Ägypten und Levante 30, pp. 301-311, 2020/12/29
Internationale Zeitschrift für ägyptische Archäologie und deren Nachbargebiete
International Journal for Egyptian Archaeology and Related Disciplines
Jubiläumsausgabe – 30 Jahre Ägypten und Levante
Anniversary Edition – 30 Years of Egypt and the Levant
Since the first edition of the Amarna Letters, the location of the “land of Yarimuta” mentioned by the ruler of Byblos Rib-Addi has been a thorny and debated issue. In the last century this fabled territory, from which Rib-Addi expects to receive food and soldiers, has been identified with several locations across both Egypt and the Levant. This study reassesses all pieces of information revealed by Rib-Addi on both Yarimuta and its commissioner Yanhamu. It then re-analyses them, with a focus on the working history of Yanhamu in the Amarna letters, and how it places Yarimuta in the proximity of the Egyptian centre of Gaza. After having countered the locations that have been proposed until now, the article advances a different and more fitting identification: the Yarkon River Valley.
Keywords: Yanhamu; Amarna; Yarimuta; Proximity Principle; Aphek; Jaffa