Texts in several writing systems are quoted and glossed in this study. While standard conventions for each have been adhered to where possible, some regularization has been imposed for the dual purpose of providing internal consistency and avoiding confusion.
Transliterations are presented of key terms in Hittite documents, Ugaritic texts, and Amarna letters – particularly those related to ships and seafaring. While conventions for transcription and translation differ, this study attempts to provide internal consistency by eschewing some common abbreviations and adopting the placement of most terms on the baseline (as in Rainey’s 2015 edition of the Amarna corpus). Thus, for example, both GIŠMÁ.MEŠ (e.g. KBo 18.135, rev. 8) and išelippâtiM (e.g. RS 20.255A: 14) are presented as GIŠ.MÁ.MEŠ, while mPí-ya-ma-ra-du-uš (AhT 4, §5: I 61) is rendered DIŠ.Pí-ya-ma-ra-du-uš.
Transliterations of Egyptian texts and inscriptions are also consistently rendered where possible. Examples include ḳ (rather than q) for Gardiner N29; i҆ and y for single and double instances of Gardiner M17, respectively; ꜣ for Gardiner G1; and ꜥ for Gardiner D36. In cases where the Egyptian records themselves – and modern publications of them – provide multiple spellings, a single Romanized transliteration is utilized (with the exception of direct quotations). For example, the people who are called wšš and wꜣšꜣšꜣ in Egyptian records are referred to in this study as ‘Wešeš,’ and the šrdn, who are also referred to as šꜣrdꜣnꜣ and šꜣrdn(n)ꜣ in Egyptian records and as Sherden and Shardana in modern publications, are consistently referred to in this study as ‘Šardana.’
Finally, this study quotes passages both in translation and in transliteration, with standard symbols for omissions, restorations, lacunae, and errata included. Therefore, to avoid confusion with these sigla, the following additional signs and symbols have been adopted to denote authorial insertions within quotations:
| ⟨⟨ ⟩⟩ = |
Transliteration inserted by the author within a quotation |
| ⟨⟨ ( ) ⟩⟩ = |
Transliteration inserted by the author in place of trans-lated term within a quotation |
| (( )) = |
Alternative translation inserted by the author within a quotation |