One of the Amarna Letters includes the following remarks from Burra-Buriyash, the king of Babylonia, who had been angry because, during an illness, he had received no get-well message from the Egyptian pharaoh. He is now mollified, though, because his own envoys have explained to him how far apart Egypt and Babylonia (modern Iraq) are:

If you ask your messenger, he will tell you that I have not been well and that, as far as my recovery is concerned, I am still by no means restored to health. Furthermore, since I was not well and my brother (meaning the Pharaoh) showed me no concern, I for my part became angry with my brother, saying, "Has my brother not heard that I am ill? Why has he shown me no concern? Why has he sent...