tel-el-amarna tablets

1 definition found

tel-el-amarna tablets - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Tel-el-Amarna \Tel`-el-A*mar"na\, n. [Ar., hill of Amarna.]
     A station on the Nile in Egypt, midway between Thebes and
     Memphis, forming the site of the ancient city of Akhetaton,
     capital of Amenophis IV. (Akhenaton, or Amenhotep IV., of the
     18th dynasty, king 1353-1336 B. C.), whose archive chamber
     was discovered there during extensive excavations in
     1887-1888. A collection of about 300 clay tablets (called the
  
     Tel-el-Amarna tablets, or the Amarna tablets) was found
        here, forming the diplomatic correspondence (
  
     Tel-el-Amarna letters) of Amenophis IV. and his father,
        Amenophis III., with the kings of Asiatic countries (such
        as Babylonia, Assyria, and Palestine), written in
        cuneiform characters. It is an important source of our
        knowledge of Asia from about 1400 to 1370 b. c.. The name
        of the site is also spelled Tell-el-Amarna, Tell el  Amarna
        , and Tel Amarna.
        [Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC]