A tablet of Artatama was found at
Tall Bazi granting land.[3] Tablets were also found at
Alalakh.[4] Artatama is referred to in the
Amarna letters (EA 29) as the grandfather of
Tushratta and father of
Shuttarna II, who established an alliance with
Thutmose IV of
Ancient Egypt.[5] Facing the perils of fighting a war on two fronts, the Hittites in the north and Egypt in the south, Artatama approached Amenhotep II with an offer of peaceful division of contested lands in
Syria.[6] A peaceful resolution of an old conflict could grow into a political and military alliance, but the Egyptians suspected foul play and denied definite answer for years. At one point during the reign of Thutmose IV they proposed a marriage between Thutmose and Artatama's daughter, but for unknown reasons Artatama rejected the offer.[7] The Egyptians had to make seven consecutive marriage proposals before Artatama finally agreed. Thus, Artatama may have been the father of Queen
Mutemwiya and the maternal grandfather of
Amenhotep III. Artatama was succeeded by his son
Shuttarna II.[8][9]
He is mentioned in the later Šattiwaza treaty between the Hittite king Šuppiluliuma I and Mitanni vassal king Šattiwaza, for example "When king Tušratta died, the Storm-god decided the legal case of Artatama: his son (= Šuttarna) brought the dead Artatama back to life.".[10]
Notes
^Mario Liverani (2014). The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy. Routledge. Text 16.1
^Redford, Donald B. “A Gate Inscription from Karnak and Egyptian Involvement in Western Asia during the Early 18th Dynasty.” Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 99, no. 2, 1979, pp. 270–87
^Torrecilla, Eduardo, and Yoram Cohen. “A MITTANI LETTER ORDER FROM AZU (HAD 8) AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE CHRONOLOGY AND HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE EUPHRATES REGION IN THE LATE BRONZE AGE.” Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 112, 2018, pp. 149–58
^Dornemann, Rudolph H. “Tell Hadidi: A Bronze Age City on the Euphrates.” Archaeology, vol. 31, no. 6, 1978, pp. 20–26
^Miller, Jared L.. "3. Political Interactions between Kassite Babylonia and Assyria, Egypt and Ḫatti during the Amarna Age". Volume 1 Karduniaš. Babylonia under the Kassites 1, edited by Alexa Bartelmus and Katja Sternitzke, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2017, pp. 93-111
^Schulman, Alan R. “Diplomatic Marriage in the Egyptian New Kingdom.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 38, no. 3, 1979, pp. 177–93
^Munn-Rankin, J. M. “Diplomacy in Western Asia in the Early Second Millennium B.C.” Iraq, vol. 18, no. 1, 1956, pp. 68–110
^Devecchi, Elena. “Details That Make the Difference: The Akkadian Manuscripts of the ‘Šattiwaza Treaties.’” Die Welt Des Orients, vol. 48, no. 1, 2018, pp. 72–95