Retenu: Between the Fifteenth and the Nineteenth Dynasties, with an Appendix on the Chronology of Tell el-Dab‘a

This paper deals with the relationship between Egypt and Retenu, its main Asiatic neighbor, in the period from the Fifteenth Dynasty till to the end of the Nineteenth Dynasty. Recent archaeological research at Tell el-Dab‘a disproves the existence of an empire of the Fifteenth Dynasty extending into Palestine. This leads to a reconsideration of the historical sources thought to attest to an association of Apophis, king of the Fifteenth Dynasty, with Retenu. The existence of an Egyptian empire in Palestine before Thutmose III is also shown to be lacking any support in the record. The destructions in Syria-Palestine between the Middle Bronze and Late Bronze Ages are viewed as being partly the result of the geopolitical divide of this region between Retenu and ḫꜣrw, two different political entities competing for the rule of the region. The term ḫꜣrw is shown to be just homonymous to that used for the Hurrians. A critical appraisal of the stratigraphy of Tell el-Dab‘a Tell el-‘Ajjul is appended to the paper.

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