breath of the king reaches us. Severe is the war against us&mdash;terribly! terribly! -EA 100, lines 1-44 (complete)<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pryke |first=Louise M. |date=2011 |title=The Many Complaints to Pharaoh of Rib-Addi of Byblos |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41380709 |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=131 |issue=3 |pages=411–422 |jstor=41380709 |issn=0003-0279 |archive-date=4 August 2024 |access-date=4 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240804145943/https://www.jstor.org/stable/41380709 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Moran |first=William |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.56021/9780801842511 |title=The Amarna Letters |date=1992 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |doi=10.56021/9780801842511 |isbn=978-0-8018-4251-1 }}</ref>