Abdi-Kheba might have been elevated to the throne of the small stronghold of Urusalim through intervention of the Egyptian King. In EA 286 (and repeated in EA 287 and 288) he stated that "(...) as far as I am concerned, neither my father nor my mother put me in this place, but the strong arm of the King brought me into my father's house". Whether or not he was related to a previous local ruler, as a young man he almost certainly spent some time in Egypt. His former connections to the Egyptian court become apparent in the postscripts of 4 of his letters to the Egyptian King (EA 286, 287, 288 and 289), in which he addressed the royal scribe directly, requesting his support before the King.
While having a partially Egyptian background, Abdi-Kheba still suffered his share of conflicts with the Egyptian authorities in southern Palestine. His whole correspondence within the Amarna Letters (EA 285-290) is overshadowed by his muddy relations with Addaya, Pawura and Yanhamu, the local Egyptian commissioners. Abdi-Kheba claimed getting slandered and denounced by them before the King and certainly did his best to return the favors. The main reason for this bickering appears to have been the lack of having an Egyptian garrison stationed in his stronghold.
During Abdi-Kheba's reign the region surrounding Urusalim was subjected to attacks by several local warlords. Among those were the sons of Labayu as well as Milkilu of Gazru and Tagi of Ginti-kirmil. Although this was reason enough for Abdi-Kheba to worry about the lack of Egyptian military support, he certainly was no pacifist himself. In EA 280 he is complained about by Shuwardata, ruler over the neighboring territory of Gimtu (containing the city of Qeltu): "Why did Abdi-Kheba write to the men of Qeltu, "Accept silver and follow me"? Moreover, Labayu, who used to take our towns, is dead, but now another Labayu is Abdi-Kheba, and he seizes our town."
As if these struggles between local rulers were not enough, the region was also marauded by bands of Apiru. Both EA 288 (sent by Abdi-Kheba) and EA 335 (by the hand of Abdi-Ashtarti, Shuwardata's probable successor) describe the same local rulers (Turbazu and Yaptih-Hadda) getting slain while their cities (respectively Silu and Muhrashtu) are seized. It seems possible that Abdi-Kheba outlived these events (and the timeframe of the Amarna Letters), but his ultimate fate is unknown.
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