In the course of administering their extensive imperial possessions to the north of Egypt, especially in Palestine and Syria, the Egyptians frequently dispatched trusted officials on diplomatic journeys, which might require them to remain in a foreign land for quite long periods. Mami was a treasury official, 'the Overseer of the House of Silver', who lived for some time in Ugarit on the Eastern Mediterranean coast. He evidently absorbed the local culture as he dedicated a stele, inscribed in Egyptian hieroglyphs, to the city god, a manifestation of the Syrian god Ba'al. He was probably stationed there to ensure the transfer of 'tribute' from Ugarit back to Egypt.