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Amarna Letter no. 68 speaks eloquently of the lack of military preparedness in the Canaanite city of Hebron in the mid-14th century B.C. In this letter, Shuwardata, Prince of Hebron, tells the king that he stands alone and needs a large force to rescue him. The Amarna tablets, discovered in 1887, are in cuneiform script, written in the Babylonian language, which was evidently the diplomatic lingua franca of the day. Many are from Canaanite cities and describe the deterioration of military strength and morale in Canaan before the Exodus.