The Amarna letters were mostly written to the
pharaoh of
Ancient Egypt, and three mayors of Gazru:
Abimilku,
Milkilu, and
Yapahu authored 20 letters of the 382–letter, Amarna letters
corpus. The reference to Rubutu is found in 2 letters of
Abdi-Heba of Jerusalem, EA 289, and 290, (
EA for 'el
Amarna'). They mention the war of various cities, the
Habiru, and of: "the seizure of Rubutu".
The 2 letters of city--Rubutu
EA 289, title: "A reckoning demanded"
EA 289 is letter no. 5 of 6 to the Pharaoh, by Abdi-Heba of Jerusalem. See: Egyptian official:
Pawura.
EA 290, title: "Three against one"
Letter no. 6 of 6 by Abdi-Heba of Urusalim:
"[Sa]y [t]o the king-(i.e.
pharaoh), my lord: Message of
['Abdi]-Heba, your servant. I
fall at the feet [of the kin]g, my lord, 7 times and 7 times. Here is the deed against the land that
Milkilu and
Šuardatu did: against the land of the king, my lord, they ordered troops from
Gazru, troops from
Gimtu, and troops from
Qiltu-(
Keilah). They seized Rubutu. The land of the king deserted to the
Hapiru. And now, besides this, a town belonging to
Jerusalem-(called
Urusalim),
Bit-dNIN.URTA by name, a city of the king, has gone over to the side of the men of Qiltu. May the king give heed to Abdi-Heba, your servant, and send
archers to restore the land of the king to the king. If there are no archers, the land of the king will desert to the Hapiru. This deed against the land was [a]t the order of Milki[lu and a]t the order of [Šuard]atu, [together w]ithGint[i] -(i.e. the city). So may the king provide for [his] land." -EA 290, lines 1-30 (complete)
Topographic Map (
Geography of Israel), showing the valley from Jerusalem to the Mediterranean.
Gezer is halfway to the Mediterranean, and Rubutu is between Gezer and Jerusalem. (Click on Map to Enlarge)