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To my lord, my king, my gods, my sun, this is said:
Yabitiri, thy servant, the dust of thy feet, at the feet of my lord, my king,
my gods, my sun, seven times, and seven times more, I fall down. Behold, I am thy
servant, true to my lord, my king. I look on one side, and I look on the other
side, and there is no light; but I look on my lord my king, and there is light.
A brick may move away from under the coping, but I shall not move from under
the feet of my master.
Let now my lord my king enquire about me of Yankhama, his agent. When I was young, Yankhama took me to Egypt, and placed me with my lord my king, and I dwelt at the door of my lord my king. Let my lord my king ask his agent if I do not guard the gate of Gaza and the gate of Joppa. As for me, I am with the auxiliaries of my lord my king; wherever they go, I go with them; and so I am with them now. The yoke of my lord is on my neck, and I bear it.
W.M.Flinders Petrie A History of Egypt, Part Two, p.185
At least since the reign of Thutmose III the
pharaohs had ordered the sons of Syrian and Canaanite princes to be sent to
Egypt, where they were educated, and often married to local women. They
frequently served for many years with Egyptian garrisons in Asia before they
succeded their fathers.
The reign of Amenhotep III was a singularly peaceful period in the Levant.