Kim Ryholt

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Kim Steven Bardrum Ryholt (born 19 June 1970) is a professor of Egyptology at the University of Copenhagen and a specialist on Egyptian history and literature. He is director of the research center Canon and Identity Formation in the Earliest Literate Societies under the University of Copenhagen Programme of Excellence (since 2008) and director of The Papyrus Carlsberg Collection & Project (since 1999). [1] [2]

Contents

Research

One of his most significant publications is a 1997 book titled The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period c. 1800–1550 B.C. [3] Aidan Dodson, a prominent English Egyptologist, calls Ryholt's book "fundamental" for an understanding of the Second Intermediate Period [4] because it reviews the political history of this period and contains an updated—and more accurate—reconstruction of the Turin Canon since the 1959 publication of Alan Gardiner's Royal Canon of Egypt. It also contains an extensive catalogue of all the known monuments, inscriptions and seals for the kings of this period.

Ryholt is also a specialist on Demotic papyri and literature and has authored numerous books and articles about this subject. In 2011 he discovered the identity of the famous sage king Nechepsos. [5]

Since 2013 he has directed a project on ancient ink as technology. [6]

He has also written a book on antiquities trade with Fredrik Norland Hagen.

Second Intermediate Period

Ryholt's study makes note of numerous recent archaeological finds including the discovery of a new Hyksos king named Sakir-Har, the find of a doorjamb at Gebel Antef in the mid-1990s which establishes that Sekhemre Shedtawy Sobekemsaf (Sobekemsaf II here) was the father of the 17th Dynasty Theban kings Antef VI and Antef VII. He also discusses Ahmose's Unwetterstele document.

The book also argues strongly that the Sixteenth dynasty of Egypt was made up of poorly attested Theban kings such as Nebiriau I, Nebiriau II, Seuserenre Bebiankh and Sekhemre Shedwast who are documented in the last surviving page of the Turin Canon rather than minor Hyksos vassal kings in Lower Egypt, as was generally believed.

Among the most significant discussions is Ryholt's evidence that Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep rather than Ugaf was the first king of Egypt's 13th Dynasty, [7] and a discussion of the foreign origins of the Semitic 13th Dynasty king named Khendjer—whose reign lasted a minimum of 4 years and 3 months based on dated workmen's control notes found on stone blocks from his pyramid complex. [8]

The most controversial conclusion concerns the identity and dating of 14th Dynasty. Ryholt – like Manfred Bietak – argues that it was a forerunner of the 15th Dynasty, but differs in regarding it as contemporary with the 13th Dynasty from the latter's founding around 1800 BC until its collapse in c. 1650/1648 BC. This view is questioned in a review of the book by Daphna Ben Tor and James/Susan Allen. [9] Ryholt has also suggested that Maaibre Sheshi, one of the best attested kings of the 14th Dynasty, was contemporary with the early 13th Dynasty on the basis of an archaeological deposit at Uronarti where a seal-impression of this king was found together with impressions of two early 13th dynasty Egyptian kings. [10] Ben Tor has posited that the context of Maaibre Sheshi seal is not secure and that it was most likely a New Kingdom seal impression. [11] The likelihood of New Kingdom intrusions into the Uronarti context was confirmed by Yvonne Markowitz and acknowledged by Reisner. [12] Ryholt's proposal that king Sheshi, 'Ammu Ahotepre and Yakbim Sekhaenre were rulers of the 14th Dynasty is contested by Ben Tor's study of the strata levels of their seals which, in her view, indicate dating to the second half of the Hyksos 15th Dynasty and are not contemporary with the 13th dynasty.

Turin King List

Ryholt is regarded[ by whom? ] as a major scholar in the study of the Turin King List, having examined the document in person twice; he has published new and better interpretations of this damaged papyrus document in his aforementioned 1997 book and in a ZAS paper titled "The Late Old Kingdom in the Turin King-list and the Identity of Nitocris", [13] and has published a detailed discussion of the nature of the document. [14] Ryholt reportedly intends to publish his study of the Turin Kinglist in the near future.[ citation needed ]

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Intermediate Period of Egypt</span> Period of Ancient Egyptian history (1700–1550 BC)

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 concept of a Second Intermediate Period generally includes the 13th through to the 17th dynasties, however there is no universal agreement in Egyptology about how to define the period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yaqub-Har</span> Egyptian pharaoh from the 17th or 16th century BCE

Meruserre Yaqub-Har was a pharaoh of Egypt during the 17th or 16th century BCE. As he reigned during Egypt's fragmented Second Intermediate Period, it is difficult to date his reign precisely, and even the dynasty to which he belonged is uncertain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt</span> Ancient Egyptian dynasty

The Thirteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt is often combined with Dynasties XI, XII and XIV under the group title Middle Kingdom. Some writers separate it from these dynasties and join it to Dynasties XIV through XVII as part of the Second Intermediate Period. Dynasty XIII lasted from approximately 1803 BC until approximately 1649 BC, i.e. for 154 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sobekhotep IV</span> Egyptian king

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sedjefakare Kay Amenemhat VII</span> Egyptian pharaoh of the 13th Dynasty

Sedjefakare Kay Amenemhat VII was an Egyptian pharaoh of the early 13th Dynasty in the late Middle Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep</span> Egyptian pharaoh

Sekhemre Khutawy Amenemhat Sobekhotep was an Egyptian pharaoh of the early 13th Dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khaankhre Sobekhotep</span> 13th Dynasty Egyptian king

Khaankhre Sobekhotep I was a pharaoh of the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nubkheperre Intef</span> Egyptian king

Nubkheperre Intef was an Egyptian king of the Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt at Thebes during the Second Intermediate Period, when Egypt was divided by rival dynasties including the Hyksos in Lower Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sobekemsaf I</span> Pharaoh of Egypt

Sekhemre Wadjkhaw Sobekemsaf I was a pharaoh of Egypt during the 17th Dynasty in the Second Intermediate Period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sekhemre-Heruhirmaat Intef</span> Egyptian king

Sekhemre-Heruhirmaat Intef was an ancient Egyptian king of the Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt, who ruled during the Second Intermediate Period, when Egypt was divided between the Theban-based 17th Dynasty in Upper Egypt and the Hyksos 15th Dynasty who controlled Lower and part of Middle Egypt.

