Retenu
Encyclopedia
Retjenu was an Ancient Egypt
ian name for Canaan
and Syria. It covered the region from the Negev Desert north to the Orontes River
. 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 Canaan
. Lebanon
proper was located in the middle, between the Mediterranean
and the Orontes River
. North of Lebanon was designated Amurru
, the land of the Amorites.
The earliest attestation of the name occurs in the Tale of Sinuhe, inscribed on a piece of limestone
in 14th century BC.
The suggestion that Retenu is an Egyptian transliteration of the Hebrew term `arzenu, meaning "our land", was first made by Immanuel Velikovsky
.
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
ian name for Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
and Syria. It covered the region from the Negev Desert north to the Orontes River
Orontes River
The Orontes or ‘Āṣī is a river of Lebanon, Syria and Turkey.It was anciently the chief river of the Levant, also called Draco, Typhon and Axius...
. The borders of Retjenu shifted with time, but it generally consisted of three regions. The southernmost was Djahy
Djahy
Djahi, Djahy or Tjahi was the Egyptian designation for southern Retenu. It ran from approximately Ashkelon to Lebanon and inland as far as Galilee. It was the watershed of the Jordan river during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt battles with Kadesh....
, which had about the same boundaries as Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
. Lebanon
History of ancient Lebanon
The history of ancient Lebanon traces the course of events in what is now known as Lebanon from the beginning of history to the beginning of Arab rule.- Prehistoric Times :The earliest known settlements in Lebanon date back to earlier than 5000 BC...
proper was located in the middle, between the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
and the Orontes River
Orontes River
The Orontes or ‘Āṣī is a river of Lebanon, Syria and Turkey.It was anciently the chief river of the Levant, also called Draco, Typhon and Axius...
. North of Lebanon was designated Amurru
Amorite
Amorite refers to an ancient Semitic people who occupied large parts of Mesopotamia from the 21st Century BC...
, the land of the Amorites.
The earliest attestation of the name occurs in the Tale of Sinuhe, inscribed on a piece of limestone
Ostracon
An ostracon is a piece of pottery , usually broken off from a vase or other earthenware vessel. In archaeology, ostraca may contain scratched-in words or other forms of writing which may give clues as to the time when the piece was in use...
in 14th century BC.
The suggestion that Retenu is an Egyptian transliteration of the Hebrew term `arzenu, meaning "our land", was first made by Immanuel Velikovsky
Immanuel Velikovsky
Immanuel Velikovsky was a Russian-born American independent scholar of Jewish origins, best known as the author of a number of controversial books reinterpreting the events of ancient history, in particular the US bestseller Worlds in Collision, published in 1950...
.