science

Tjaru

Tjaru is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Tjaru rather than just read about it. In short: Tjaru (Ancient Egyptian: ṯꜣrw) was an ancient Egyptian fortress on the Way of Horus or Horus military road, the major road leading out of Egypt into Canaan. It was known in Greek as Selē (Ancient Greek: Σελη), in Latin as Sile or Sele, and in Coptic as Selē or Slē (Coptic: Ⲥⲉⲗⲏ or Ⲥⲗⲏ).

Key takeaways

Tjaru belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Tjaru to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Tjaru from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Tjaru (Ancient Egyptian: ṯꜣrw) was an ancient Egyptian fortress on the Way of Horus or Horus military road, the major road leading out of Egypt into Canaan. It was known in Greek as Selē (Ancient Greek: Σελη), in Latin as Sile or Sele, and in Coptic as Selē or Slē (Coptic: Ⲥⲉⲗⲏ or Ⲥⲗⲏ). It has been suggested that its remains form the Tel el-Habua near Qantarah.

History The Horus of Mesen was worshipped at Tjaru in the form of a lion, and because of its close theological connections to Edfu, it is sometimes referred to as the Edfu of Lower Egypt. Tjaru, being a frontier town in an inhospitable desert region, was a place of banishment for criminals. Horemheb in his Great Edict threatens as punishment for various crimes by officials disfigurement and banishment to Tjaru. This is the origin of why Tjaru was referred to as Rhinocorura by later Ancient Greek authors.

References in the Amarna letters Silu is referenced twice in one letter of the 382–Amarna letters correspondence of 1350-1335 BC. The letter refers to Turbazu, the presumed 'mayor'/ruler of Silu, who is "..slain in the city gate of Silu." Two other mayors are also slain at the city gate of Silu. Turbazu's death is also reported in one additional letter of the Amarna letters, EA 335, (EA for 'el Amarna').

Part of EA 288, letter of Abdi-Heba of Jerusalem Abdi-Heba's letters, to the Egyptian pharaoh, are of moderate length, and topically discuss the intrigues of the cities, that are adjacent to Jerusalem. A section of letter 288, title: "Benign neglect", (starting at line 17):

"[...] ".... I gave over [to his char]ge 10 slaves, Šuta, the commissioner of the king, ca[me t]o me; I gave over to Šuta's charge 21 girls, [8]0 prisoners, as a gift for the king, my lord. May the king give thought to his land; the land of the king is lost. All of it has attacked me. I am at war as far as the land of Šeru and as far as Ginti-kirmil. All the mayors are at peace, but I am at war. I am treated like an 'Apiru, and I do not visit the king, my lord, since I am at war. I am situated like a ship in the midst of the sea. The strong hand (arm) of the king took the land of Nahrima-(Mittani), and the land of Kasi, but now the 'Apiru have taken the very cities of the king. Not a single mayor remains to the king, my lord; all are lost. Behold, Turbazu was slain in the city gate of Silu-(Tjaru). The king did nothing. Behold, servants who were joined to the 'Api[r]u smote Zimredda of Lakisu, and Yaptih-Hadda was slain in the "city gate" of Silu. The king did nothing. [Wh]y has he not called them to account? May the king [pro]vide for [his land] and may he [se]e to it tha[t] archers [come ou]t to h[is] land. If there are no archers this year, all the lands of the king, my lord, are lost." "...." -end of line 53 (lines 54-66(End), omitted)

Identification as Tell Heboua There has been historical argument over which archaeological site should be identified as Tjaru. Throughout the 20th century, Tjaru has been identified as Tel Abu-Seifa, 4 km east of Qantarah. After excavations in the late 20th and early 21st century, the current consensus is that Tell Heboua, near Qantarah, is the most likely site of the fortress. Tell Heboua is upon a kurkar ridge, giving it the strategic advantage of high ground. Excavations by the Supreme Council of Antiquities at Tell Heboua began in 1988. Archaeologists first proposed that Tell Heboua, not Tel Abu-Seifa, was the Pharaonic-era fortress of Tjaru around 2000. In July 2007, the confirmation of the ancient fortress at Tell Heboua as Tjaru was announced, with graves of soldiers and horses, mud-brick walls, and a moat. Further discoveries were announced in 2008, including reliefs depicting Pharaohs Thutmose II, Seti I and Ramesses II. In January 2015, new discoveries at the site were announced that confirmed its identification as the fort of Tjaru.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tjaru

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Tjaru claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Tjaru before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Tjaru ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Tjaru

In research: Tjaru appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Tjaru in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Tjaru is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Amarna letters locations, Cities in ancient Egypt, Former populated places in Egypt, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tjaru outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Tjaru in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Tjaru means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Tjaru out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tjaru in simple terms?

Why does Tjaru matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Tjaru?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Tjaru.