Tell el-Dab’a 397site was located on the WAY OF HORUS, a military highway
used by the Egyptians. Tcharu was renamed Sile by the
Greeks during the Ptolemaic Period. The city was an out-
post on the military road that led through the BITTER
LAKESand Arish to Gaza in Palestine. A canal dating to
the reign of Necho II was fortified when it was built, and
Tcharu had protected wells and compounds to defend it
from BEDOUINor Asiatic attacks.
Tchay (Tchoy)(fl. 13th century B.C.E.)Court official of
the Nineteenth Dynasty
He served MERENPTAH(r. 1224–1214 B.C.E.) as a royal
scribe of dispatches. His tomb on the western shore of
Thebes was discovered at KHOKHAand celebrated for its
size and decorations. Tchay’s tomb contains reliefs of the
Book of the Gates,a mortuary text, and portraits of AMEN-
HOTEP I(r. 1525–1504 B.C.E.) and Queen ’AHMOSE-NEFER-
TARI. These royals had been deified during the Eighteenth
Dynasty. Other reliefs depict a tree goddess, scenes of the
celebration of the festival of SOKAR, BABOONSadoring the
rising sun, and a SOLAR BOAT. Portraits of Tchay and his
family were included.
Teachings of Tuaf This was a text used in Egyptian
schools in the New Kingdom Period (1550–1070 B.C.E.).
The text was copied by students and used to inspire
SCRIBES. It appears to be a version of the SATIRE ON TRADES.
Texts from older eras remained ever popular and were
used in educational and religious settings in all historical
periods.
Tebtynis It was a site in the FAIYUMregion of Egypt,
the modern Omm el-Borigat. Tebtynis was a cult center of
the god SOBEK and contained a temple honoring that
deity. The temple dates to the Middle Kingdom Period
(2040–1640 B.C.E.) and was designed with a square tank-
like lake in the main courtyard. CROCODILES, the THEO-
PHANIESof SOBEK, were probably maintained in this lake.
Reliefs dating to the Ptolemaic Period (304–30 B.C.E.)
were discovered in a vestibule of the temple. The shrine
was enclosed by a mud-brick wall. A treasure trove of
papyri was discovered at Tebtynis.
Tefibi(fl. c. 21st century B.C.E.)Aristocrat of the Ninth
Dynasty who was accused of sacrilege
He served in the reign of KHETY III (date of reign
unknown) and was a nobleman of ASSIUT. Tefibi joined
Khety III in plundering tombs in the ABYDOSregion while
on a campaign against the Thebans. This act of sacrilege
brought the ruler and Tefibi shame and prompted the
Thebans to begin the reunification of Egypt, ending the
Khety rule. Tefibi’s tomb in Assiut was shared by his
sons, KHETY Iand II, and is located in a cliff overlooking
the area. He was a disciple of the wolf or JACKALdeity
WEPWAWET.
Tefnakhte (Shepsesré)(d. 717 B.C.E.) Founder of the
short-lived Twenty-fourth Dynasty at Sais
He ruled from 724 B.C.E. until his death. Tefnakhte held
the areas called “the Four Chiefs of Ma,” Libyan enclaves.
These were SEBENNYTOS, BUSIRIS, MENDES, and Pi-Sopd.
He was allied with OSORKON IIand IUPUT IIof TANISand
LEONTOPOLIS when the Nubians (modern Sudanese)
began their invasion of Egypt. When PIANKHI entered
Egypt with his Nubian troops, Tefnakhte went to HERAK-
LEOPOLISto defeat him. Piankhi easily routed the Egyp-
tian coalition forces, however, and Osorkon II and other
allies surrendered.
Tefnakhte fled to MEMPHISand was captured there
and exiled to a remote area of the Delta. He swore alle-
giance to Piankhi, but in 720 or 719 B.C.E. he declared
himself sole ruler of Egypt. A STELAfrom his era shows
him worshiping the goddess NEITH(1). Tefnakhte was
succeeded on the throne by his son BAKENRENEF(Boccho-
ris) in 717 B.C.E.Tefnut (Tefent) She was an ancient Egyptian goddess,
honored as the twin sister and consort of SHU. Originally
she was the consort of a god named Tefen, but his cult
disappeared. As Tefen’s wife, she was called Tefent. Tefnut
personified moisture, rain, and dew and also had a place
in solar cults. She was associated with PTAHat HELIOPOLIS.
Tefnut served as a means by which Ptah brought life into
the world.
In historical periods, Tefnut was associated with the
goddess MA’ATand represented the space between heaven
and earth. With Ma’at, Tefnut was sometimes viewed as a
spiritual force rather than a divine being. She was
depicted as a lioness or as a woman with a lion’s head.
Tefnut supported the sky with Shu and received the
newly risen sun each morning.Tehenu A brown-skinned people depicted in ancient
art as a Libyan tribe from the LIBYAN DESERT, the Tehenu
were involved in the various Libyan attempts to invade
Egypt’s Delta region throughout the centuries.tekenu A mortuary symbol made of reeds and fash-
ioned to represent a human being with or without a head,
the tekenuwas placed on a sled and pulled by oxen to
funerals. There the oxen were slain and the tekenu
burned. The ritual dates to the earliest eras of Egypt and
may have commemorated the ceremonies in which
courtiers, prisoners of war, and other individuals were
sacrificed to accompany royal persons to the grave. The
tekenuassumed any guilt assigned to the deceased and
purified the newly departed for ETERNITY.
See also MORTUARY RITUALS.Tell el-Dab’a It was a site in the eastern Delta, part of
the HYKSOS encampment at AVARIS during the Second