tel amarna

Tel-el-Amarna \Tel`-el-A*mar"na\, n. [Ar., hill of Amarna.]
   A station on the Nile in Egypt, midway between Thebes and
   Memphis, forming the site of the ancient city of Akhetaton,
   capital of Amenophis IV. (Akhenaton, or Amenhotep IV., of the
   18th dynasty, king 1353-1336 B. C.), whose archive chamber
   was discovered there during extensive excavations in
   1887-1888. A collection of about 300 clay tablets (called the

   {Tel-el-Amarna tablets}, or the {Amarna tablets}) was found
      here, forming the diplomatic correspondence (

   {Tel-el-Amarna letters}) of Amenophis IV. and his father,
      Amenophis III., with the kings of Asiatic countries (such
      as Babylonia, Assyria, and Palestine), written in
      cuneiform characters. It is an important source of our
      knowledge of Asia from about 1400 to 1370 b. c.. The name
      of the site is also spelled {Tell-el-Amarna}, {Tell el
      Amarna}, and {Tel Amarna}.
      [Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC]