Where's my gold?

August 1, 2026

Hello, my dear readers. Hope you're having a wonderful weekend! Here's something amusing:

A king complains about a pharaoh

I provide sources at the end.

In case you haven't read it yet, an early chapter of The Crimson Aten has Nefertiti reading a complaint. That letter isn't made up. So let's read about the royal whiner himself, His Majesty Burna-Buriash II, the Kassite king of Babylon, who ruled during the Amarna period—about 3,300 years ago.

Burna-Buriash is not terribly pleased with the conduct of "his brother," the Pharaoh of Egypt, Amenhotep IV (the in/famous Akhenaten). The two kings were in an alliance, as were their fathers before them. But it seems the relationship had soured somewhat over the years.

Grievance one: nobody asked after me

Burna-Buriash has more than one grievance. In the first, he says:

I was so sick that I was about to die... but why didn't my brother inquire of my well-being? Why did you not send a "special messenger"?

But Burna-Buriash then admits that the Egyptian envoy gave a satisfactory answer:

Egypt is quite far, m'lord, he just didn't know!

To put that in perspective, the distance from Amarna—which would have been Akhenaten's capital at the time—to Babylon, in modern Iraq, is over 1,000 miles. Even an unhindered, uninterrupted walk between the two would take a month, and over two months for the round trip—and that is a very aggressive estimate.

And then the king of Babylon says:

I am no longer angry with my brother.

We do not know the response from Egypt. Maybe Burna-Buriash calmed down a bit because the man really wanted gold. Lots of gold.

Grievance two: this isn't even gold

In another letter, he indirectly accuses the Pharaoh of not having provided adequate security for the gold carriers, because apparently:

When I put forty pounds of gold into the kiln, nothing came out!

So someone dastardly got involved along the way, and it seems Burna-Buriash received something that wasn't gold. He therefore suggests to the Pharaoh that:

My brother should see to it personally that the gold is sealed and sent on.

Right. The Pharaoh of Egypt is going to carry the gold, make sure it's authentic, put it in a bag, and tell his haulers, "Alright, boys, move it!" It cracks me up to think the king of Babylon wants the Pharaoh of Egypt to personally inspect the gold!

Grievance three: and there wasn't enough of it

Well, the gold saga did not end there. There's more. This time, he is unhappy with how much gold he received from Egypt. For context, Egypt had rich gold reserves, and the other kingdoms knew it.

Here we go:

But you sent me only two pounds of gold!... Your father sent us much more... and if you can't send that much, at least send half. But why on earth would you send me just two pounds?

WHY JUST TWO POUNDS, YOU STINGY BASTARDS!? WHY?! — Burna-Buriash, probably.

But why does he want more gold? Because:

I have undertaken some temple-building work and I am anxious...

The Babylonian king wants more gold for the temple, but the Egyptian Pharaoh isn't being quite so generous. Still, having complained, Burna-Buriash did send along some lapis lazuli and five teams of horses and chariots as gifts. Was the gesture reciprocated? Unfortunately, we don't know. This man has more complaints and grievances, but we'll stop here.

I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse of the ancient world.

The Amarna letters are an amazing collection of correspondence between Egypt and its neighbors around the time of Akhenaten (circa 1350 BC). There is a lot more in there—I will perhaps cover a few more eventually.

If Akhenaten's world interests you, that sun-worshipping court is where The Crimson Aten lives. I think you'll enjoy it—it's a highly rated standalone in the Whispers of Atlantis series, and an exciting sequel is on the way.

Sources

A. Leo Oppenheim, Letters from Mesopotamia, University of Chicago Press — read from Page 115 for these letters
Wikipedia entry on Burna-Buriash II