Retjenu ('' rṯnw; Reṯenu, Retenu''), was an ancient Egyptian name for

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. It covered the region from the

Negev The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its sout ...

Desert north to the

Orontes River The Orontes (; from Ancient Greek , ) or Asi ( ar, العاصي, , ; tr, Asi) is a river with a length of in Western Asia that begins in Lebanon, flowing northwards through Syria before entering the Mediterranean Sea near Samandağ in Turkey. A ...

. The borders of Retjenu shifted with time, but it generally consisted of three regions. The southernmost was Djahy, which had about the same boundaries as

.Steindorff, George. ''When Egypt Ruled the East.'' p. 47. University of Chicago Press, 1942.

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

proper was located in the middle, between the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

and the

. North of Lebanon was designated

Amurru Amurru may refer to: * Amurru kingdom, roughly current day western Syria and northern Lebanon * Amorite, ancient Syrian people * Amurru (god) Amurru, also known under the Sumerian name Martu, was a Mesopotamian god who served as the divine perso ...

, the land of the

Amorites The Amorites (; sux, 𒈥𒌅, MAR.TU; Akkadian: 𒀀𒈬𒊒𒌝 or 𒋾𒀉𒉡𒌝/𒊎 ; he, אֱמוֹרִי, 'Ĕmōrī; grc, Ἀμορραῖοι) were an ancient Northwest Semitic-speaking people from the Levant who also occupied lar ...

Occurrences of the term

Overall, numerous mentions of the Retjenu appear in Egyptian inscriptions.

12th Dynasty

The earliest attestation of the name occurs in the Sebek-khu Stele, dated to the reign of

Senusret III Khakaure Senusret III (also written as Senwosret III or the hellenised form, Sesostris III) was a pharaoh of Egypt. He ruled from 1878 BC to 1839 BC during a time of great power and prosperity, and was the fifth king of the Twelfth Dynasty of t ...

(reign: 1878–1839 BCE), recording the earliest known Egyptian military campaign in the Levant and their victory over the Retjenu: "His Majesty proceeded northward to overthrow the Asiatics. His Majesty reached a foreign country of which the name was Sekmem (...) Then Sekmem fell, together with the wretched Retenu", where Sekmem (s-k-m-m) is thought to be

Shechem Shechem ( ), also spelled Sichem ( ; he, שְׁכֶם, ''Šəḵem''; ; grc, Συχέμ, Sykhém; Samaritan Hebrew: , ), was a Canaanite and Israelite city mentioned in the Amarna Letters, later appearing in the Hebrew Bible as the first c ...

. Scarabs with the name "Retjenu" have been found in

Avaris Avaris (; Egyptian: ḥw.t wꜥr.t, sometimes ''hut-waret''; grc, Αὔαρις, Auaris; el, Άβαρις, Ávaris; ar, حوّارة, Hawwara) was the Hyksos capital of Egypt located at the modern site of Tell el-Dab'a in the northeastern ...

, also dating to the

12th Dynasty The Twelfth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty XII) is considered to be the apex of the Middle Kingdom by Egyptologists. It often is combined with the Eleventh, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth dynasties under the group title, Middle Kingdom. Some ...

(1991-1802 BCE). The name also occurs in the '' Tale of Sinuhe'' (written during the early

), inscribed on a piece of limestone in the 14th century BCE.

17th Dynasty

Kamose Kamose was the last Pharaoh of the Theban Seventeenth Dynasty. He was possibly the son of Seqenenre Tao and Ahhotep I and the uncle of Ahmose I, founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty. His reign fell at the very end of the Second Intermediate Peri ...

, the last king of the Theban 17th Dynasty (c. 1580–1550 BCE), refers to

Apepi Apepi (also Ipepi; Egyptian language '), Apophis ( gr, Ἄποφις); regnal names Neb-khepesh-Re, A-qenen-Re and A-user-Re) was a Hyksos ruler of Lower Egypt during the Fifteenth Dynasty and the end of the Second Intermediate Period. Accor ...

, the

Hyksos Hyksos (; Egyptian '' ḥqꜣ(w)- ḫꜣswt'', Egyptological pronunciation: ''hekau khasut'', "ruler(s) of foreign lands") is a term which, in modern Egyptology, designates the kings of the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt (fl. c. 1650–1550 BC). T ...

pharaoh, as a "Chieftain of Retjenu" in a stela that implies a Canaanite background for this Hyksos king.

18th Dynasty

The Retjenu people are depicted in the 18th Dynasty tomb of Rekhmire (TT100).

Depictions in Egyptian reliefs

File:Sebek-khu Stele, Manchester Museum.jpg, The Sebek-khu Stele, dated to the reign of

(reign: 1878–1839 BCE), records the earliest known Egyptian military campaign in the Levant. The text reads "Then Sekmem fell, together with the wretched Retenu", where Sekmem (s-k-m-m) is thought to be

. File:Block from a Relief Depicting a Battle MET 213 S3BR2 01GG.jpg, Egyptian relief depicting a battle against West Asiatics. Reign of

Amenhotep II Amenhotep II (sometimes called ''Amenophis II'' and meaning '' Amun is Satisfied'') was the seventh pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Amenhotep inherited a vast kingdom from his father Thutmose III, and held it by means of a few milit ...

, Eighteenth Dynasty, c. 1427–1400 BCE File:West Asiatic tribute bearers tomb of Sobekhotep 18th Dynasty Thebes.jpg, West Asiatic tribute bearers in the tomb of Sobekhotep, c. 1400 BCE, during the reign of

Thutmose IV Thutmose IV (sometimes read as Thutmosis or Tuthmosis IV, Thothmes in older history works in Latinized Greek; egy, ḏḥwti.msi(.w) "Thoth is born") was the 8th Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt, who ruled in approximately the 14th century ...

, Thebes.

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. File:Submission of West Asiatics on the tomb of Horemheb circa 1300 BCE.jpg, Submission of West Asiatics on the tomb of Pharaoh

Horemheb Horemheb, also spelled Horemhab or Haremhab ( egy, ḥr-m-ḥb, meaning " Horus is in Jubilation") was the last pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt (1550–1295 BC). He ruled for at least 14 years between 1319 BC and 1292 BC. ...

Saqqara Saqqara ( ar, سقارة, ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital, Memph ...

, circa 1300 BCE. File:Horemheb Tomb Relief Saqqara Grave (2009).jpg, Submission of West Asiatics on the tomb of Pharaoh

, circa 1300 BCE. Syrian tribute bearer from a Theban tomb of the 18-19th dynasty.jpg, Syrian tribute bearer from a Theban tomb of the 18-19th dynasty. File:Retjenu, tomb of Sobekhotep 18th Dynasty Thebes.jpg, A Retjenu. Tomb of Sobekhotep, 18th Dynasty Thebes.

References