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

Maaibre Sheshi was a ruler of areas of Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period. The dynasty, chronological position, duration and extent of his reign are uncertain and subject to ongoing debate. The difficulty of identification is mirrored by problems in determining events from the end of the Middle Kingdom to the arrival of the Hyksos in Egypt. Nonetheless, Sheshi is, in terms of the number of artifacts attributed to him, the best-attested king of the period spanning the end of the Middle Kingdom and the Second Intermediate period; roughly from c. 1800 BC until 1550 BC. Hundreds of scaraboid seals bearing his name have been found throughout the Levant, Egypt, Nubia, and as far away as Carthage, where some were still in use 1,500 years after his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nehesy</span>

Nehesy Aasehre (Nehesi) was a ruler of Lower Egypt during the fragmented Second Intermediate Period. He is placed by most scholars into the early 14th Dynasty, as either the second or the sixth pharaoh of this dynasty. As such he is considered to have reigned for a short time c. 1705 BC and would have ruled from Avaris over the eastern Nile Delta. Recent evidence makes it possible that a second person with this name, a son of a Hyksos king, lived at a slightly later time during the late 15th Dynasty c. 1580 BC. It is possible that most of the artefacts attributed to the king Nehesy mentioned in the Turin canon, in fact belong to this Hyksos prince.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sekhemre Sementawy Djehuty</span> Egyptian Pharaoh

Sekhemre Sementawy Djehuty was a minor king reigning over parts of Upper Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period.

Iufni was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 13th Dynasty 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.

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

Wazad was an Egyptian pharaoh during the Second Intermediate Period. According to the Egyptologists Kim Ryholt and Darrell Baker, Wazad was a member of the 14th Dynasty of Egypt reigning c. 1700 BC. As a king of the 14th Dynasty, he would have reigned from Avaris over the eastern Nile Delta and possibly over the western Delta as well. The Memphis-based 13th Dynasty reigned over Middle and Upper Egypt at the same time. Alternatively, according to Jürgen von Beckerath and Wolfgang Helck, Wazad was a ruler of the 16th Dynasty and a vassal of the Hyksos 15th Dynasty. This view is debated in Egyptology, in particular because Ryholt and others have argued that the 16th Dynasty was an independent Theban kingdom rather than a vassal dynasty of the Hyksos.

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

Djedkheperew was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 13th Dynasty reigning for an estimated two-year period, from c. 1772 BC until 1770 BC. According to Egyptologists Kim Ryholt and Darrell Baker, Djedkheperew was the 17th king of this dynasty. Djedkheperew is this pharaoh's Horus name; the prenomen and nomen of Djedkheperew, which would normally be employed by modern conventions to name a pharaoh, are unknown.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">'Apepi</span>

'Apepi was a ruler of some part of Lower Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period c. 1650 BC. According to the egyptologists Kim Ryholt and Darrell Baker, 'Apepi was the fifty-first ruler of the 14th Dynasty. As such he would have ruled from Avaris over the eastern Nile Delta and possibly over the Western Delta as well. Alternatively, Jürgen von Beckerath sees 'Apepi as a member of the late 16th Dynasty and a vassal of the Hyksos rulers of the 15th Dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharek</span>

Sharek or Shalek could have been a poorly known ancient Egyptian pharaoh during the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt.

References

  1. ↑ Project poster for The Papyrus Carlsberg Collection & Project online PDF online PDF
  2. ↑ "Curriculum vitae". cif.tors.ku.dk. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  3. ↑ Museum Tuscalanum Press ( ISBN   87-7289-421-0).
  4. ↑ Bi Or LVII, January–April 2000, p. 48. This is a review of Ryholt's 463-page book.
  5. ↑ Kim Ryholt, "New Light on the Legendary King Nechepsos of Egypt", Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 97 (2011), pp. 61-72 online PDF
  6. ↑ Project poster for Ancient Ink as Technology online PDF online pdf
  7. ↑ see Appendix A of his book.
  8. ↑ Ryholt: p. 193.
  9. ↑ Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 315, 1999, pp. 47-73.
  10. ↑ Ryholt, Kim. "The Date of Kings Sheshi and Yaqubhar and the Rise of the Fourteenth Dynasty." The Second Intermediate Period: Current Research, Future Prospects (edited by M. Maree), 2010, OLA 192, pp. 109-126.
  11. ↑ Daphna Ben Tor, The Second Intermediate Period (Thirteenth-Seventeenth Dynasties) Current Research, Future Prospects, (ed: Marcel Maree) 2010, OLA 192, pp. 95. online PDF
  12. ↑ Ben Tor, 2010, p. 95.
  13. ↑ Ryholt, Kim. "The Late Old Kingdom in the Turin King-list and the Identity of Nitocris." Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 127, 2000, pp. 87–100.
  14. ↑ Ryholt, Kim. "The Turin King-List." Ägypten und Levante 14, 2004, pp. 135-155.


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