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© The Trustees of the British Museum/Art Resource, NY

DEAR BROTHER. Tushratta, king of Mitanni, addresses Amenhotep III, king of Egypt, as his “brother” in this letter from 1370–1350 B.C.E. Written in Akkadian, the letter was found at Tell el-Amarna, Egypt—ancient Akhetaten. Calling the Egyptian pharaoh his “brother” suggests that the king of Mitanni (a kingdom located in present-day northern Syria) was of equal rank to Amenhotep III. In many of the Amarna letters, the Egyptian pharaoh is addressed as “father,” showing that most rulers who corresponded with the king of Egypt were subservient to him.