In 1887 a large number of cuneiform tablets were found at Tell el Amarna in Egypt, the site of the capital of Akhenaten (Amenophis IV, 1352-1336 B.C.). They span a period of between fifteen and thirty years covering the last years of Amenophis III to the first year of Tutankhamun. Many of them are in the British Museum and they provide a fascinating glimpse of diplomacy and intrigue at the height of Egyptian power.

There are 43 diplomatic letters; all use the cuneiform writing system and most of them are written in Akkadian. They are sent by the pharaohs of Egypt and the kings of Babylonia, Assyria, Mitanni, Hittites, Arzawa (in western Turkey) and Alashiya (perhaps Cyprus). The letters deal with diplomatic marriages (with the Egyptian king) and the exchange of presents, principally Egyptian gold.

A further 307 tablets are letters from the rulers of city-states in Canaan and Syria, mostly telling the pharaoh that they alone are loyal and asking for help against their neighbours who are allegedly plotting against the Egyptian king.

There are also 32 texts of other types, such as myths and dictionaries.