Yidya is mainly referenced in the Amarna letters
corpus, in his own letters: EA 320–326, (EA for 'el
Amarna'). However, the other reference to Yidya is a letter from the
pharaoh to his vassal Yidya, letter EA 370.
"Say to Idiya, the ruler of
Ašqaluna: Thus the king. He herewith dispatches to you this tablet-(i.e. tablet-letter), saying to you, Be on your guard. You are to guard the place of the king where you are.
And know that the king is hale like the
Sun in the sky. For his troops and his
chariots in multitude, from the
Upper Land to the
Lower Land, the rising of the sun to the setting of the sun, all goes very well." -EA 370, lines 1-29 (
lacuna of lines 9-22)
"To the king, my lord, my god, my Sun, the Sun from the sky: Message of Yidya, your servant, the dirt at your feet, the groom of your horses. I indeed
prostrate myself, on the back and on the stomach, at the feet of the king, my lord, 7 times and 7 times. I am indeed guarding the [pl]ace of the king, my lord, and the city of the king, in accordance with the command of the king, my lord, the Sun from the sky. As to the king, my lord's, having ordered some
glass, I [her]ewith send to the k[ing], my [l]ord, 30–("pieces") of glass. Moreover, who is the
dog that would not obey the orders of the king, my lord, the Sun fr[o]m the sky, the son of the
Sun, [wh]om the Sun loves?" -EA 323, lines 1-23 (complete)
"To the king, my lord, my god, my Sun, the Sun from the sky: [Mes]sage of Yidya, the ruler of
Ašqaluna, your servant, the dirt at your feet, the [gr]oom of your hors[e]s. I indeed
prostrate myself, on the stomach and on the back, at the feet of the king, my lord, the Sun from the sky, 7 times and 7 times. As to the
commissioner of the king, my lord, whom the king my lord, the Sun from the sky, sent to me, I have listened to his orders [ver]y carefully.
[And] I am indeed guarding the [pla]ce of the king whe[re] I am." -EA 321, lines 1-26 (complete; note 2 paragraphs)
EA 325, title: "Preparations completed (2)"
"[To] the king, my lord, my god, my Sun, the Sun fr[om the s]ky: Message of Yidya, your servant, the dirt at your feet, the groom of [yo]ur horses. I indeed
prostrate myself, on the back and on the stomach, at the feet of the king, my lord, 7 times and 7 times.
I am indeed guarding the place of the king, my lord, and the city of the king, my lord, [w]here I am. Who is the
dog that would not obey the orders of the king, the Sun from the sky?
I have indeed prepared absolutely everything—[f]ood, strong drink,
oxen,
sheep, and
goats,
straw, absolutely everything that the king, my lord, commanded. I have indeed prepared it.
And I am indeed p[reparing] the
tribute of the Sun, in accordance with the comma[nd] of the king, my lord, the Sun fr[om the sky]." -EA 325, lines 1-22 (complete)