The Second Intermediate Period marks a period when ancient Egypt fell into disarray 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" was coined in 1942 by German Egyptologist Hanns Stock.
The Eighth Dynasty of ancient Egypt is a poorly known and short-lived line of pharaohs reigning in rapid succession in the early 22nd century BC, likely with their seat of power in Memphis. The Eighth Dynasty held sway at a time referred to as the very end of the Old Kingdom or the beginning of the First Intermediate Period. The power of the pharaohs was waning while that of the provincial governors, known as nomarchs, was increasingly important, the Egyptian state having by then effectively turned into a feudal system. In spite of close relations between the Memphite kings and powerful nomarchs, notably in Coptos, the Eighth Dynasty was eventually overthrown by the nomarchs of Heracleopolis Magna, who founded the Ninth Dynasty. The Eighth Dynasty is sometimes combined with the preceding Seventh Dynasty, owing to the lack of archeological evidence for the latter which may be fictitious.
Nitocris possibly was the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt's Sixth Dynasty. Her name is found in Herodotus' Histories (430BC) and in writings by the 3rd-century BC Manetho, but her historicity has been questioned. If she was in fact a historical person, then she may have been an interregnum queen, the sister of Merenre Nemtyemsaf II and the daughter of Pepi II and Queen Neith. Alternatively, the Egyptologist Kim Ryholt has argued that Nitocris is legendary and derives from the historical male pharaoh Neitiqerty Siptah, who succeeded Merenre Nemtyemsaf II at the transition between the Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period.
Merenre Nemtyemsaf II was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the sixth and penultimate ruler of the 6th Dynasty. He reigned for 1 year and 1 month in the first half of the 22nd century BC, at the very end of the Old Kingdom period. Nemtyemsaf II likely ascended the throne as an old man, succeeding his long-lived father Pepi II Neferkare at a time when the power of the pharaoh was crumbling.
Merhotepre Sobekhotep was an Egyptian king of the 13th Dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period. According to egyptologist Kim Ryholt he was the thirtieth pharaoh of the dynasty, while Darrell Baker believes instead that he was its twenty-ninth ruler. In older studies, Jürgen von Beckerath and Detlef Franke identified Merhotepre Sobekhotep with Merhotepre Ini, thereby making him Sobekhotep VI and the twenty-eighth ruler of the 13th Dynasty.
Khaankhre Sobekhotep was a pharaoh of the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period.
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 Canaan, Egypt, Nubia, and as far away as Carthage, where some were still in use 1,500 years after his death.
Menkare was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the first or second ruler of the Eighth Dynasty. Menkare probably reigned a short time at the transition between the Old Kingdom period and the First Intermediate Period, in the early 22nd century BC. The rapid succession of brief reigns at the time suggests times of hardship, possibly related to a widespread aridification of the Middle East, known as the 4.2 kiloyear event. As a pharaoh of the Eighth Dynasty, according to Manetho, Menkare's seat of power would have been Memphis.
Neferkare II 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 Darell Baker he was the third king of the Eighth Dynasty. As a pharaoh of the Eighth Dynasty, Neferkare II's capital would have been Memphis.
Neferkare Neby was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Seventh or Eighth Dynasty during the early First Intermediate Period. According to Egyptologists Jürgen von Beckerath and Darrell Baker, he was the fourth king of the Seventh dynasty, as he appears as the fourth king in the Abydos King List within the list of kings assigned to this dynasty.
Neferkare Khendu 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 sixth king of the Eighth Dynasty.
Nikare was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Eighth Dynasty during the early First Intermediate Period, at a time when Egypt was possibly divided between several polities. According to the Egyptologists Kim Ryholt, Jürgen von Beckerath and Darrell Baker he was the ninth king of the Eighth Dynasty. As such, Nikare's seat of power would have been Memphis.
Neferkare VI Pepiseneb 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 twelfth king of the Eighth Dynasty.
Neferkamin Anu was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt during the First Intermediate Period, c2181 - 2055 BC. According to the Abydos King List and the latest reconstruction of the Turin canon by Kim Ryholt, he was the 13th king of the Eighth Dynasty. This opinion is shared by the Egyptologists Jürgen von Beckerath, Thomas Schneider and Darrell Baker. As a pharaoh of the Eighth Dynasty, Neferkamin Anu would have reigned over the Memphite region.
Neferkaure was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. According to the Abydos King List and the latest reconstruction of the Turin canon by Kim Ryholt, he was the 15th king of the Eighth Dynasty. This opinion is shared by the Egyptologists Jürgen von Beckerath, Thomas Schneider and Darell Baker. As a pharaoh of the Eighth Dynasty, Neferkaure's seat of power was Memphis and he may not have held power over all of Egypt.
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.
The Seventh Dynasty of Egypt would mark the beginning of the First Intermediate Period in the early 22nd century BC but its actual existence is debated. The only historical account on the Seventh Dynasty was in Manetho's Aegyptiaca, a history of Egypt written in the 3rd century BC, where the Seventh Dynasty appears essentially as a metaphor for chaos. Since next to nothing is known of this dynasty beyond Manetho's account, Egyptologists such as Jürgen von Beckerath and Toby Wilkinson have usually considered it to be fictitious. In a 2015 re-appraisal of the fall of the Old Kingdom, the Egyptologist Hracht Papazian has proposed that the Seventh Dynasty was real and that it consisted of kings usually attributed to the Eighth Dynasty.
Seth Meribre was the twenty-fourth pharaoh of the 13th Dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period. Seth Meribre reigned from Memphis, ending in 1749 BC or c. 1700 BC. The length of his reign is not known for certain; the Egyptologist Kim Ryholt proposes that he reigned for a short time, certainly less than ten years.
Nerikare was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 13th Dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period. According to the Egyptologists Kim Ryholt and Darrell Baker, he was the third king of the dynasty, reigning for a short time in 1796 BC. Alternatively Jürgen von Beckerath sees Nerikare as the twenty-third king of the 13th Dynasty, reigning after Sehetepkare Intef.
Sewadjkare III was an Egyptian pharaoh of the Fourteenth Dynasty of Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period c. 1700 BC. As a king of the 14th Dynasty, Sewadjkare III would have reigned from Avaris over the eastern Nile Delta and possibly over the western Delta as well.
