Niya (also Niye, Niy, Nii, and Nihe) was a kingdom in
Syria near the Orontes River in northern Syria next to
Nuhasse.
History
Late Bronze
In the Amarna letters
correspondence of
1350-
1335 BC, Nii is referenced in two letters. The city of
Tunip in the northern
Levant had been trying to communicate to the Egyptian
pharaoh for two decades, and resorted to another letter, EA 59: entitled: "From the citizens of Tunip", (
EA for 'el
Amarna'). The
city-state of
Arqa also sent a letter to pharaoh, requesting aid (EA 100).
The other letter referencing Nii concerns the individual
Etakkama, his collusion with the
Hittites, and the takeover of territory, 'city-states', and peoples in the northern and western Levant.
Mitanni Period
In the 15th century BC, the entire region came under the control of the Mitanni Empire.
"To the king of Egypt, our lord: Message of "the citizens of Tunip", your servant. For you may all go well. And we
fall at the feet of my lord.
My lord, thus says "Tunip", your servant: Tunip—who ruled it in the past? Did not
Manakhpirya-(i.e. "Men-
Kheper-
Rê-iya"): am-ma-ti-wu-uš (your ancestor) rule it?
The gods and the ...: na-ab-ri-il-la-an (=?) of the king of Egypt, our lord, dwell in Tunip, and he should inquire of his ancients: am-ma-ti (ancient) when we did not belong to our lord, the king of Egypt-(named:
Mizri).
And now, for 20–years, we have gone on writing to the king, our lord, but our
messengers have stayed on with the king, our lord. And now, our lord, we ask for the son of
'Aki-Teššup' from the king, our lord. May our lord give him.
My lord, if the king of Egypt has given the son of
Aki-Teššup, why does the king, our lord, call him back from the journey?
And now
Aziru is going to hear that in
Hittite territory a hostile fate has overtaken your servant, a ruler (and) your gardener.
Should his (the king's) troops and his
chariots be delayed, Aziru will do to us just as he did to Nii.
If we ourselves are negligent and the king of Egypt does nothing about these things that Aziru is doing, then he will surely direct his hand against our lord.
When Aziru entered
Sumur, he did to them as he pleased, in the house of the king, our lord. But our lord did nothing about the(s)e things.
And now Tunip, your city, weeps, and its tears flow, and there is no grasping of our hand.
We have gone on writing to the king, our lord, the king of Egypt, for 20–years, and not a single word of our lord has reached us." -EA 59, lines 1-46 (complete)
My lord, just as I love the king, m[y] lord, so too the king of
Nuhašše, the king of Nii, the king of
Zinzar-(
Shaizar), and the king of
Tunanab; all of these kings are my lord's servants.
As far as the king, my lord, can, he co[mes forth. But] it is being said, "The king, my lord, will not come forth." [And so] may the king, my lord, send
archers [that] they may co[me] to this country. [Si]nce, my lord, these kings are ones who l[ov]e him, let a
magnate of the king, my lord, (come(?), just name their gifts so they can give them, (to them(?)).
My lord, if he makes this land a matter of concern to my lord, then may my lord send archers that they may come here. (Only)
messengers of my lord have arrived here.
My lord, if Arsawuya of Ruhizzi, and Teuwatti of Lapana remain in Upu, and
Tašša-(the city), remains in the
Am[qu], my lord should also know about them that Upu wil not belong to my lord. Daily they write to Aitukama and say as follows: "Come, tak[e] Upu in its entirety."
My lord, just
Dimaški in Upu: ka4-di-hi (falls) at your feet, so mayQatna: ka4-di-hu-li-eš (fall) at your feet. My lord, one asks for life before my messenger. I do not fear [at al]l in the presence of the archers of my lord, since the archers belong to my lord. If he sends (them) to me, they will en[ter] Qatna." -EA 53 (complete: only lines 35-70 (End)).
The region of Upu is centered at Damascus, and the
Amqu is the
Beqaa Valley region to the west and northwest. Nii, and
Nuhašše are north and northeast(?).[citation needed]
Hittite Period
It is also mentioned in the Hittite Souces under
Suppiluliuma I who conquered the region.