Abydos Dynasty

Abydos Dynasty
Abydos Dynasty
c. 1650 BC–c. 1600 BC
	Map of Egypt during the Fifteenth, Abydos, and Sixteenth Dynasties
Capital	Abydos
Common languages	Egyptian language
Religion	Ancient Egyptian religion
Government	Absolute monarchy
Historical era	Bronze Age
• Established	c. 1650 BC
• Disestablished	c. 1600 BC
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt
	Fourteenth Dynasty of Egypt
Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt

Last updated December 02, 2023

The Abydos Dynasty is hypothesized to have been a short-lived local dynasty ruling over parts of Middle and Upper Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period in Ancient Egypt. The Abydos Dynasty would have been contemporaneous with the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Dynasties, from approximately 1650 to 1600 BC.^[1] It would have been based in or around Abydos and its royal necropolis might have been located at the foot of the Mountain of Anubis, a hill resembling a pyramid in the Abydene desert, close to a rock-cut tomb built for pharaoh Senusret III.

Debate over existence

Evidence in favor

The existence of an Abydos Dynasty was first proposed by Detlef Franke ^[2] and later elaborated on by Kim Ryholt in 1997. Ryholt observes that two attested kings of this period, Wepwawetemsaf ( Wepwawet is his protection) and Pantjeny (He of Thinis), bore names in connection with Abydos: Wepwawet being an important Abydene god and Thinis being a prominent city, located a few miles north of Abydos. Additionally, Wepwawetemsaf, Pantjeny and Snaaib, another king of the period, are each known from single stelae discovered in Abydos, which could be a sign that this was their seat of power.^[3] Finally, Ryholt argues that the existence of an Abydos Dynasty would explain 16 entries of the Turin canon at the end of the 16th Dynasty. The Abydos Dynasty may have come into existence in the time lapse between the fall of the 13th Dynasty with the conquest of Memphis by the Hyksos and the southward progression of the Hyksos to Thebes.^[3]

The existence of the dynasty may have been vindicated in January 2014, when the tomb of the previously unknown pharaoh Senebkay was discovered in the southern part of Abydos, an area called "Anubis Mountain" in ancient times. If Senebkay indeed belongs to the Abydos Dynasty, his tomb might signal the royal necropolis of this dynasty, adjacent to the tombs of the Middle Kingdom rulers.^[1] Since then, excavations have revealed no less than eight anonymous royal tombs dating to the Second Intermediate Period similar in style and size to Senebkay's burial, as well as two tombs, possibly pyramids, dating to the mid 13th-Dynasty, S9 and S10, which may belong to Neferhotep I and his brother Sobekhotep IV.^[4]

Evidence against

The existence of an Abydos Dynasty is not agreed by all scholars. For example, Marcel Marėe observes that a workshop operating from Abydos and producing stelae for two kings associated with the Abydos Dynasty, Pantjeny and Wepwawetemsaf, also likely produced the stela of Rahotep of the 17th Dynasty. Thus if the Abydos Dynasty did exist, this workshop would have been producing stelae for two enemy dynasties, something which he judges to be rather unlikely.^[5] It remains unclear, however, whether these two dynasties coexisted at any one time: for instance, in Ryholt's reconstruction of the Second Intermediate Period, they are separated by c. 20 years.^[3]

Countering the argument in favor of the Abydos Dynasty based on the tomb of Senebkay, Alexander Ilin-Tomich argues that certain Middle Kingdom pharaohs, such as Senusret III and Sobekhotep IV, also have their tombs at Abydos, yet nobody places these kings into an Abydos-based dynasty. At the opposite, he wonders whether Senebkay might be a king of the Theban 16th Dynasty.^[6]

Territory

If the Abydos Dynasty was indeed a dynasty, the seat of its power would probably have been either Abydos or Thinis. A possible graffito of Wepwawetemsaf was discovered by Karl Richard Lepsius in the tomb BH2 of the 12th Dynasty nomarch Amenemhat at Beni Hasan, about 250 km North of Abydos, in Middle Egypt. If the attribution of this graffito is correct and if Wepwawetemsaf did belong to the Abydos Dynasty, then its territory might have extended that far north.^[3] Since the dynasty was contemporaneous with the 16th Dynasty, the territory under Abydene control could not have extended farther than Hu, 50 km south of Abydos.^[3]

Rulers

The following 16 entries of the Turin canon are attributed to the Abydos Dynasty by Kim Ryholt:^[3]

**Pharaohs of the Abydos Dynasty**
Prenomen of the King	Entry of the Turin canon	Transliteration
Woser[...]re	Col 11. Line 16	Wsr-[...]-Rˁ
Woser[...]re	Col 11. Line 17	Wsr-[...]-Rˁ
Eight kings lost	Col 11. Lines 18-25
[...]hebre	Col 11. Line 26	[...]-hb-[Rˁ]
Three kings lost	Col 11. Lines 27-29
[...]hebre (uncertain)	Col 11. Line 30	[...]-ḥb-[Rˁ]
[...]webenre	Col 11. Line 31	[...]-wbn-[Rˁ]

