Abdi-Heba

Abdi-Ḫeba (Abdi-Kheba, Abdi-Ḫepat, or Abdi-Ḫebat) was a local chieftain of Jerusalem during the Amarna period (mid-1330s BC).

Egyptian documents have him deny he was a mayor (ḫazānu) and assert he is a soldier (we'w), the implication being he was the son of a local chief sent to Egypt to receive military training there.

[1] Also unknown is whether he was part of a dynasty that governed Jerusalem or whether he was put on the throne by the Egyptians.

Abdi-Ḫeba himself notes that he holds his position not through his parental lineage but by the grace of Pharaoh, but this might be flattery rather than an accurate representation of the situation.

At this time the area he administered from his garrison may have had a population of fifteen hundred people and Jerusalem would have been a 'small highlands stronghold' in the fourteenth century BC with no fortifications or large buildings.

[3][a] Abdi-Ḫeba made frequent pleas to the Pharaoh of Egypt (probably Amenhotep III), for an army[4] or, at least, an officer to command.

[5] Abdi-Ḫeba also made other requests for military aid in fighting off his enemies, both Canaanite warlords and bands of Apiru: Say to the king, my lord: Message of Abdi-Heba, your servant.

Milkilu and Tagi brought troops into Qiltu against me… May the king know (that) all the lands are at peace (with one another), but I am at war.

[6]As a result, conspiracy charges are made against Abdi-Ḫeba, who defended himself strenuously in his correspondence with Pharaoh.

Say to the king, my lord, my god, my Sun: Message of Shuwardata, your servant, the dirt at your feet.