What is "yursa"

Yursa was a town from the 1350- 1335 BC Amarna letters correspondence. The site, a city/ city-state, is probably in the southern Canaan close to Gaza. Some scholars identify it with Tel Gamma.

In the 382–letter correspondence it is the location of its mayor/ruler, Pu-Ba'lu who authored 3 letters written to pharaoh, namely EA 314-316, ( EA for 'el Amarna').

The three letters to pharaoh from Pu-Ba'lu of Yursa are:

EA 314—Title: "A shipment of glass" EA 315—Title: "Like a command of the Sun"–See: Reanap EA 316—Title: " Postscript to the royal scribe"–See: Tahmašši

Of the entire Amarna letters 382–letter corpus, Yursa is only referenced in letters 314, and 315, as: "..Pu-Ba'lu, the ruler of Yursa".