Some of the above rulers may identify with the four attested kings tentatively attributable to the Abydos Dynasty, given here without regard for their (unknown) chronological order:

**Pharaohs of the Abydos Dynasty**
Name of king	Image	Comment
Sekhemraneferkhau Wepwawetemsaf		May belong to the late 16th Dynasty ^[5]
Sekhemrekhutawy Pantjeny		May belong to the late 16th Dynasty^[5]
Menkhaure Snaaib		May belong to the late 13th Dynasty ^[7]^[8]^[9]
Woseribre Senebkay		Perhaps identifiable with a Woser[...]re of the Turin canon
Khuiqer		Uncertain date and period of reign, attributed by Detlef Franke to the Abydos Dynasty^[10]

Related Research Articles

The Second Intermediate Period dates from 1700 to 1550 BC. It marks a period when ancient Egypt was divided into smaller dynasties for a second time, between the end of the Middle Kingdom and the start of the New Kingdom. The Second Intermediate Period generally includes the 13th through to the 17th dynasties.

Khasekhemre Neferhotep I was an Egyptian pharaoh of the mid Thirteenth Dynasty ruling in the second half of the 18th century BC during a time referred to as the late Middle Kingdom or early Second Intermediate Period, depending on the scholar. One of the best attested rulers of the 13th Dynasty, Neferhotep I reigned for 11 years.

Khaneferre Sobekhotep IV was one of the more powerful Egyptian kings of the 13th Dynasty, who reigned at least eight years. His brothers, Neferhotep I and Sihathor, were his predecessors on the throne, the latter having only ruled as coregent for a few months.

Merhotepre Sobekhotep was an Egyptian king of the late 13th Dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period.

Semenkare Nebnuni is a poorly attested pharaoh of the early 13th Dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period. He is mainly known for his position in the Turin King List.

Sekhemre Wahkhau Rahotep was an Egyptian pharaoh who reigned during the Second Intermediate Period, when Egypt was ruled by multiple kings. The Egyptologists Kim Ryholt and Darrell Baker believe that Rahotep was the first king of the 17th Dynasty.

Neferirkare was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Eighth Dynasty during the early First Intermediate Period. According to the egyptologists Kim Ryholt, Jürgen von Beckerath and Darrell Baker he was the 17th and final king of the Eighth Dynasty. Many scholars consider Neferirkare to have been the last pharaoh of the Old Kingdom, which came to an end with the 8th Dynasty.

Iufni was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 13th Dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khahotepre Sobekhotep VI</span> Egyptian pharaoh

Khahotepre Sobekhotep VI was an Egyptian king of the late 13th Dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period.

Senusret IV Seneferibre was an ancient Egyptian Theban king during the late Second Intermediate Period that is attested only through finds from Upper Egypt. The chronological position of Senusret IV is unclear and even the dynasty to which he belongs is debated.

Nerikare was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 13th Dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period.

Woseribre Senebkay was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh during the Second Intermediate Period. The discovery of his tomb in January 2014 supports the existence of an independent Abydos Dynasty, contemporary with the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Dynasties during the Second Intermediate Period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wepwawetemsaf</span> Egyptian pharaoh

Sekhemraneferkhau Wepwawetemsaf was an Egyptian pharaoh during the Second Intermediate Period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snaaib</span> Egyptian pharaoh

Menkhaure Snaaib was an Egyptian pharaoh during the Second Intermediate Period between the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom at the end of the Middle Bronze Age.

Sekhemrekhutawy Pantjeny was an Egyptian pharaoh during the Second Intermediate Period. According to the Egyptologists Kim Ryholt and Darrell Baker, he was a king of the Abydos Dynasty, although they leave his position within this dynasty undetermined. Alternatively, Pantjeny could be a king of the late 16th Dynasty. According to Jürgen von Beckerath, Pantjeny is to be identified with Sekhemrekhutawy Khabaw, whom he sees as the third king of the 13th Dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sekhemrekhutawy Khabaw</span> Egyptian pharaoh of the early 13th Dynasty

Sekhemrekhutawy Khabaw was an Egyptian pharaoh of the early 13th Dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sewahenre Senebmiu</span> Egyptian pharaoh

Sewahenre Senebmiu is a poorly attested Egyptian pharaoh during the Second Intermediate Period, thought to belong to the late 13th Dynasty.

Sekheperenre was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 14th Dynasty of Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period. According to the Egyptologists Kim Ryholt and Darrell Baker, Sekheperenre was the twenty-second king of the dynasty; alternatively, Jürgen von Beckerath sees him as the seventeenth ruler. As a king of the 14th Dynasty, Sekheperenre would have reigned from Avaris over the eastern Nile Delta and possibly over the western Delta as well.

Sebkay was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh during the Second Intermediate Period. For a long time his position created problems and he was most often placed into the 13th Dynasty. However, the discovery of the tomb of a king with the name Senebkay make it very likely that Sebkay is identical with the latter and the writing of the name Sebkay is just a misspelling of the name.

Khuiqer was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh known only for a limestone lintel bearing part of his royal titulary, found in Abydos by Flinders Petrie at the beginning of the 20th century, and now located at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. His datation is extremely uncertain since he was tentatively placed in both the First and the Second Intermediate Period.

References

1 2 "Giant Sarcophagus Leads Penn Museum Team in Egypt To the Tomb of a Previously Unknown Pharaoh". Penn Museum. January 2014. Retrieved 16 Jan 2014.
↑ Detlef Franke: Zur Chronologie des Mittleren Reiches. Teil II: Die sogenannte Zweite Zwischenzeit Altägyptens, In Orientalia 57 (1988), p. 259
1 2 3 4 5 6 Ryholt, K.S.B. (1997). The Political Situation in Egypt During the Second Intermediate Period, C. 1800-1550 B.C. Museum Tusculanum Press. p. 164. ISBN 8772894210.
↑ Josef W., Wegner (2015). "A royal necropolis at south Abydos: New Light on Egypt's Second Intermediate Period". Near Eastern Archaeology. 78 (2): 68–78. doi:10.5615/neareastarch.78.2.0068. S2CID 163519900.
1 2 3 Marcel Marée: A sculpture workshop at Abydos from the late Sixteenth or early Seventeenth Dynasty, in: Marcel Marée (editor): The Second Intermediate period (Thirteenth-Seventeenth Dynasties), Current Research, Future Prospects, Leuven, Paris, Walpole, MA. 2010 ISBN 978-90-429-2228-0. p. 247, 268
↑ Alexander Ilin-Tomich: The Theban Kingdom of Dynasty 16: Its Rise, Administration and Politics, in: Journal of Egyptian History 7 (2014), 146; Ilin-Tomich, Alexander, 2016, Second Intermediate Period. In Wolfram Grajetzki and Willeke Wendrich (eds.), UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, Los Angeles. http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/viewItem.do?ark=21198/zz002k7jm9 p. 9-10
↑ Jürgen von Beckerath: Untersuchungen zur politischen Geschichte der Zweiten Zwischenzeit in Ägypten, Glückstadt, 1964
↑ Jürgen von Beckerath: Chronologie des pharaonischen Ägyptens, Münchner Ägyptologische Studien 46. Mainz am Rhein, 1997
↑ Jürgen von Beckerath: Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen, Münchner ägyptologische Studien 49, Mainz 1999.
↑ Schneider, T. (2009). "Das Ende der kurzen Chronologie: Eine kritische Bilanz der Debatte zur absoluten Datierung des Mittleren Reiches und der Zweiten Zwischenzeit". Ägypten und Levante. 18: 275–314. doi:10.1553/aeundl18s275. ISSN 1015-5104.

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[pennmuseum-1] 1 2 "Giant Sarcophagus Leads Penn Museum Team in Egypt To the Tomb of a Previously Unknown Pharaoh". Penn Museum. January 2014. Retrieved 16 Jan 2014.

[2] Detlef Franke: Zur Chronologie des Mittleren Reiches. Teil II: Die sogenannte Zweite Zwischenzeit Altägyptens, In Orientalia 57 (1988), p. 259

[ryholt-3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ryholt, K.S.B. (1997). The Political Situation in Egypt During the Second Intermediate Period, C. 1800-1550 B.C. Museum Tusculanum Press. p. 164. ISBN 8772894210.

[4] Josef W., Wegner (2015). "A royal necropolis at south Abydos: New Light on Egypt's Second Intermediate Period". Near Eastern Archaeology. 78 (2): 68–78. doi:10.5615/neareastarch.78.2.0068. S2CID 163519900.

[maree-5] 1 2 3 Marcel Marée: A sculpture workshop at Abydos from the late Sixteenth or early Seventeenth Dynasty, in: Marcel Marée (editor): The Second Intermediate period (Thirteenth-Seventeenth Dynasties), Current Research, Future Prospects, Leuven, Paris, Walpole, MA. 2010 ISBN 978-90-429-2228-0. p. 247, 268

[6] Alexander Ilin-Tomich: The Theban Kingdom of Dynasty 16: Its Rise, Administration and Politics, in: Journal of Egyptian History 7 (2014), 146; Ilin-Tomich, Alexander, 2016, Second Intermediate Period. In Wolfram Grajetzki and Willeke Wendrich (eds.), UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, Los Angeles. http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/viewItem.do?ark=21198/zz002k7jm9 p. 9-10

[7] Jürgen von Beckerath: Untersuchungen zur politischen Geschichte der Zweiten Zwischenzeit in Ägypten, Glückstadt, 1964

[8] Jürgen von Beckerath: Chronologie des pharaonischen Ägyptens, Münchner Ägyptologische Studien 46. Mainz am Rhein, 1997

[beckerath-9] Jürgen von Beckerath: Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen, Münchner ägyptologische Studien 49, Mainz 1999.

[10] Schneider, T. (2009). "Das Ende der kurzen Chronologie: Eine kritische Bilanz der Debatte zur absoluten Datierung des Mittleren Reiches und der Zweiten Zwischenzeit". Ägypten und Levante. 18: 275–314. doi:10.1553/aeundl18s275. ISSN 1015-5104.

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